Watch David Letterman take a crack at Late Night with Bill Murray, Mr. Wizard

Watch David Letterman take a crack at Late Night with Bill Murray, Mr. Wizard

With David Letterman’s last Late Show episode airing tonight, it’s as good a time as ever to look back at his original late night show’s first ever episode. The Indianan’s first crack at NBC’s Late Night With David Letterman is available on YouTube, and the show, from February 1, 1982, is both as charming and dated as you might want. Bill Murray is the headline guest, while the late Mr. Wizard shows up to perform slightly off-color science experiments. There are also dancing girls wearing peacock feathers and appearances from both Paul Schaffer and Larry “Bud” Melman. As Decider points out, what’s incredible about the whole thing is that it’s both as raw as a show’s first episode should be and as formed as anything else Letterman’s ever done, reminding us even now of just how defined the late night host’s aesthetic has always been. It’s a singular style, and one that’s certainly influenced hundreds of comedians, writers, actors, and directors in the past 33 years. Watching where it all started just drives that point home even more.

 
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