Jason Zinoman
In a career spanning more than thirty years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television....Moving from letterman's early days in Indiana to his retirement, Zinoman has explored behind the scenes of Letterman's television career to shed light on the origins of his revolutionary comedy, its overlooked influences, and how his work intersects with and reveals his famously eccentric personality....With this enlightening biography, Zinoman offers a perceptive study of the man and the artist whose caustic voice was crucial to an entire generation of comedians and viewers - and whose singular style ushered in new tropes that have become cliches in contemporary comedy.
This is another one of those books that I found while browsing the biography section of the library. Zinoman's focus on comedic innovation and the analysis of Letterman's personality almost overwhelms the biographic storyline, but he keeps it all moving fast enough to qualify as a revealing set of personal anecdotes that had me interested throughout.
First line: In the summer of 1968, David Letterman's girlfriend gave him an ultimatum: Get married or break up.
Page 56, Sentence 5: When we got on the air and I started reading our mail, I quickly realized it was mainly insane people.
Last line: Let me mention...kindness.
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