Letterman started his late night talk show career at NBC on the 1st February 1982 hosting Late Night With David Letterman which aired after The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

He then left NBC when he didn’t get The Tonight Show hosting job (which of course as we all know went to Jay Leno).

His CBS talk show the Late Show With David Letterman was brought on air on the 30th August 1993 and has run alongside NBC rival show The Tonight Show With Jay Leno ever since (apart from the short stint where Conan O’Brien took over The Tonight Show from Jay).

NY Daily News reports “statisticians at CBS say that by Wednesday, Letterman will have hosted 5,443 shows and welcomed 17,904 guests in three decades”.

To mark the special event friend of the show (and radio broadcaster) Howard Stern will be a guest on the Late Show tomorrow night. This will mark Howard’s 41st appearance on a Letterman show (his 21st appearance on CBS’s Late Show).

Another friend of the show Bill Murray will stop by on tonight’s show (31st January).

NY Daily News – “Howard Stern joins David Letterman as he marks 30th year in late-night TV land”

One of the standout moments from Letterman’s appearance was Regis’s very own Top Ten list for Dave – “Top 10 Reasons Why Regis Loves Letterman” – with some great archive material:

Dave gave a nice little speech about Regis on the show too, saying he was the next Johnny Carson (including a funny dig at Jay Leno), followed by an amusing end with Dave kissing Regis on the lips:

You can watch Dave’s appearance in full below:

He’ll appear on the Late Show With David Letterman on the 17th November, and Dave will return the favour and appear on Live With Regis And Kelly on the 16th November.

Live With Regis And Kelly is usually the only other programme you see Dave on other than his own, so it’s a rare treat!

The Rolling Stone feature is in issue 1140 of the magazine dated the 29th September 2011, and is called “David Letterman: Year One How a failed morning-show host and a band of misfits and rejects changed TV forever”.

David Browne of the Parade website looks back at his own Top 10 list of memorable moments from the show’s early days – click here.

Jon Stewart is also featured in the magazine – and on its front cover.

You can read the Jon Stewart feature on the Rolling Stone website – click here.

Pick up your copy of Rolling Stone magazine now.

David Letterman was threatened by radical Islamists for a joke he made on the Late Show. The Washington Times reports “David Letterman had a fatwa issued against him by jihadists for having the nerve to make a joke about a jihadist. The edict required that as a Jew, his tongue should be cut out for speaking blasphemy. Mr. Letterman is not Jewish, but Radical Islamists never let facts interfere with fatwas”.

Letterman has beefed up security at the Ed Sullivan Theatre where the Late Show is taped in New York City but has since joked about the threat saying “everybody knows it’s Leno” and did a special segment showing everyone who “hates” Dave. He also said “a radical extremist threatened to cut my tongue out… I wish I had a nickel for every time a guy has threatened… I think the first time was during the Academy Awards”.

Craig Ferguson also had a scare himself this week when an envelope of white powder arrived in the mail at the Late Late Show from overseas. The Los Angeles Times reports “the powder was purported to be anthrax but later proved to be harmless”.

Ferguson joked about his threat saying “In the old days if someone sent me white powder I’d have said ‘Yeah’… I’d have snorted it, ended up at a party at Elton John’s house or rehab or both… but nowadays white powder in the mail is bad… this is the most attention this show has gotten since… this is the most attention this show has gotten”.

The Washington Times – “Radical Islamists target Zionist Infidel David Letterman”
Starpulse.com – “David Letterman Blames Jay Leno For Terrorist Threats”
Los Angeles Times – “Late Night: Craig Ferguson calls anthrax scare frightening”

BBC News reports Letterman “was presented with the Johnny Carson award for comedic excellence at the event in New York”. The award is the highest honour at the ceremony. Letterman was greeted with a standing ovation when he came up to collect the award. He stood in front of the original curtain from Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show to be presented with the honour.

Other awards went to Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) for Best Comedy Actress In Television, former Saturday Night Live regular Tina Fey won for Best Comedy Actress In Film (Date Night) and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart won for Best Late-Night Comedy Series.

BBC News – “David Letterman gets US comedy honour”
SFGate – “Comedy Awards hail Letterman, Fey and ‘South Park’”
Digital Spy – “Letterman honoured at ‘Comedy Awards’”
UPI – “Big names feted at Comedy Awards in NYC”

It’s widely reported that Letterman’s contract to host the Late Show runs through to August 2012, but may be extended.

TV.com – “Is David Letterman Ready to be Done with the Late Show?”

He’ll appear at Ball State University as part of “the David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series” with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

Letterman previously gave a speech at the university in 2007 when they opened a new Communications building named after him.

The Ball State Daily News – “Letterman Speaking Here Next Month”

Contact Music – “David Letterman – David Letterman To Make Debut On ‘The View’”