Harvey Pekar was a helluva character, and he was one of the few people who could really knock David Letterman off balance. I agree with other posters here: Letterman was the only host courageous enough to have somebody like Harvey Pekar on. No hosts today would try such a thing.
Dave wasn't off-balance, he just put up with him until he finally got fed up with his crank ass and threw him off. What a disrespectful piece of garbage that guy was. Good riddance.
It was a case of market positioning. The Letterman Show was new and it was competing against all the other talk shows. They created a marketing strategy of being the "edgy" show. Their research team found people like Pekar to establish their "edginess".
Harvey kept Dave on his toes....the film "American Splendor" is incredible...one of the best films of the past 20 years.....Paul Giamatti did a great job portraying Harvey....
I just saw like the fist 20 minutes of it and it started boring me and so I stopped. It's just an autobiography of some guy's miserable life as a file clerk. Harvey's appearances on David Letterman are far more entertaining.
@rsuriyop it is boring at first but it gets better, they did a great job of recreating the letterman scenes and what went on behond the scenes at the time.
Harvey just like starting to have a cordial conversation with Al Roker is amazing. Doesn’t give a fuck that he’s on TV, doesn’t give a fuck that he’s standing next to David Letterman. he just wants to talk to Al Roker because he used to work in Cleveland.
He was a rude, selfish (self-obsessed) egomaniac who thought everyone else than himself was trash. Not a likable character. Just an oddball that was too chicken to seek refuge for his depression in a bottle like a REAL man does. Or the needle. That would have made him smoother around the edges. Perhaps likeable. Nobody wants to be the old Pekar. He became smoother over the years, but 1970-1990's he was as previous mentioned. Still, he had a gift for exposing his defects. I think he for too long thought if he did not continue to be that despicable, nobody would longer like him. Sad.
@jmp01a24 everyone around Harvey was trash! Have you looked around? Nothing but lead poisoned Colonizers, barbarians and neo-nazis, what a shithole county 😂
@@jmp01a24 no REAL man cares about being likable, that's what girls want, that's why they go around smiling and being nice all the time while privately throwing up after meals and pilling all the time. maybe pekar would have been more likable if he'd had bulimia like a REAL mannn
He should've been a little more appreciative of the opportunity and exposure that Letterman gave him. Instead he was an angry, bitter and condescending asshole.
You are helping me relive my entire childhood of staying up waaay too late and barely making it through school.... but I was the only 8th grader in Lubbock, TX who knew who Harvey Pekar was! Thanks Don!
The repeats list: October 15, 1986: NBC reaired it June 16, 1988, during the writers strike January 6, 1987: NBC reaired it December 5, 1989; E! aired it June 2, 1995 November 17, 1987: NBC reaired it December 26, 1988 April 15, 1993: E! aired it March 10, 1995 All other shows were never repeated.
This is brilliant, the back and forth between these two is amazing. Dave really is a master at his craft, a master at speaking to anyone at all the extremes of life.
“[Pekar] was anti-establishment in a way that you don’t see guys like that anymore. And that used to really upset me, because I just thought ‘Come on Harvey, don’t do this to us, just play the game, blah blah blah blah.’ Now, jeez, I wish I could have had Harvey on every night.”
He was so against it, he appeared on the show at every opportunity. Never really had anything to say either. He acts above the audience and above the show, but that's all it is - an act.
@@Kadenite Letterman said the exact opposite: "[Pekar] was great. He was tremendous. He would just go after stuff. He would whine, he would go after me, he would go after the network, he would go after everything, in a very committed way. It wasn’t a gag, it wasn’t an act, he would really go to work on you.” (Howard Stern, 8/16/17)
I watched these shows live and read American Splendor as a teenager, my oldest brother used to take me to Coventry and hung out with musicians as my brother was a drummer during that era. Thanks for the video, I absolutely love it!😍
I met Harvey Picard in 1995 at the San Diego Comic-Con. This was his first appearance at Comic-Con. Harvey was being presented in Eisner award, it was his first time and last time ever appearing at the Comic-Con in San Diego. I had a table next to him in the artist alley. We got on just perfectly in fact he found me so interesting he wrote about me and published me in dark horse comics American splendor 1996. I'm on the cover and there are two stories about me. Harvey was a very interesting guy and not nearly as adversarial as he is with David Letterman. It was a real pleasure to be in his comic book. I told him too hard luck stories that he seemed to enjoy. It's unusual for Harvey to do two stories of the same person in one issue.
"You look like a lot of guys you see sleeping on buses." This line has stuck with me all these years. When I was in high school, I would set the family VHS to record these shows while I slept and then I would watch them after school the next day. Best show in the history of TV as far as I am concnered.
