By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — In what context did David Letterman recently speak about his son Harry and a bar mitzvah?
A. Letterman was one of the presenters at a recent event at Lincoln Center benefiting children with cancer. He told the audience about a drive he took with Harry from their home in upstate New York to Manhattan during a huge snow storm. Harry complained that he needed to use the bathroom. Explained Letterman, “Having to go to the bathroom at that level we’ve all experienced, he did so while we were inching along in traffic in a blinding blizzard—in my coffee thermos. That’s when I said to him, ‘Son, you don’t need a bar mitzvah. Today, you are a man.’ ”
B. While television viewers saw Letterman introduce his wife and son on his last Late Show broadcast, prior to the show he brought them onto the stage. At that time, the audience cheered wildly for Harry, who looked a bit overwhelmed by the attention. When the audience finally stopped clapping, Letterman said to his son, “Gee, Harry. Now you don’t need a bar mitzvah. This is even better than being called to the Torah.”
C. As he approached his pending retirement, Letterman gave an interview to his hometown Indianapolis Star newspaper. Said Letterman, “I’m not sure why I decided that now is the right time to retire. But in 2012 I went with Harry and Regina to the bar mitzvah of Paul Shaffer’s son Will, and I was reminded how quickly these kids grow up. I mean, I remember when Will was born like it was yesterday. So here he is, a young boy standing in front of a huge crowd, and the rabbi tells him, ‘Today you are a man.’ And I’m thinking, wow, and I start picturing little Harry as a young man. And I figure, hey, if I don’t want Harry to only remember me as a doddering old fool rocking on the front porch, I better be sure to be in his life while I’m still not drooling. So maybe that’s why I started thinking about retirement. After all, isn’t family what really matters?”
D. The category of one of Letterman’s last Top Ten lists was Places I Might Be Seen After I Retire. In addition to choices such as “Back at the Taco Bell drive-thru” and “Doing a commercial for Hair Club for Men,” he also included “Earning a little extra gelt by presenting Top Ten lists at the bar mitzvahs of my son Harry’s Jewish friends.”
E. In an interview with the New York Times, Dave was talking about his beginnings in show business. “When I was growing up, my dad used to do magic tricks. Nothing fancy–just pulling coins out of my ear and stuff like that. But I thought it was amazing. And of course, his name was Harry, and he taught me about the great magicians he followed–Harry Houdini and Harry Blackstone. I got pretty good at some basic tricks, and started performing at children’s parties when I was in junior high. Now, it’s over 50 years later, and I’ve taught my son Harry some of the same tricks. And the timing’s great, because while I’m retiring, he just got his first job. He’ll be doing tricks for the guests at his friend Josh’s bar mitzvah in a couple of weeks. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be the next famous magician named Harry!”
Link to answer:
http://rrrjewishtrivia.com/answers/david-letterman-answer.html
Mark D. Zimmerman is the author of Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong series of Jewish trivia e-books. Learn more at rrrjewishtrivia.com.
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