I have to tell you this is an amazing trip down memory lane for me. I laughed till I cried. I watched Letterman every single night along with Carson and went to bed at 1AM to get up for school at 8 am. I slept through a lot of classes but I learned more from this whole cast than any school could have taught me.
What sucks is nobody can take a joke anymore without getting their feelings hurt. America is getting is getting soft. We’re going to end up in a dark place.
He was never boring for the exact "hit or miss" reason you list. Always taking chances, never afraid to go deep inside an impersonation, killing it with the most obscure reference. The "good reason" for his underrating is simply that he was too spot-on to appeal to the masses.
Complex but straight ahead at the same time. Surreal but also slapstick. The impressions are never exact and some are not really that close but it all works. He builds it up and then tears it apart. In and out of a character. He's a true original.
Trolling on network TV like this is an art form. Has anyone even come close to this since Elliott? So many times Elliott was only performing for the crew and Dave lol. So brilliant.
Chris Elliott was nothing short of genius on the Letterman Show with all his memorable characters. When I recall Dave's show, Chris' contributions is never missing from some of the funniest moments and bits.
I'm crying laughing at these! Chris was always the highlight of the show for us. The last one I had never seen before! The one-man show singing YES!-terday, ridiculous!
I like how you can see Chris evolve and get the Marv voice better after each appearance😆😆👍👍 Thanks for the uploads. Your channel is as GOLDEN as this era of late night Dave..
18:32-19:05 There is something about the kid who breaks up at Elliot several times during his song that makes this bit even that much better. Elliot could make Dave break but he could also make young kids laugh with the silliness of it all. I love it when the kids are in on the humor too. Also, a big thanks for Don Giller for posting and archiving these. A lot of thankless work but very much appreciated.
Now repeat after me: I will not binge on this channel, I will allow the happy pleasure of watching 80s Letterman clips last for weeks and even months. I will not binge on this channel, I will allow the happy pleasure of watching 80s Letterman clips last for weeks and even months. Saw so many of these episodes live, back in my Jr High and High School years. Even then the offbeat, forward-thinking humor and fantastic musical guests felt like a warm, comfy blanket weeknight after weeknight, an oasis of sanity in a sea of orthodox drivel. Even five years ago, who would've thought I'd be watching these on one browser window with a flash game of solitaire on another. Happy happy joy joy, to quote a certain cartoon cat.
I just srolled through Don Giller's videos uploaded, and after 10 minutes I don't think I was even close to the end. More like years to get through these!
OMG his second appearance as Marv (where he starts doing the voice and facial tics) is fucking gold. I never tire of hearing Letterman laugh at Chris Elliott.
@@TTFMjock He peaked around '76 with "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing." It isn't a 'joke' per se, but part of the schtick and perfectly in line with his obscure show-biz references. As brilliant as the idea of somebody doing a nuanced Marv Albert impression in the first place ..
Just the cadence of thanking the director, statisticians, the 'crack research team' etc toward the end of the broadcast while the game is dwindling down is perfect Albert
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree with Chris. I loved his dad as well. I’ll always remember Bob Elliot as Wally Ballou in sketches with Ray Goulding.
"a point.nine" lol dafuq. Absoluteky love this classic, and especially the comedic stylings of one Mr. Chris Elliot, one of the most underrated powerhouses of American Comedic History!
OMG..my stomach hurts!...always, always loved Chris Eliot on Late Night...loved how hard he would make Dave laugh, ...also hilarious seeing his wife and three boys all carrying styrofoam cups, too funny!!
i thought that was the funniest line of all his Marv's... Last-second shot, he misses, and they were down by 8, anyway. Stupid/genius! Letterman in the 80's was awesome, partly because they're writers were anti-celebrity, inc. Dave...
Once he put the effort into actually being the impression, he struck pure gold. There was absolutely no chance that Letterman was going to be able to hold it together for these bits. That wild look on Elliot's face in the 3rd appearance is incredible
This was the true pinnacle of Dave's show. He was funny on CBS but the show was never as audacious. Chris Elliot is unbelievably funny. If you never saw Get a Life find it. Not comedy gold.... Platinum!
Thanks! I found the intro interview while wandering around some hard drive files I hadn't looked at in years. I had completely forgotten I had this. In fact, it got me to put together the collection.
It's brilliant how the warped but somehow appropriate background to this impression is "Marv's" side gig as a theater performer. Culminating in his groundbreaking one man show. Genius.