Harvey wasn’t wrong about Vancouver vs. Victoria! Victoria is a city on Vancouver Island… Vancouver is also a city on the mainland. He didn’t explain it all that well though…
This dude was funny as shit without trying. I don’t know how I stumbled onto this but now I’m going deep into the comics and movie. Good video bro, thanks
Love Harvey Pekar! Actually spoke with him once on the phone after doing a test & calling the phone-number illustrated on his phone in an issue of his comics. Joyce answered & I introduced myself (truthfully) as *_"THE_* Canadian painter who's interested in illustrating an issue of his comics." The "THE" was what bought me the credit cuz she got him on the phone. Harvey was briefly gruff then friendly. Joyce was her usual wonderful self. This was from a very early issue. Whichever one , I'm fairly sure it's the one that had him telling of his family's Jewish history then it shows this cast iron stove exploding & that frame's captioned: *_'Oy, gevalt! The STOVE!'_* There's a closeup cell of his hand reaching for the black plastic phone . The # was on that white circle on the dial. 😂 Gary Dumm mighta illustrated it. I wonder if I'm the only person who did a test-dial. Also wonder if Harvey wanted his number on there or if it was included as an inside joke by the artist.^^ 😄
Thanks ever so much for this compilation, Don! I didn't know about Harvey Pekar and after watching these great appearances on the Late Show, I got myself a copy of the film "American Splendor" with the great Paul Giamatti playing Mr. Pekar. What a superb movie that is. I laughed so hard watching it; it's just so funny and sometimes awkward, but at the same time warm, human and true. Wow, what an interesting story! Please watch the movie, if you haven't already - highly recommended!
@@siddokis2945 "Doc, you gotta help me. My old lady’s dumping me ‘cause I can’t talk. She says I’m a social embarrassment. Now that she’s got her PhD, she’s some hot shit academic star an’ I’m nuthin’ but a file clerk with nothin’ta say an’ no voice ta say it. But me bein’ a file clerk was fine when I wrote the damn check for her tuition--"
This is like a love story. How cats fight for sport. A rich man and a poor man both stuck in their own prisons. The 1993 appearance where they make up and David reveals he is a fan is emotional. Letterman recently told Stern that Pekar was his maybe his favourite ever guest.
I’ve know about Harvey Pekar for years but I wouldn’t have been able to point him out in a crowd. I’m so glad I clicked on this video. What a unique guest. No one like him today. I feel he’s being genuine. Maybe a bit of Aspergers dabbled in there lol great stuff.
Harvey was the most real person Dave could ever have dreamed of having on the show. Actors and the other 'elite' that usually appear on talk shows, have zero what it's like to relate to the average man. Most famous people live in "Lala Land". With a guy like Harvey you always got gold because he simply responded and performed honestly. He also projected the issues and every day jargen of the average man. God bless this amazing yet typical man.
@@Caligula138 Pekar is close to being an idiot savant...because we know he will be cantankerous, we cut him some slack...But the truth is, he clearly is a mental basket case, who happens to somehow hold a job, and express himself through his writings...Imagine what his wives, past and present, had to put up with! ,
Most guests "play the game" because they want to get on in their careers and not risk making enemies. Any kind of appearance on a show like this is another stepping stone to that. Harvey came to this as an older man, unimpressed with Dave and his jackass audience. As a guy in a job with a good pension, he's not worried about losing his place on the idiotbox; he feels no need to play along and flatter Dave and the crowd.
@@TheKitchenerLeslie I got three of them and I'm exactly the same as I was three years ago. So is literally every single person I know. Maybe you just got shitty vaccines over where you live?
Letterman had the last great talk show, always taking risks, going outside the studio with pranks, smashing things off the roof, weird guests and reoccurring characters. I don’t even watch today’s talk shows, more like game shows than cutting edge. Man I miss Letterman
Harvey was correct: Vancouver is both an island and a city. The city is not on the island, but in mainland Canada while Victoria (The capitol of BC) is on Vancouver Island
I don’t remember these interviews! These are so good! Best way to start my Saturday morning with almost spitting my coffee so many times! Thank you, truly!
That "Hard to Handle" song, man the real band that plays it outta take some notes from paul.Man his band layed down some grooves on that song.There definitely should have a remix of that song with that style of grooves in it.😁👍
I don't know how i missed Harveys appearances on Daves show so these are all brand new to me and i can honestly say i laughed more with these clips than any other show Dave had.
I know what your say & it's pissing me off. I could swear i just graduated high school a few years ago, so how the hell am i 57 years old. I HAVEN'T DONE ANY OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO DO. I was happy minding my own business. Took me a nice long walk, stopped to visit my cousin and his family. Me and my cousin started talking about the rock band "AC DC". One of my cousins kids asked their big sister what's "AC DC" ,,,,,AND SHE SAID "OLD PEOPLE'S MUSIC "! It hit me right then, i had no idea i was that old. From that day,, it's seems like time is shorter, faster . A year feels like what a month did
These are astounding interviews. Harvey is so down to earth and beyond any form of interview cliche. It takes great strength to go on a show like this and interact as he does.
I don't think there is much of a line. The only time,that i can tell,that he isn't being 100% himself is when he makes the occasional joke that goes over 99% of the audiences head. His double take on "you know irene" is comedic gold.
