Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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.”
No joke: David Letterman yukked it up on late-night TV longer than anyone else. Now his career of comedy has earned him a prestigious award and a celebrity roasting. Letterman was to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor during a star-studded celebration Sunday night at Washington’s Kennedy Center. Expected to attend were previous recipients Steve Martin and Bill Murray, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, musician Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Al Franken, the comedian-turned-senator. 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 Letterman hosted. He 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. His time slot immediately following Carson’s
The Tonight Show allowed Letterman to draw a huge following of young, largely college-age viewers seeking an alternative to the somewhat staid Carson model. NBC gave Letterman his own show following Carson;
Late Night with David Letterman debuted on Feb. 1, 1982. Letterman’s first guest that night was Murray, the Twain award recipient in 2016.