Earlier this week we took a look back at some of David Letterman's more interesting (and shirtless) moments prior to his 30th year anniversary in late night television. Letterman is now the longest-serving host in late-night TV history. That milestone was reached last night, and the host celebrated on-air with his pal Howard Stern, who says he's the only one still fighting the late night war. Watch below as the two talk about Jay Leno, complete with an impersonation from Letterman himself. more ›

Tomorrow night will mark David Letterman's 30th year anniversary in late night television, though not always with the same network. He started out as the host of NBC's Late Night With David Letterman on February 1st, 1982, and left a little over a decade when he made his shift over to CBS in 1993. According to the Late Show's executive producer Rob Burnett, the milestone may be mentioned on tomorrow night's show, "but I don’t see an extravaganza coming to fruition. Dave has never been super comfortable drawing a lot of attention to himself." Howard Stern is a guest on the show tomorrow night, who Burnett refers to as "a kindred spirit with Dave." more ›

Kids are so terrifyingly honest! So what do they really think of Lady Gaga? They recently reacted to her appearance on David Letterman (though they refer to him as "some guy," and "an anchorman")—which one do you agree with (vote below)? And did you know that in the Philippines her name translates to Lady Stupid? Kid facts! more ›

So why did James Franco supposedly bomb at the Oscars? He's thought about it long and hard, and yesterday told David Letterman, "I think I know why, because—I love her—but Anne Hathaway is so energetic, I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway." Letterman has also been criticized for screwing up as host of the Oscars (in a poll, 47% thought Franco and Hathaway gave Letterman competition for Worst Host Ever). A preview from the show, which will air tonight, is below. more ›

With rising prices of cigarettes—and, you know, the health risks that come with puffing them down—some of the city's smokers have turned to e-cigarettes... but those may be banned before the real thing! CBS NY reports that New York could become the first state to ban electronic cigarettes. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal of Manhattan says e-cigarettes need to be studied first, and currently carry no warning labels. She's concerned about the nicotine in the vapor-emitting e-cigs, and also that "most are made in China and other countries where the safety of products isn’t well regulated." more ›

Last night on David Letterman's show, funnyman Will Ferrell announced that he will be joining the new cast of the revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music. Ferrell revealed that he will be taking over the role vacated by Catherine Zeta-Jones, and to prove it, Dame Ferrell delivered a stirring rendition of the famous treacly tearjerker, "Send in the Clowns." Watch: more ›

As a companion piece to Bill Murray's rare and candid interview with GQ, the deadpan show biz iconoclast surfaced last night on Letterman. Naturally the appearance began with a zany gag: When Dave introduced Murray for the interview, the actor was discovered outside on the edge of one of those dumpster swimming pools which will be installed on Park Avenue during Summer Streets next month. Like Rushmore's Herman Blume on the diving board, Murray made a big spash: more ›

Last week word was that Jay-Z's performance tonight atop the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater got canceled because of concerns that things may get a little out of control. This announcement came just days after rapper Drake was scheduled to play a free show at the South Street Seaport, which ended in a riot before the first note even got played. But it looks like Jay-Z's camp, and the city, may have pulled an ol' switcharoo on us, because right now both Jay-Z and Eminem are rehearsing on top of Letterman's studio. more ›

Like Phish and Paul McCartney have in the past, Jay-Z was scheduled to perform on top of the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater during Monday night's rush hour, but the performance (part of the rapper's Letterman appearance) was canceled at the last minute. A source told the NY Post it was an abrupt cancellation that came after weeks of planning, and word is "Bloomberg canceled the concert for security reasons after Drake's free concert" at the South Street Seaport earlier this week. more ›

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition cover gal Brooklyn Decker has actually been living in Brooklyn for three weeks, and the Daily News quizzed her last night on her new stomping grounds. The 22-year-old (who was actually named after a horse named Brook) had no idea who Borough President Marty Markowitz was, but when asked what the famous Junior's sells she said, "Cheesecake. Of course the model knows the cheesecake answer!" Other check marks included knowing that Prospect Park was the largest park in the borough and being able to name four neighborhoods. All in all, a 3 for 5 score, which she says isn't too bad. Check out her appearance on Letterman last night after the jump. more ›

22-year-old Brooklyn Decker (born in Ohio and raised in North Carolina, obvs) is gracing this year's cover of the Sport Illustrated Swimsuit issue. David Letterman says this issue (and the much coveted cover spot) is still a "huge thing" for America (is it?). He unveiled the billboard on 53rd and Broadway last night, and the model will sit down with him on tonight's show. more ›

A judge has refused to throw out the criminal case against a TV producer who is accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman. Robert "Joe" Halderman, the former CBS News producer, had allegedly demanded $2 million from Letterman in exchange for keeping quiet about a film script that dramatized Letterman's affairs with staffers. A lawyer for Halderman had argued that "his client simply had valuable information and wanted to get paid for it." In ruling against Halderman, Justice Charles Solomon wrote, "Defendant argues that the statute is overbroad as it applies to him because he has a constitutionally protected right to write a book or screenplay about a public figure. Since the defendant is not being prosecuted for authoring either a book or a screenplay, his constitutional right to free speech is not been impacted." more ›

President Obama and citizen Letterman look like they got along famously today during the taping of tonight's show. Even though he's attained rock star status amongst many, word is that Barack didn't take his appearance to the marquee, like Sir McCartney, Phish and TV on the Radio have in the past. more ›

So last night David Letterman and Paul McCartney were finally face to face, as Sir Paul returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater and made his first appearance on the Late Night show. He talked to Dave about his attachment to the space, where the Beatles made their first U.S. appearance in the '60s—you can watch their chat below, and the performance after the jump. more ›