Man, Harvey and Dave had some genuine heat. Dave had plenty of uncomfortable guest moments around '87-'89 (Harvey, Shirley MacLaine, Cher, Crispin Glover, etc).
Harvey's appearances were sort of life-changing for me, but March 24, 1987 had particular impact. Thanks for making it possible for me to see it again after thirty years!
Harvey was accusing Letterman of being a corporate apologist because GE (General Electric) owned NBC, and GE was also producing nuclear weapon-making materials.
I would have loved to see him on Conan. I think they would have appreciated him on there. This is terrific. Especially love him poking fun at the audience when they get uptight.
This was what made Dave special to those of us who loved this show in the 80's. I can't think of any other TV host, in any era, who would even try to engage in a genuine way with a genuine person like Harvey once, let alone bring him back again and again. Yes, Harvey was a fan favorite, but it was also like wrestling a gorilla for Dave, and we felt like he did it for our benefit.
Johnny had his own charm, but he was much more at home with the big Hollywood types (Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Angie Dickinson). Someone like Harvey wouldn't have gotten booked on Carson. Ever. A lady with a yodeling dog, maybe, because that was considered safe for Johnny's audience. That's my point. Many Letterman interviews were high-wire acts.
Don, I found your channel cause of my love for brother Theodore. But you have introduced me to Harvey... this is gold! Thanks so much for all the excellent content
I didn't miss an episode of Dave during his time on NBC and rarely missed one when he went to CBS. The early NBC days were the absolute best. I can't believe it's been 38 years since this guy's first appearance.
A bit embarrassing, but to demonstrate how good this show was, and how obsessed I was with Letterman in 1986, I was once doing my own ‘late nite’ show at 12:30 am and panicked when I realized that I had forgotten to put a VHS tape into the machine. I had never missed a show in 4 years! Without breaking stride, I grabbed a tape and started recording. My date didn’t even notice. Those were the days.
"But I suppose you could walk into the most sophisticated restaurants in town...and deliver meat." HAHAHAHA!!!!! I needed that laugh. Thank you, Don Giller!
I learned of Harvey when I saw his grave at Lake View Cemetery and people all left pens sticking up from the ground. Googled him...found this...instant love!
Oh, wow! That's so appropriate - I hope my writing has people doing the same to my grave. Visited Hendrix grave and there were a bunch of guitar pics - pens are pretty cool too!
Thanks for putting this up. I’ve been a fan of Pekar and American Splendor for many years. Part of me almost feels bad for Letterman in these clips but it’s so nice to see Pekar fuck with him a little.
Judging by the "just spoke of" and "I'm here too" coupled with the power of the "2 months ago" indicator, it looks like the year of the interview was approximately August 2017. I'm a genius, I know.
The first ten issues or so of American Splendor are brilliant--some of the best comics ever made. Raw, honest, funky, with powerful meditations on loneliness. After he married his 3rd wife, I think he was less free to be as open about his life. Or maybe he was just happier?
I really wish Letterman would've had Harvey on the show again in 2003 when the American Splendor movie came out. That would've been a really nice final touch on this Letterman saga.
@@JustinProper I read all about this infamous series of interviews on Wikipedia. I have never seen American Splendor, though I would like to some day. I only just found out who Harvey Pekar was a couple of days ago. I never knew that David Letter man dealt with such irascible guests. Actually there were quite a few of them. Crispin Glover, Oliver Reed, Andy Kaufman, Jerry Lawler. Talk shows are so blatantly anodyne these days. Letterman was an instigator back in the day. He loved to get his guests riled up and then ban them. I always wondered if it was just for show or if it was indeed real.
This guy is pure honest gold in its rawest natural human form...God's intended purpose in life for Harvey was to prepare him to be exactly who he is and be put in that seat at that point in Lettermans career... the rest is some of the most unique genuine recorded television entertainment history...
Never heard of this guy till yesterday when I stumbled over a clip of his (last?) appearance on Letterman which quickly turned in strange direction. Watching this collection changed my initial thoughts on him. He's a really great guy! Impressive how quickly he was able to react on anything Letterman threw at him.
Crazy. Harvey used to call a store I used to work at all the time. We used to use fake names on the phone so we wouldn't get stuck talking to him. No disrespect-I was young and didn't know much about him except that he was a character. And a talker :-).
You've done a real service putting this together.
thanks
No problem @@Yobbie72
Thanks. A nice reminder that Letterman was just some douschebag as opposed to being a modern American Saint as he is portrayed these days.
Harvey Pekar was a helluva character, and he was one of the few people who could really knock David Letterman off balance. I agree with other posters here: Letterman was the only host courageous enough to have somebody like Harvey Pekar on. No hosts today would try such a thing.
Conan, because Conan loves being obtuse and strange for ratings.
Dave wasn't off-balance, he just put up with him until he finally got fed up with his crank ass and threw him off. What a disrespectful piece of garbage that guy was. Good riddance.
Truth. I miss Dave for that. There will never be another.
