Names and faces
The five living former U.S. presidents put aside political differences and made a cameo appearance onstage at the Deep from the Heart concert in College Station, Texas, on Saturday to help raise money for victims of a recent spate of natural disasters. Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter waved to the crowd as the image of an American flag was displayed behind them and people snapped photos. The U.S. mainland and its territories have been walloped by one natural disaster after another. In all, hurricanes and wildfires have killed more than 100 people and left residents with billions of dollars in damage that they have only begun to clean up. Large donation drives have been started, and on Saturday, they got a boost from five men who are used to being fundraiser in chief. The efforts garnered praise from the current occupant of the White House. “The American people have done what we do best,” President Donald Trump said in a recorded video message. “We came together. We helped one another, and through it all we became resilient.”
David Letterman was celebrated Sunday night at Washington’s Kennedy Center for his record run on latenight TV, for his innovative comedy routines, and for helping the nation start to heal by reassuring that it was OK to laugh again after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Fellow entertainers gathered to honor Letterman as he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Among those in attendance were previous recipients Steve Martin and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who recalled a monologue Letterman gave on his show shortly after 9/11. “You let us know it was OK to move on and OK to laugh again,” Kimmel said. “Dave, you led the way for all of us.” Martin honored him by needling him about his bushy, white beard. “Dave has always had excellent instincts. What better time than now to choose to look like a Confederate war general,” he said. The 70-year-old Letterman spent 33 years on late-night TV, hosting long-running shows on NBC and then on CBS. His final broadcast on May 20, 2015, was episode No. 6,028 that he hosted. It shattered the record previously held by his mentor, Johnny Carson. Letterman’s run on NBC in particular was hugely influential, introducing a sardonic, irony-drenched comedic style that influenced a generation.