Tonight is Paul McCartney's first ever performance on Letterman. Believe it or not, he hasn't performed in the Ed Sullivan Theater since 1965 when the Beatles made their final appearance on the stage (here's video from their first appearance). A tipster informs us that currently the outdoor awning is being set up for the performance, meaning he'll also be channeling the famous Beatles rooftop concert in the late '60s (video). He's not the first to take the show outside of the theater, Phish and TV on the Radio have done the same in the past. The performance will be around 5 p.m. today, will the crowd reach Beatle-mania proportions? After this, McCartney will launch what he's called his "final tour" at Citi Field on the 17th. If you happen to be in the area, send us your pictures or tag them with "Gothamist" on flickr! more ›

Bono & Co. kicked off their week long residency on Letterman last night, and because they are such a Big Deal, Mayor Bloomberg has declared that part of West 53rd Street (leading up to the Ed Sullivan Theater) is now temporarily renamed U2 Way. And, perhaps grasping how litigious New Yorkers can be when it comes to icy sidewalks, the supergroup was out there yesterday keeping their new street snow-free. (Letterman also addressed the white stuff in his Top Ten.) more ›

There are plenty of theories about why Joaquin Phoenix was so out of it on Letterman Wednesday night, but the most plausible is that he was just acting. Sure, he may be drugged up, too, but then wouldn't his pal Casey Affleck put down the camera and send the guy to rehab? Affleck has been following Phoenix around filming a documentary (mockumentary?) about him, and the Daily News reports that following his Letterman appearance Phoenix and his crew went to a screening of his movie Two Lovers (where at the very least Gwyneth Paltrow would have attempted to save him with GOOP-isms). more ›

Actor and possible future rap superstar Joaquin Phoenix took a seat across from David Letterman last night (to "promote" Two Lovers), finally pushing Farrah Fawcett out of the top slot for all time most incoherent interview subject (Farrah video!). Incase you missed it, here's the five minutes of teeth pulling: more ›

For a guy who got his break after the whole mashup thing seemed to have come and gone, PC-user Girltalk's sure got some legs. The barely legal laptop artist sold out 3 nights at Terminal 5 earlier this week, packing that airplane hanger of a venue with enough spandex, neon and sweat to make Randy Savage jealous. But with great crowds, of course, bring the undesirable element out. His shows have always been everyone-on-the-stage rowdyfests, but as the crowds get bigger, the scene can get a bit skeevy. The show more resembles a bridge and tunnel shindig than ever before. Lots of open shirts and miniskirts up there. Now, since Gillis's mass appeal is rooted in his manipulation of the music of mass appeal, his fan base could potentially keep growing through the stratosphere. The patience of those who enjoyed these types of things on a smaller scale, however, may nearly be gone. more ›

Lawyers for Jerry Seinfeld insist the comic was just joking when he described "Sneaky Chef" author Missy Chase Lapine as a "wacko" for accusing his wife of plagiarism. Lapine is currently suing for trademark infringement because she says Jessica Seinfeld’s hit book about sneaking healthy food into kids’ snacks, called "Deceptively Simple," contains too many similarities to "Sneaky Chef" – and it was published by HarperCollins, who twice rejected Lapine’s pitch. more ›

Multiple news outlets are reporting that the WGA strike could be over with professional writers back to work as early as next week. Unnamed sources are saying that a tentative deal between the guild and Hollywood studios and producers has been reached. At issue was revenue sharing between writers and producers over content distributed over the Internet. Alternative distribution methods, like downloading and web-streaming, were leaving writers out in the cold and on the short end of the stick. more ›

Before getting back to his grueling practice schedule* today, Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes stopped in to the Late Show last night. David Letterman and Tynes chat about his family and when he learned to kick (as a senior in high school). Tynes, the 29-year-old father of twins, who missed two 4th quarter field goals in the NFC Championship before kicking the game winner in overtime, was not able to escape ribbing from Letterman, "Everybody I know had the same reaction after the second missed kick in the 4th quarter, 'Please don't send him in again! For the love of God! If there's an ounce of mercy in your soul! Don't send him in!!'" more ›

This week's story about a 500-pound retired NYPD cop trying to get more dough (the green money kind) inspired The Late Show with David Letterman's Thursday night top ten list. more ›

Last night Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert returned to their fake news desks, with picket lines outside of their studios and no strike beards in sight (however, a strike unibrow did appear). They were supportive as ever of the WGA though, in fact Stewart spent all 30 minutes discussing the strike, with only a lone joke or two about the primaries ("Cold white people have had their say"). He made it clear that "From now on, until the end of the strike, we'll be doing 'A Daily Show with Jon Stewart.' But not 'THE Daily Show.'" more ›

Missy Chase Lapine, the children’s cookbook author who claims Jessica Seinfeld – the comedian’s wife (pictured) – “brazenly plagiarized” her work is now taking it up a notch by slapping both Jessica and Jerry with lawsuits. She’s accusing Jerry of defamation because when the scandal made headlines back in October, Jerry went on TV and talked some trash that was as arrogant as it was stupid. more ›

The most famous undeclared presidential candidate, our very own Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has weighed in about the Iowa caucus results. Okay, so Mayor Bloomberg claims he's not running for president, but when you swipe at the actual candidates, have a staff that's investigating the possibility of running a campaign, and have a billion dollars to spare... more ›

Late night television is back, with two hosts not crossing the picket line (David Letterman and Craig Ferguson), and three still getting WGA picketers outside of their studios (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel). Only two hosts were willing to grow, and keep, their strike beards -- and we want to know whose you like best! more ›