He was one of the few people that was more miserable than Letterman, so I think Dave used him to build himself up.
It was a case of market positioning. The Letterman Show was new and it was competing against all the other talk shows. They created a marketing strategy of being the "edgy" show. Their research team found people like Pekar to establish their "edginess".
Harvey kept Dave on his toes....the film "American Splendor" is incredible...one of the best films of the past 20 years.....Paul Giamatti did a great job portraying Harvey....
I saw that before I really knew who H.P. was and couldn't agree more.
Paul Giamatti. Damn good actor. One of the best. RIP HP
no
I just saw like the fist 20 minutes of it and it started boring me and so I stopped. It's just an autobiography of some guy's miserable life as a file clerk. Harvey's appearances on David Letterman are far more entertaining.
@rsuriyop it is boring at first but it gets better, they did a great job of recreating the letterman scenes and what went on behond the scenes at the time.
Harvey just like starting to have a cordial conversation with Al Roker is amazing.
Doesn’t give a fuck that he’s on TV, doesn’t give a fuck that he’s standing next to David Letterman.
he just wants to talk to Al Roker because he used to work in Cleveland.
"I don't even know you, man."
Very possibly one of the best responses on any talk show ever--instant connection created with us.
He was a rude, selfish (self-obsessed) egomaniac who thought everyone else than himself was trash. Not a likable character. Just an oddball that was too chicken to seek refuge for his depression in a bottle like a REAL man does. Or the needle. That would have made him smoother around the edges. Perhaps likeable. Nobody wants to be the old Pekar. He became smoother over the years, but 1970-1990's he was as previous mentioned. Still, he had a gift for exposing his defects. I think he for too long thought if he did not continue to be that despicable, nobody would longer like him. Sad.
@@jmp01a24Nerd
@jmp01a24 everyone around Harvey was trash! Have you looked around? Nothing but lead poisoned Colonizers, barbarians and neo-nazis, what a shithole county 😂
@@jmp01a24you’re a jackass
@@jmp01a24 no REAL man cares about being likable, that's what girls want, that's why they go around smiling and being nice all the time while privately throwing up after meals and pilling all the time. maybe pekar would have been more likable if he'd had bulimia like a REAL mannn
I love Harvey.
He was totally unimpressed with Letterman’s fame and showbiz.
He was a very real guy.
He should've been a little more appreciative of the opportunity and exposure that Letterman gave him. Instead he was an angry, bitter and condescending asshole.
You mispelled bitter but entertaining mental case prick.
Harvey is a slightly less Mr. WARMTH Don Rickles ... Love them both!!!
Genuine. Reality.
letterman never ever attempted to impress anyone with his "fame and showbiz''
You are helping me relive my entire childhood of staying up waaay too late and barely making it through school.... but I was the only 8th grader in Lubbock, TX who knew who Harvey Pekar was! Thanks Don!
My work here is done, then. :)
Wow! YOU GOT HARVEY'S ANTI-GE Rant!!!! I don't think they ever re-ran that episode did they? Great job!
The repeats list:
October 15, 1986: NBC reaired it June 16, 1988, during the writers strike
January 6, 1987: NBC reaired it December 5, 1989; E! aired it June 2, 1995
November 17, 1987: NBC reaired it December 26, 1988
April 15, 1993: E! aired it March 10, 1995
All other shows were never repeated.
Awesome.
@@dongiller who replays letterman old shows nowadays?
This 90-minute video is the best movie I've seen in years.
i was thinking the same thing
"My Dinner with Harvey"
l'm 49 years old and how in the hell l missed this guy is beyond me!! He's my new favorite guest!!!
I'm 53, but I wasn't really aware of him until the Paul Giamatti movie came out.
I saw all these shows as they aired, at least you have the luxury of watching the compilation. I find myself remembering these and carson interviews.
He is a simp compared to Hunter S. Thompson. The best guest to appear on old Letterman. RIP you fantastic, amazing, crazy rebel.
@@richiegarcia4 I didn't watch it because the movie was crap. Giamatti is highly overrated and a one trick pony.
Dude, I'm 63 -- and from Cleveland -- and I don't think I ever heard of him until this!
To see this all play out over the years is wonderful. Thanks for editing these together.
you're very welcome
@@Yobbie72you're the editor?
Harvey got his wish and got his "nice movie". It's Better than nice, it's brilliant.
Just finish watching the movie and came right here! What a great movie man!
@@inaciotrinita It's amazing. I'm glad he was alive to see it made.
Brilliant might be pushing it.
@@AhPhoey Not at all. It's one of the most original biopics ever made. I 100% think it's a brilliant movie.
Yup. Like him.
11:48 "They told me to come out here and do anything I wanted. I don't care, man." Pure Pekar.
This is brilliant, the back and forth between these two is amazing. Dave really is a master at his craft, a master at speaking to anyone at all the extremes of life.
