David Letterman Cracks Jokes about the death of Dan Curtis

[ClaudeNorth]

I wasn't offended either.

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember DC appearing on David Letterman's show many years ago, possibly to promote one of the WAR miniseries, and that he and Dave had a great rapport.  Or perhaps I'm thinking of Dan Ross's appearance...

[David]

Goodness, haven't I started a busy thread!

The responses here mirror the responses at Classic Horror Film Board, where I started the same thread.
Do I lack humor?
I wonder?

I've been to a number of funerals, including Louis Edmonds'
where mourners laughed & shared funny anecdotes about the deceased.
And I've taken part in this.

But I feel that such laughter is the province of the mourners, not talk show hosts & stand up comics.

David  

[retzev]

is that a rhetorical question? 

[Nancy]

I certainly do not think you are, David.  Everyone's sensibilities are different.  If Letterman had made fun of the brain tumor that killed Dan Curtis, that would have been another thing entirely.   If Dan Curtis had been a teenager who died of an illness, that would be another story altogether and nothing to make fun of.

Someone in his 70s can be expected to pass away and Curtis' TV legacy was the butt of Letterman's humor, not Curtis' illness or the fact he died from it.  That's my own take on it.


Nancy

Goodness, haven't I started a busy thread!

The responses here mirror the responses at Classic Horror Film Board, where I started the same thread.
Do I lack humor?
I wonder?

[MsCriseyde]

Someone in his 70s can be expected to pass away and Curtis' TV legacy was the butt of Letterman's humor, not Curtis' illness or the fact he died from it.  That's my own take on it.

The type of joke that Letterman told, or a version of it, has been a staple of the late night talk shows at least since Carson was doing them. Leno and Letterman both tell them now. You pick a person who invented or pioneered some unique item in American culture, and you make a joke about the nature of the funeral service based upon that person's contribution to society. For example, Leno once told this one: "The inventor of the Hawaiian shirt passed away. I hear the funeral will be dress casual."

If you've watched Carson, Letterman, or Leno, then you've heard some version of the joke Letterman told about Curtis before (and you probably didn't give it a second thought). It's not intended to be mean-spirited. If anything, it brings these folks' contributions to the fore for a moment. That Letterman could tell the joke and have it resonate with his audience speaks to the mark Curtis' work has left on American popular culture.

That's my two cents.

[MagnusTrask]

I defy ANYONE here to explain how that joke was insulting in ANY way to DC's memory.     He made mini-series.    They were long.    Ooooh, that must have hurt! 

David Letterman is a decent individual with healthy priorities.

However, I've come to practically hate those jokes about so-and-so who invented this or that dying.     The fact that they all do it has zero to do with whether they're okay or not.    Usually they're disrespectful.   This one wasn't.

[retzev]

It's not intended to be mean-spirited. If anything, it brings these folks' contributions to the fore for a moment. That Letterman could tell the joke and have it resonate with his audience speaks to the mark Curtis' work has left on American popular culture.

nicely put -

[BuzzH]

I concur, I laughed when I heard the bit on Criseyede's link.  I thought the joke was cute.  DC would have chuckled at that one I think.  Dave wasn't mean spirited in the least w/the joke either.