Late Night host David Letterman had already put on a suit covered in Alka-Seltzers and lowered himself into a vat of water. Really, how do you top that? On September 18, 1985, he debuted a future classic, the Top Ten List. (The surprisingly mundane topic? “Top Ten Words That Almost Rhyme with ‘Peas.’”) Working in late-night “was heaven in that the other people were so funny, and it was hell because you had to come up with new stuff all the time,” then–head writer Steve O’Donnell, 71, tells Us. “That’s why the Top Ten List was such a godsend: It was something you could do again and again.” Thousands of times, actually, first on NBC, then on CBS’ Late Show — and we still remember our favorites.
Who Was Involved
O’Donnell recalls fellow writers Robert Morton, Randy Cohen and others who all agreed they should do their own version of the Top 10s that were everywhere. A McCall’s ranking of the Top 10 bachelors over 60 really tickled them. “There was a ridiculous inclusion of Bill Paley, who was in his mid-80s,” O’Donnell says. “We were all laughing over that.” Plus, everyone recognized the desperate need for repeatable content: “I compare the day of inspiration with, if you’re on a desert island with a bunch of starving people and a crate full of food washes up, whose idea is it to eat the food?”
Why We Remember It
Over the years, tons of celebs read off lists, such as “Top Ten Things That Sound Creepy When They’re Said by John Malkovich” (“Does this look infected to you?”) and “Top Ten Dolly Parton Pet Peeves” (“Nobody notices I’ve got a great ass, too!”). The stars’ delight at taking part only got bigger laughs, as with a giggling James Gandolfini and the No. 1 “Thing You Won’t Hear on The Sopranos”: “I just whacked myself!” Of course, Letterman himself presented the bulk, which referenced day-to-day absurdities, politics, whatever.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus YouTube
Key Details
Most lists were group efforts, executed quickly, per O’Donnell. “Sometimes we’d write 100 of them. Then I’d pitch the best to Letterman minutes before the show. He’d pick a couple, add a couple.” The famous “Top Ten Favorite Numbers From 1 to 10” took, oh, 60 seconds and came from “sheer panic” after a plane-crash idea was nixed.
David Letterman subtly showed his support for Stephen Colbert after CBS canceled The Late Show. Letterman, 78, posted a compilation video of his tenure as host of The Late Show from 1993 to 2015, via YouTube on Monday, July 21. The clip’s caption made a dig at CBS. “You can’t spell CBS without BS,” the […]
The Aftermath
Letterman signed off May 20, 2015, leaving Us with an A-list hangover from his farewell “Top Ten Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Dave.” Among the participants (bottom left), O’Donnell says, “Julia Louis-Dreyfus came up with a great joke of her own — probably the best on the list!” (That would be “Thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale.”)
A New Perspective
It’s easy to forget how much of late-night we owe to Team Letterman’s sensibilities. “All these great writers were writing things that pleased them, that they felt were a little offbeat,” O’Donnell says. “Of course, what we thought was offbeat or cutting- edge eventually became the norm.”
Take a seat! David Letterman has made his name as a popular comedian and late-night TV host. “I knew exactly what I wanted to be. My sophomore year in high school they offered a public speaking class. So I signed right up,” the Indiana native recalled during a May 2015 appearance on CBS Sunday Morning. “First […]
Where Are They Now?
Letterman is back in the interview game on Netflix’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. And the Top Ten concept lives on at reunions, offices, parties, weddings… While some amateur efforts have impressed O’Donnell, “at the same time, I go, ‘Well, it’s something almost anyone could do.’ Like square dancing.”