“[Pekar] was anti-establishment in a way that you don’t see guys like that anymore. And that used to really upset me, because I just thought ‘Come on Harvey, don’t do this to us, just play the game, blah blah blah blah.’ Now, jeez, I wish I could have had Harvey on every night.”
He was so against it, he appeared on the show at every opportunity. Never really had anything to say either.
He acts above the audience and above the show, but that's all it is - an act.
@@Kadenite Letterman said the exact opposite: "[Pekar] was great. He was tremendous. He would just go after stuff. He would whine, he would go after me, he would go after the network, he would go after everything, in a very committed way. It wasn’t a gag, it wasn’t an act, he would really go to work on you.” (Howard Stern, 8/16/17)
This series of interviews totally shatter the thinly veiled reality that is late night glamour.
Am I the only one who wanted Dave to stop talking so I could hear the conversation between Harvey and Al Roker?
Not really , it's perfect
Harvey likes them weather. Al Roker, Dave Letterman...
I watched these shows live and read American Splendor as a teenager, my oldest brother used to take me to Coventry and hung out with musicians as my brother was a drummer during that era. Thanks for the video, I absolutely love it!😍
I met Harvey Picard in 1995 at the San Diego Comic-Con. This was his first appearance at Comic-Con. Harvey was being presented in Eisner award, it was his first time and last time ever appearing at the Comic-Con in San Diego. I had a table next to him in the artist alley. We got on just perfectly in fact he found me so interesting he wrote about me and published me in dark horse comics American splendor 1996. I'm on the cover and there are two stories about me. Harvey was a very interesting guy and not nearly as adversarial as he is with David Letterman. It was a real pleasure to be in his comic book. I told him too hard luck stories that he seemed to enjoy. It's unusual for Harvey to do two stories of the same person in one issue.
"You look like a lot of guys you see sleeping on buses." This line has stuck with me all these years. When I was in high school, I would set the family VHS to record these shows while I slept and then I would watch them after school the next day. Best show in the history of TV as far as I am concnered.
I did the same thing in HS!
Harvey wasn’t wrong about Vancouver vs. Victoria! Victoria is a city on Vancouver Island… Vancouver is also a city on the mainland. He didn’t explain it all that well though…
This dude was funny as shit without trying. I don’t know how I stumbled onto this but now I’m going deep into the comics and movie. Good video bro, thanks
Love Harvey Pekar! Actually spoke with him once on the phone after doing a test & calling the phone-number illustrated on his phone in an issue of his comics. Joyce answered & I introduced myself (truthfully) as *_"THE_* Canadian painter who's interested in illustrating an issue of his comics." The "THE" was what bought me the credit cuz she got him on the phone. Harvey was briefly gruff then friendly. Joyce was her usual wonderful self. This was from a very early issue. Whichever one , I'm fairly sure it's the one that had him telling of his family's Jewish history then it shows this cast iron stove exploding & that frame's captioned: *_'Oy, gevalt! The STOVE!'_*
There's a closeup cell of his hand reaching for the black plastic phone . The # was on that white circle on the dial. 😂
Gary Dumm mighta illustrated it. I wonder if I'm the only person who did a test-dial. Also wonder if Harvey wanted his number on there or if it was included as an inside joke by the artist.^^ 😄
now that's the neatest thing i have heard in years, very cool story. That's a rare one
@@juliuspekar7620 That is an amazing story, thanks for sharing, made me laugh real loud & I scared the cat !
I knew Harvey at work and I heard he was on Dave Letterman but never saw the videos until now. Thanks for Posting.
Was he as ornery in real life?
Come back and tell us about Harvey
Thanks ever so much for this compilation, Don! I didn't know about Harvey Pekar and after watching these great appearances on the Late Show, I got myself a copy of the film "American Splendor" with the great Paul Giamatti playing Mr. Pekar. What a superb movie that is. I laughed so hard watching it; it's just so funny and sometimes awkward, but at the same time warm, human and true. Wow, what an interesting story! Please watch the movie, if you haven't already - highly recommended!
I saw the movie but forget what changed his voice. Do you know?
@@siddokis2945 "Doc, you gotta help me. My old lady’s dumping me ‘cause I can’t talk. She says I’m a social embarrassment. Now that she’s got her PhD, she’s some hot shit academic star an’ I’m nuthin’ but a file clerk with nothin’ta say an’ no voice ta say it. But me bein’ a file clerk was fine when I wrote the damn check for her tuition--"
Never heard of this guy till now. Found the movie at the local library and when it comes in I'm going to watch it !
This is like a love story. How cats fight for sport. A rich man and a poor man both stuck in their own prisons. The 1993 appearance where they make up and David reveals he is a fan is emotional. Letterman recently told Stern that Pekar was his maybe his favourite ever guest.
I’ve know about Harvey Pekar for years but I wouldn’t have been able to point him out in a crowd. I’m so glad I clicked on this video. What a unique guest. No one like him today. I feel he’s being genuine. Maybe a bit of Aspergers dabbled in there lol great stuff.
I don’t think he had Aspergers, he was just an asshole.
