Upon receiving Kennedy Center Honors, a rare interview with David Letterman

Finding a sincere, sit-down interview with David Letterman is about as rare as finding one with the late Johnny Carson.

Which, if you follow Letterman’s career as closely as he has followed Carson’s, makes perfect sense. Almost. But this year, the Kennedy Center Honors have honored David Letterman — the ceremony airs Wednesday night on CBS — so the late-night TV host with the most seniority in America’s living rooms and bedrooms sat down the other day with Charlie Rose.

In this interview, Letterman opens up about his own struggles with depression and anxiety, and expresses regrets for not becoming a father when he was younger, saying he didn’t think he could juggle his career with family life. “When your focus is that tight,” he explained, “You miss a lot of what’s going on around you…I just thought…’I can’t do both’…I was wrong about that.”

Roll the clip.

UPDATED!

Video from The Kennedy Center Honors tribute of David Letterman.

The end of Tina Fey’s brilliant opening monologue, into Letterman’s clip reel.

Alec Baldwin and Jimmy Kimmel poke fun at Dave by loving him publicly.

Ray Romano joins in the fun, and thanks Dave for giving Ray his big break. Ray also makes some great jokes at the expense of President Barack Obama (in the audience), and is joined onstage for the finale by Baldwin, Kimmel and Fey.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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