David Letterman Opens Up to New York Times About His Day-to-Day Life After Retirement
Media icon talks raising his son, his decision to leave TV, and the current late-night landscape
October 18, 2016
Since retiring in May of 2015, David Letterman has remained largely out of the spotlight. However, in a sit-down with the New York Times published Tuesday, Dave opened up about everything from his new day-to-day, raising his now-12-year-old son Harry, and his view of the current late-night scene.
The piece outlines Dave’s somewhat awkward acclimatization into normal life, which evidently includes trips to Target. “I’m the guy who holds up lines because he always thinks he has the correct change,” Dave said. “‘How much was that? I think I may have the 87 cents.'”
Residing in both Manhattan and Westchester County, N.Y. ,Dave explained there was a period immediately after his “Late Show” ended where he was “sitting around the house thinking, ooh, I can’t sit around the house — I’ve got to get out and do something.” Since, Dave actually has participated in the rare public appearance, highlighted by a trip to India, which will be the focus of an upcoming episode of the National Geographic Channel’s “Years of Living Dangerously.”
Dave also reflected on his 33-years in late-night. “I don’t miss late-night television,” Dave said. “And I’m a little embarrassed that, for 33 years, it was the laser focus of my life.” He went on to say he does not watch any of the current late-night shows, including his successor Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show.”
“The people that are doing late-night now all seem to be buddies,” Dave said. “They all seem to be, ‘Well, I’ll do your show for a week, and then you can do my show for a week.’ It’s like, wait a minute — what’s going on here? What happened to the late-night wars?” Instead, Dave said he enjoys the more absurdist humor of “Veep” and “Portlandia.”
Read more about Dave’s current life here.