Harvey was the most real person Dave could ever have dreamed of having on the show. Actors and the other 'elite' that usually appear on talk shows, have zero what it's like to relate to the average man. Most famous people live in "Lala Land". With a guy like Harvey you always got gold because he simply responded and performed honestly. He also projected the issues and every day jargen of the average man. God bless this amazing yet typical man.
good start bad finish
Typical is not a word I would associate with Pekar
@@Caligula138 Pekar is close to being an idiot savant...because we know he will be cantankerous, we cut him some slack...But the truth is, he clearly is a mental basket case, who happens to somehow hold a job, and express himself through his writings...Imagine what his wives, past and present, had to put up with!
,
The man's a rude boor.
Most guests "play the game" because they want to get on in their careers and not risk making enemies. Any kind of appearance on a show like this is another stepping stone to that. Harvey came to this as an older man, unimpressed with Dave and his jackass audience. As a guy in a job with a good pension, he's not worried about losing his place on the idiotbox; he feels no need to play along and flatter Dave and the crowd.
This compilation has calmed me down far better than my shrink could during this pandemic. Thank you very much
you're very welcome
@TheKitchenerLeslie
Gullible much? Ever met a conspiracy theory you didn't like?
@@terri6854 You know who else was a conspiracy theorist? George Carlin.
@@TheKitchenerLeslie I got three of them and I'm exactly the same as I was three years ago. So is literally every single person I know. Maybe you just got shitty vaccines over where you live?
I'd never heard of this guy until a few days ago, and now I can't get enough of him with Dave. What an interesting tool.
Dave sure is a tool. This Pekar fella was a grumpy man, but decent
Did you hear about him on the Strike Force Five podcast? That’s what brought me.
I have not. I'll check it out.@@felicitousfeline9956
Harvey is definitely on the autistic spectrum.
Same here. 67 years old and just heard of him. Watched American Splendor. Amazing move, amazing person.
Letterman had the last great talk show, always taking risks, going outside the studio with pranks, smashing things off the roof, weird guests and reoccurring characters. I don’t even watch today’s talk shows, more like game shows than cutting edge. Man I miss Letterman
Same here. Late night is safe, boring and uptight these days. Always knew there would be no replacing Letterman. He was punk rock!
Exactly. People don't get Letterman and call him creepy, rude, etc. That was his style and he was great at it.
@@ftuT I think their chemistry is perfect. Wouldn't change it any way ^_^ Love both
@@TheDreamBureau3 not entirely true. Listen to his interview on Howard Stern's .
Stern did it better back in the day
Harvey was correct: Vancouver is both an island and a city. The city is not on the island, but in mainland Canada while Victoria (The capitol of BC) is on Vancouver Island
It's confusing for people not from here.
He's always right. Buy his books. And watch the movie "American Splendor"
I don’t remember these interviews! These are so good! Best way to start my Saturday morning with almost spitting my coffee so many times! Thank you, truly!
Say what you want, this guy is the most brutally honest guest I've ever seen on a talk show!
Nah, man. He’s just onion skinned and has a massive defensive, inferiority complex.
I legitimately cannot determine if Harvey is playing a part as performance art or if it is really his genuine personality. Either way, gold.
The irony of Harvey being called the blue collar Mark Twain, and years later Letterman wins the Mark Twain Award.
Harvy was the shit.....he knew his jazz like nobody else....made great comics and took no shit whatsoever from Dave!
He was a greatly respected writer of Jazz my
Oh my god, the brilliance of Paul Shaeffer and the Late Night Band-- playing "Please don't let me be misunderstood" when they go to commercial.
Shaffer; Paul Shaffer. :)
Paul was always great at that. He could dig up some obscure ones too
I heard "Hard to Handle" after another segment, too!
That "Hard to Handle" song, man the real band that plays it outta take some notes from paul.Man his band layed down some grooves on that song.There definitely should have a remix of that song with that style of grooves in it.😁👍
One of the best compilations on UA-cam.
I don't know how i missed Harveys appearances on Daves show so these are all brand new to me and i can honestly say i laughed more with these clips than any other show Dave had.
These are great! The Dave I grew up with too, my favorite Dave. Thanks for doing all this, good job.
"its your world, im just living in it."
im on harveys side
87. Take me back lord.. take me back. How did I get so goddam old?
I know what your say & it's pissing me off. I could swear i just graduated high school a few years ago, so how the hell am i 57 years old. I HAVEN'T DONE ANY OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO DO. I was happy minding my own business. Took me a nice long walk, stopped to visit my cousin and his family. Me and my cousin started talking about the rock band "AC DC". One of my cousins kids asked their big sister what's "AC DC" ,,,,,AND SHE SAID "OLD PEOPLE'S MUSIC "! It hit me right then, i had no idea i was that old. From that day,, it's seems like time is shorter, faster . A year feels like what a month did
@@juliuspekar7620you speak the absolute truth. I’m 55 and can’t figure out where it’s all gone. Blink of an eye.
not only the best guest letterman ever had, hands down but probably who was just as quick if not quicker than letterman. rip harvey.