Again out of the great editing the context improves the joke. I saw that chocolate football helmet episode when it aired and it never made much sense to me. I couldn't understand what Dave was laughing about 'cause to me it wasn't that funny. 30 years later I get the joke. Feels pretty good. A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ahhhh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
This just couldn't be better. Chris Elliott's "impressions" were actually postmodern funny. Thanks for this! BTW, I could be missing something in plain sight, but I haven't found the definitive collection of Dave throwing stuff from a five story tower. If you're anything like me, you're probably a little tired right now. But you know? It's a good kind of tired. Thank you. Good night. Drive safely.
I don't think that Letterman ever consistently laughed as hard and genuinely over the years as he did when Chris Elliott took the stage. I've been pouring over a ton of 80's-era Chris Elliott skits on Late Night lately (Guy Under the Stairs, The Fugitive Guy, Conspiracy Guy, Chris as Jay Leno and Marv Albert, etc.) and I noticed that Dave always seems to be genuinely laughing at Chris' performance - and you can tell the difference when Dave is laughing politely, it isn't nearly the same. Somehow, Chris Elliott had a direct line to David Letterman's funnybone. And mine too.
Yes and this was in the depths of Dave's "hate thyself and the show" days (ironically coinciding with when the show was funniest.) His response to Elliott, despite himself, is as genuine as it gets.
As a teenager I was a huge Letterman/Elliott fan and the short lived tv show "Get a life" was just hilarious! Elliott is not for everyone but for a certain crowd he's the best!
Elliot is so funny, sometimes I can't even laugh--I just sit there stunned. Like that face he is making at 16:11. Other times, like the Guy Under the Seats, he scares the shit out of me. It's a shame show biz can't really find a better place for his amazing talent.
Absolutely LOL hilarious. Chris shined on Letterman with many great characters, but this was perhaps his best. Of course, knowing Marv Albert helps define it. But overall I miss this type of late night comedy compared to today.
"It should be pointed out that Marv is celebrating his 49th birthday tonight for a record twelth consecutive year!" - Bob Costas closing remarks at Game 4 of the 2002 NBA Finals
Chris Elliot was great in these because he both mocked and paid tribute at the same time. I've seen many of these now and they do not feel mean-spirited.
I have to tell you this is an amazing trip down memory lane for me. I laughed till I cried. I watched Letterman every single night along with Carson and went to bed at 1AM to get up for school at 8 am. I slept through a lot of classes but I learned more from this whole cast than any school could have taught me.
given US education standards, even back then, u chose when to sleep correctly.
Man, anyone who didn't grow up in this era is really missing out on what late night TV was/should be.
To be fair even Dave showed his politics and his anger the last 5 + years. Maybe it was lack of "interns"?
@@jonkobler1637 To be fair I wasn't even talking about politics. I was talking about humor.....
@@kramerica2k10 Definitely, the first 10 years were gold. After that, pretty rough.
What sucks is nobody can take a joke anymore without getting their feelings hurt. America is getting is getting soft. We’re going to end up in a dark place.
@@100hooker I know. MAGA loses their shit at the drop of a hat. So sensitive and wrapped up in their feelings.
Elliot is one of most underrated comics ever. Genius.
No, he's not. He's an absolute embarrassment! Letterman at his worst.
SamuraiSamara 69 okey dokey then.
I liked his show.
Amen, my brother!
He was never boring for the exact "hit or miss" reason you list. Always taking chances, never afraid to go deep inside an impersonation, killing it with the most obscure reference. The "good reason" for his underrating is simply that he was too spot-on to appeal to the masses.
Hearing Dave cackle like that makes me happy.
Wow. I don't remember the last time I laughed with tears like this. "There's a place for us -- yes!" Brilliant.
Every time Chris appeared on Letterman, you just knew a) it was gonna be hilarious, and b) Dave was gonna lose his shit laughing. Fun times.
Chris Elliott comedy genius
dave idmarx yes, true and pure entertainment.
🧓🏻 YES
@@scrim67🧓🏻YES
Complex but straight ahead at the same time. Surreal but also slapstick. The impressions are never exact and some are not really that close but it all works. He builds it up and then tears it apart. In and out of a character. He's a true original.
Trolling on network TV like this is an art form. Has anyone even come close to this since Elliott? So many times Elliott was only performing for the crew and Dave lol. So brilliant.
