For years late night talk shows set the standard for television excellence. Millions of Americans tuned in before their bedtime every night just to see what their favorite host had to say that evening. It was a format that was no conducive to re-runs, meaning viewers every night turned on their television hoping they’d see something special. There have been a lot of magical moments in late night, but few compare to what happened on The Late Show with David Letterman October 30th 2002. On that night Warren Zevon, a immensely talented but underappreciated musician, publically addressed his terminal cancer diagnosis with a sense of poise and humor that could only be called heroic. This is the story of how we got to that moment, and what it meant for him and Letterman at large
Articles Referenced
The Crackup and Resurrection of Warren Zevon
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-crackup-and-resurrection-of-warren-zevon-243661
“Thank You, and Goodbye”
https://www.theringer.com/music/2022/10/28/23426969/warren-zevon-late-show-david-letterman-anniversary
The Courier Post 9-14-2002
The Mountain Eagle 9-10-2003
All video Clips can be seen here
https://pastebin.com/0agb4e2V
Time Stamps
0:00 (Intro)
1:00 (The Life of Warren Zevon)
02:17 (Warren Zevon Fans)
3:28 (Enter David Letterman)
04:35 (Zevon Meets Dave)
05:47 (Warren and Dave becomes Soulmates)
06:49 (Letterman Sings with Warren)
07:27 (Zevon is Diagnosed with Cancer)
09:20 (The Episode)
10:50 (Letterman says goodbye to Warren)
11:30 (The Wind)
12:10 (The Legacy of Warren and Dave)