"You're talking like an idiot, man!" was the last line-- so wonderful.
Thank you Dave❤️ and FFS a huge THANK YOU HARVEY! What a golden moment, I’m sure the audience has warmed to Harvey by now.
Don`t forget to thank Don Giller!!
RIP Harvey..."you look like a lot of guys you see sleepin' on buses..." lol
Some of the greatest Dave moments ever were with Harvey. thks for posting.
Was a good one! I also enjoyed “you could walk into any of the finest restaurants in New York and…… deliver meats” 😂
Awesome job, Don G! Thanks for posting. I remember watching the first Pekar appearance live; it was pure gold!
These guys had an unmatched chemistry. Harvey was so good at nailing this character.
That _was_ his character.
@@dongiller right, yes.
These are astounding interviews. Harvey is so down to earth and beyond any form of interview cliche. It takes great strength to go on a show like this and interact as he does.
I have a hard time drawing the line between Harvey's "character" and himself....makes me love him even more.
I don't think there is much of a line. The only time,that i can tell,that he isn't being 100% himself is when he makes the occasional joke that goes over 99% of the audiences head.
His double take on "you know irene" is comedic gold.
This Compilation is the BEST!!!!! of David Letterman I've EVER SEEN!! I EAGERLY LOOK FORWARD TO BUYING ALL THE COMICS HE'S WRITTEN!!!!!.
Man, Harvey and Dave had some genuine heat. Dave had plenty of uncomfortable guest moments around '87-'89 (Harvey, Shirley MacLaine, Cher, Crispin Glover, etc).
Looks like a couple dudes busting each other's balls. Doesn't seem really contentious, just playful ribbing
Brother Theodore was the best
Don't forget Oliver Reed.
Harvey's appearances were sort of life-changing for me, but March 24, 1987 had particular impact. Thanks for making it possible for me to see it again after thirty years!
HellsDonutHouse what he was talking about? I did not get it. when he says to letterman about GE !!
Harvey was accusing Letterman of being a corporate apologist because GE (General Electric) owned NBC, and GE was also producing nuclear weapon-making materials.
I would have loved to see him on Conan. I think they would have appreciated him on there. This is terrific. Especially love him poking fun at the audience when they get uptight.
Holy cow. God bless Dave for having Harvey Pekar on the show.
This was what made Dave special to those of us who loved this show in the 80's. I can't think of any other TV host, in any era, who would even try to engage in a genuine way with a genuine person like Harvey once, let alone bring him back again and again. Yes, Harvey was a fan favorite, but it was also like wrestling a gorilla for Dave, and we felt like he did it for our benefit.
Johnny had his own charm, but he was much more at home with the big Hollywood types (Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Angie Dickinson). Someone like Harvey wouldn't have gotten booked on Carson. Ever. A lady with a yodeling dog, maybe, because that was considered safe for Johnny's audience. That's my point. Many Letterman interviews were high-wire acts.
@F. Friedrich Kling Hauss Maybe going for the trend in younger audiences.
Thanks so much for this! I just watched American Splendor and now I can see exactly how things went down.
Plain & simple, Harvey was a piece of work. Dave was remarkable 👏
Don, I found your channel cause of my love for brother Theodore. But you have introduced me to Harvey... this is gold! Thanks so much for all the excellent content
I would have loved to have seen Harvey, Andy Kaufman, Crispin Glover, and Brother Theodore all on the show together, lol.
Don't forget Harmony Korine
nightowl685 that would have been OUTSTANDING!
After Glover threw that kick at Letterman he was never invited back.
@David Gibson Everyone I met there talked in only non-sequitirs.
@@kevdean9967 Not true. He was on at least once more.
The dynamic between these two was unmatched on TV.
Harvey was great because he understood Dave and his silliness and he went along with it
Wow, to think I've known vaguely of Harvey for 30 years... man alive, he is incredible
I didn't miss an episode of Dave during his time on NBC and rarely missed one when he went to CBS. The early NBC days were the absolute best. I can't believe it's been 38 years since this guy's first appearance.
Robert Crumb is an incredible artist.
Yes he is.
You're god damn right he is.
@@mrradio2187 YOU'RE Goddamed right he is
🕯.
He most certainly was. 🌌🌠
*YES HE IS*
I miss these times, the world needs Harvey back!
I would love to see Pekar destroy Fallon 😂
Pee Wee Herman would destroy fallon.
@@zefallafez True, but Harvey would make more damage 😂😂😂
Me too. Cause he's dead
Too easy, Fallon is a target with legs.
Nah Kimmel and Colbert. Hate those two
Thank you so much for putting this together!
I feel like the world would be drastically different today if Harvey had taken that job as host of a talk show.
This 👏
This guys hilarious, the man is so legit. How have I never seen him before. Cheers for posting this.