And 40 years later we're let in on it.Elliot may truly be a comedy genius!
Chris Elliott was nothing short of genius on the Letterman Show with all his memorable characters. When I recall Dave's show, Chris' contributions is never missing from some of the funniest moments and bits.
This was gold back in the day. Still is
I am laughing so hard. I had forgotten how great his show was during the NBC years.
There will never be another late night show as funny as Late Night with David Letterman.
At its peak, far and away the best.
@Dale Cooper Craig Ferguson had a strong, original schtick, but I must say, peak Dave is stronger, laugh for laugh.
This was the height of Letterman's genius.
@Silk Grooves nope.
not true.
I'm crying laughing at these! Chris was always the highlight of the show for us. The last one I had never seen before! The one-man show singing YES!-terday, ridiculous!
Actual tears running down my cheek... YES!-terday!
🧓🏻YES
He was always my favorite on Letterman.The man under the stairs was hilarious!
“There’s a place for us-YES!” 😂
I like how you can see Chris evolve and get the Marv voice better after each appearance😆😆👍👍
Thanks for the uploads. Your channel is as GOLDEN as this era of late night Dave..
Dave's laugh is a comedy barometer, the higher pitched it gets the funnier a person you are.
Appearing at the Carlyle with Bobby Short.
Excellent!
I fell on the floor and broke a rib when he said that.
Love how you set up the chocolate football helmet Don. This is a great compilation!
Thanks!!
18:32-19:05 There is something about the kid who breaks up at Elliot several times during his song that makes this bit even that much better. Elliot could make Dave break but he could also make young kids laugh with the silliness of it all. I love it when the kids are in on the humor too.
Also, a big thanks for Don Giller for posting and archiving these. A lot of thankless work but very much appreciated.
When the whole Albert family walks out of the studio with their styrofoam cups was hilarious. 19:24
I seriously lost my shit when Is saw that.
🧓🏻YES !!
🧓🏻YES!!
Yea
Even his wife had a cup and was brushing her skirt! Lmao!
Dave: how was the superbowl? Chris: I dont know I didnt see it. I was dying! He said it without missing a beat
Gotta love Mrs Albert's bobbing walk with the styrofoam cup held high...!!! 😆😆😆
I love how his Marv impression gets more extreme as it goes along. “Look at the rump on Lendl!”
Lendl was tight azzed-in an Eastern Bloc kind of way ! 😐
"Bite me!"
Brilliant and bold shit which was not appreciated as much as it should have been in its moment.
Teri Garr such a freakin babe. Love her!❤️
Yah she was super sexy
Surrealist comedy is like watching a hole to another dimension. So fascinating
Outstanding! I love this compilation. 😀
🧓🏻YES!!
Was that a great segment or what... YESSSS!!!!!!
I don't think anyone delighted Dave more than Chris Elliott and Larry bud melman
September 18, 1986. His Marv is fantastic. I had no idea Chris Elliot did these impersonations. So funny!!
Now repeat after me:
I will not binge on this channel, I will allow the happy pleasure of watching 80s Letterman clips last for weeks and even months.
I will not binge on this channel, I will allow the happy pleasure of watching 80s Letterman clips last for weeks and even months.
Saw so many of these episodes live, back in my Jr High and High School years. Even then the offbeat, forward-thinking humor and fantastic musical guests felt like a warm, comfy blanket weeknight after weeknight, an oasis of sanity in a sea of orthodox drivel.
Even five years ago, who would've thought I'd be watching these on one browser window with a flash game of solitaire on another. Happy happy joy joy, to quote a certain cartoon cat.
I just srolled through Don Giller's videos uploaded, and after 10 minutes I don't think I was even close to the end. More like years to get through these!
Thank you for putting this together
“There’s aaaaaahh PLACE, for us, YES!”
Lmao, too good.
OMG his second appearance as Marv (where he starts doing the voice and facial tics) is fucking gold. I never tire of hearing Letterman laugh at Chris Elliott.
Thanks for posting. Effing hilarious to anyone who lived it.
His humor is abstract. You didn't see that too often on network television. Cool stuff.
"My musical director and long-time friend Leo Sayer .." Jeez, if you blink you miss it .. just top-notch stuff.
Sadly, I don't get the joke. I know who Leo Sayer is...I think he did "How Much Love" and a few others...