A bit embarrassing, but to demonstrate how good this show was, and how obsessed I was with Letterman in 1986, I was once doing my own ‘late nite’ show at 12:30 am and panicked when I realized that I had forgotten to put a VHS tape into the machine. I had never missed a show in 4 years! Without breaking stride, I grabbed a tape and started recording. My date didn’t even notice. Those were the days.
"But I suppose you could walk into the most sophisticated restaurants in town...and deliver meat." HAHAHAHA!!!!! I needed that laugh. Thank you, Don Giller!
I've never seen a guest walk on in the middle of his introduction, *before* his name was even mentioned lmfao
Harvey couldn't care less.
I just lost it when they starting zooming in on Dr. Ruth hahahaha!!!!
thanks for the upload, much appreciated
I learned of Harvey when I saw his grave at Lake View Cemetery and people all left pens sticking up from the ground. Googled him...found this...instant love!
Oh, wow! That's so appropriate - I hope my writing has people doing the same to my grave.
Visited Hendrix grave and there were a bunch of guitar pics - pens are pretty cool too!
Thanks for putting this up. I’ve been a fan of Pekar and American Splendor for many years. Part of me almost feels bad for Letterman in these clips but it’s so nice to see Pekar fuck with him a little.
Dave was being respectful in the first interview with Harvey, but then it went off the wheels later
He basically gave back what he got which is what a good host does.
When Harvey said he had contempt for the audience and so does Dave he wasnt joking.
Perfect, Dave just spoke of Harvey fondly on Stern radio show interview.
Not a coincidence. :)
iansg75 haha same reason I'm here too
Can you tell me the year of the interview?
Judging by the "just spoke of" and "I'm here too" coupled with the power of the "2 months ago" indicator, it looks like the year of the interview was approximately August 2017. I'm a genius, I know.
Awesome! thanks. I love old Dave even more than young Dave.
The first ten issues or so of American Splendor are brilliant--some of the best comics ever made. Raw, honest, funky, with powerful meditations on loneliness. After he married his 3rd wife, I think he was less free to be as open about his life. Or maybe he was just happier?
I really wish Letterman would've had Harvey on the show again in 2003 when the American Splendor movie came out. That would've been a really nice final touch on this Letterman saga.
The fact this didn't happen makes me think either David or Harvey didn't want it.
Apparently Dave refused to participate in the movie and NBC wouldn't allow most of this footage to be used in the movie either.
@@bratton79 They did use that first appearance though, so hearing that is a bit strange.
@@dippy9119 That's what I'm starting to think, but I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't though.
@@JustinProper I read all about this infamous series of interviews on Wikipedia. I have never seen American Splendor, though I would like to some day. I only just found out who Harvey Pekar was a couple of days ago. I never knew that David Letter man dealt with such irascible guests. Actually there were quite a few of them. Crispin Glover, Oliver Reed, Andy Kaufman, Jerry Lawler. Talk shows are so blatantly anodyne these days. Letterman was an instigator back in the day. He loved to get his guests riled up and then ban them. I always wondered if it was just for show or if it was indeed real.
This guy is pure gold!
This is great! Thanks for posting. The world sure could use Harvey now.
This guy is pure honest gold in its rawest natural human form...God's intended purpose in life for Harvey was to prepare him to be exactly who he is and be put in that seat at that point in Lettermans career... the rest is some of the most unique genuine recorded television entertainment history...
I love that he has a severe impossible to ignore distaste for Letterman while simultaneously having respect for him.
It’s refreshing to see someone who doesn’t give a shit what people think about him…
20:52 "jerry seinfeld, funny young man is here"
who?
I love how the audience isn't too noisy, I can actually enjoy watching older shows.
this guy is a freaking LEGEND
Quick witted and fiercely antagonistic. Absolutely brilliant.
If 1% of people understood Harvey Pekar, this world would be a better place.
Never heard of this guy till yesterday when I stumbled over a clip of his (last?) appearance on Letterman which quickly turned in strange direction.
Watching this collection changed my initial thoughts on him. He's a really great guy! Impressive how quickly he was able to react on anything Letterman threw at him.
Crazy. Harvey used to call a store I used to work at all the time. We used to use fake names on the phone so we wouldn't get stuck talking to him. No disrespect-I was young and didn't know much about him except that he was a character. And a talker :-).
nate g Are you from the 216?
That's hillarious
Fascinating collection of videos. Nice editing by including all of Dave's flustered reactions as well as the set up to the donut joke.
Is it odd that these interviews are the most entertaining thing I've watched in years???
Such a legend, so honest and alive to the hardships of life and everyday people... Harvey Pekar was a legend. I love Dave too.
totally missed this guy back in the day, thx for posting
I went ahead and watched the movie thanks to these interviews.
I first became aware of Harvey by reading his jazz record reviews in Down Beat magazine. Been a fan ever since.
I got to give Harvey credit for giving it back to Dave towards the end when you can clearly see Dave has been mocking him since day 1.
What a gem this video is, thank you 🙏
harvey, the one and only. such a cantankerous but honest character. he seemed to delight in making dave irritated and even angry. way to go harvey!