@@TTFMjock He peaked around '76 with "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing." It isn't a 'joke' per se, but part of the schtick and perfectly in line with his obscure show-biz references. As brilliant as the idea of somebody doing a nuanced Marv Albert impression in the first place ..
Just the cadence of thanking the director, statisticians, the 'crack research team' etc toward the end of the broadcast while the game is dwindling down is perfect Albert
The Leo Sayer line was genius.
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree with Chris. I loved his dad as well. I’ll always remember Bob Elliot as Wally Ballou in sketches with Ray Goulding.
YES!! Still hilarious and ridiculous 30 plus years later.
🧓🏻YES !!
this is amazing, thank you so much for posting!!! i'd never seen the one-man show, it's genius. Can't thank you enough!!!!
More than 30 years later, my friends and I (who were college-aged at the time that aired) still quote lines from Marv: A One Man Show
Whenever I need a laugh, does this classic video deliver? YES!
These are like ESPN top 10 highlights today, Elliot was a trailblazer.
He DID NOT brush his pants once. That's what he wants people to believe but the evidence is right here.
"a point.nine" lol dafuq. Absoluteky love this classic, and especially the comedic stylings of one Mr. Chris Elliot, one of the most underrated powerhouses of American Comedic History!
OMG..my stomach hurts!...always, always loved Chris Eliot on Late Night...loved how hard he would make Dave laugh, ...also hilarious seeing his wife and three boys all carrying styrofoam cups, too funny!!
🧓🏻 YES
Chris was a classic on this show!
"ooooh annnnd HE MISSES IT!"
"Notre Dame loses by 8 points."
im crying
i thought that was the funniest line of all his Marv's... Last-second shot, he misses, and they were down by 8, anyway. Stupid/genius! Letterman in the 80's was awesome, partly because they're writers were anti-celebrity, inc. Dave...
@Brian Rolff Whats not funny about it?
“Look at the rump on Lendl!” kills me every time.
4:50 ... Dave: "He's steamed, you can see that" ... Chris: "Well, it's his own fault."
The fact is Marv was one of Dave’s best guests.
Great stuff. Thank you. Can’t wait for Chris Elliot JR. Show. Fun stuff , ty again
Marv's middle son was adorable the way he cracked up.
The character and the voice get better each time. I feel like it did’t even get as good as it could have.
I love how his impression progressively gets more ridiculous with each subsequent visit.
1st time was funny but glad he adopted the marv voice for all the other appearances. Effing hilarious
Once he put the effort into actually being the impression, he struck pure gold. There was absolutely no chance that Letterman was going to be able to hold it together for these bits. That wild look on Elliot's face in the 3rd appearance is incredible
he did the same with brando
This was the true pinnacle of Dave's show. He was funny on CBS but the show was never as audacious. Chris Elliot is unbelievably funny. If you never saw Get a Life find it. Not comedy gold.... Platinum!
His Marlon Brando is so hilarious 😂
Thanks Don. Great value add with the intro interview and a great way to start my weekend ... "look at the rump on Lendl" 🤣
Thanks! I found the intro interview while wandering around some hard drive files I hadn't looked at in years. I had completely forgotten I had this. In fact, it got me to put together the collection.
Briefly going out of character, and then slipping back in.... Brilliant.
Watch 16:00 - 16:25
The only guy who could crack Dave up ladies and gentlemen Chris Elliot 🎉
Actual tears running down my cheek... "There is a place... for us... YES!" "YES!-terday!"
🧓🏻YES!!
Chris and the “Marv- elles”…..comedy gold!
Chris as Marv singing show tunes with Mini-Marvs is something I never knew I needed----until now.
Hilarious! It took me a little while to get his reference to Butch - of the Munsters!
It's brilliant how the warped but somehow appropriate background to this impression is "Marv's" side gig as a theater performer. Culminating in his groundbreaking one man show. Genius.
Again out of the great editing the context improves the joke. I saw that chocolate football helmet episode when it aired and it never made much sense to me. I couldn't understand what Dave was laughing about 'cause to me it wasn't that funny. 30 years later I get the joke. Feels pretty good. A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ahhhh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
I never watched these shows. Chris Elliot is amazing
Bob, Chris and Abby, three generations of great comedians
I was at that Dave Eggers interview.
80’s era Letterman: BRILLIANCE!!!
xoxo The Clarences
Saw the one with Marv Alberts "kids", and " Mrs" Marv Albert. I've never laughed so hard in my whole life!!
This just couldn't be better. Chris Elliott's "impressions" were actually postmodern funny. Thanks for this! BTW, I could be missing something in plain sight, but I haven't found the definitive collection of Dave throwing stuff from a five story tower. If you're anything like me, you're probably a little tired right now. But you know? It's a good kind of tired. Thank you. Good night. Drive safely.
Right here, uploaded in January:
Tower Drop Collection on Late Night, 1984-86
ua-cam.com/video/CfYb-svzvDk/v-deo.html
Don Giller bless you, Don!
Thank you for this post... SO MUCH! My T Shirt is wet from drying the tears, I haven't laughed like that in a long time, thank you!
Simply the best thing ever to be on TV
Seinfeld, monk,
All excellent.
This just a tiny notch above all of those
YES! Oh my goodness, what a funny funny bit - Thanks Don!
I always admired how clean Marv's pants were.
Now I know why.
Dave - (Going to commercial) "Marv, are these any good?"
Marv - (Mouthing) "No!"
I don't think that Letterman ever consistently laughed as hard and genuinely over the years as he did when Chris Elliott took the stage. I've been pouring over a ton of 80's-era Chris Elliott skits on Late Night lately (Guy Under the Stairs, The Fugitive Guy, Conspiracy Guy, Chris as Jay Leno and Marv Albert, etc.) and I noticed that Dave always seems to be genuinely laughing at Chris' performance - and you can tell the difference when Dave is laughing politely, it isn't nearly the same. Somehow, Chris Elliott had a direct line to David Letterman's funnybone. And mine too.
Yes and this was in the depths of Dave's "hate thyself and the show" days (ironically coinciding with when the show was funniest.) His response to Elliott, despite himself, is as genuine as it gets.
As a teenager I was a huge Letterman/Elliott fan and the short lived tv show "Get a life" was just hilarious! Elliott is not for everyone but for a certain crowd he's the best!
When he did the "Yes" it got me real bad
Yes! No! I didn't have time...
Elliot is so funny, sometimes I can't even laugh--I just sit there stunned. Like that face he is making at 16:11. Other times, like the Guy Under the Seats, he scares the shit out of me. It's a shame show biz can't really find a better place for his amazing talent.
Get a Life was a great show
The kid (of the three) on the far left while Marv was singing was really laughing at Marv's stuff!
Love Chris Elliot
At least he attempted Marv's voice the second appearance.
Absolutely LOL hilarious. Chris shined on Letterman with many great characters, but this was perhaps his best. Of course, knowing Marv Albert helps define it. But overall I miss this type of late night comedy compared to today.
Chris added so much to the show.
.
The rapport with Dave so evident, i.e. a boss that
appreciates and gets your style/slant. Miss those days.
Miss the show.
.
He really got lost in the characters he did. Amazing!
LOL... "YES!--terday...". Sheer genius.
Seen this clip probably 25 times and it still cracks me up, but my favorite Chris was his role as Sparkles Peterson, male model
I need to get tickets to that one man show. (Oh man, this kills.)
Comedy gold, I tell ya! Now I have to look for some of his Skink (aka Dog) the Bounty Hunter bits. Yes!
Late Night in its prime.
THESE PIPES, ARE CLEAN!!!
The older i get the more i miss david letterman on tv
Happy birthday Marv! 77 today.
Happy 78th today!!!
"It should be pointed out that Marv is celebrating his 49th birthday tonight for a record twelth consecutive year!" - Bob Costas closing remarks at Game 4 of the 2002 NBA Finals
Yes!
anything chris elliott does crac.ks me up
He’ll be at the Carlyle with Bobby Short.
perfect
Soooo great!
I made so much money during the tape trading days on these appearances (and original SCTV episodes)
i always loved chris elliot.
Chris Elliot was great in these because he both mocked and paid tribute at the same time. I've seen many of these now and they do not feel mean-spirited.
Comic gold!
3:33 "How'd you like the Super Bowl?"
"I didn't see it."
I had forgotten how hilarious Chris Elliot was.
11:56 That's not "Clark".... that's Tommy Herr, second baseman for the Cardinals. LOL
10/29/22
his pant flick is perfect...not overdone....barely noticed.....he's a great comedian...
11:52 - "The Close Play of The Month" - In a word, uncanny!