Montreal’s Just for Laughs has finally landed the guest it has been coveting since the festival’s English-language inception in 1985: David Letterman.
JFL execs and programmers had been pursuing the much-heralded late-night TV host, comedian, actor and producer for decades, to no avail. But Letterman has finally been lured here to make his first-ever Montreal paid appearance, July 21 at 7 p.m. at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts. (He has been known to show up in a non-performing capacity at the Canadian Grand Prix over the years.)
Letterman will be sharing the stage with Toronto-born TV, film and podcast star Will Arnett. The show is being billed as An Evening With David Letterman and Special Guest Will Arnett.
The Montreal event will come five months after Letterman made his first Canadian concert appearance since 1978 with a sold-out show at Just for Laughs Vancouver, in which he was joined on stage by the irrepressible Zach Galifianakis.
Then-U.S. president Barack Obama visits David Letterman in the latter’s final month as host of CBS’s Late Show, in May 2015. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images)
Letterman was a staple of late-night TV for 33 years, from 1982 to 2015, beginning with Late Night With David Letterman on NBC and culminating with the Late Show With David Letterman on CBS. He hosted nearly 6,100 episodes in total and remains the longest-serving late-night talk show host in U.S. television history, surpassing his hero Johnny Carson.
Ever dry and piquant, Letterman set the standard for those who followed him behind the late-night desk. Audiences adored his freestyle approach and celebs yearned to take a seat beside him, never knowing what to expect.
Not surprisingly, Letterman has been very vocal on the freedom-of-speech front over CBS cancelling Stephen Colbert’s Late Show and the constant threats of cancelling ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! — both hosts being targets of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been frequently pilloried by them.
In addition to producing numerous TV shows, the now-hirsute Letterman — a 10-time Emmy Award winner and two-time recipient of the Peabody Award — is still a going force at 79. He can now be caught hosting Netflix’s award-winning interview show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction; his guest list has been impressive, representing all manner of political and cultural figures, from Barack Obama and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Billie Eilish and Dave Chappelle.
Toronto-born Will Arnett will be David Letterman’s special guest at Just for Laughs. (Cindy Ord / Getty Images for SiriusXM)
For his part, Arnett has a packed resumé with memorable work on such TV shows as Arrested Development, The Office, The Millers and BoJack Horseman and in such film comedies as Blades of Glory and Semi-Pro, both with Will Ferrell. More recently, Arnett has hit the podcast motherlode as co-host of the hugely popular and hilarious SmartLess with buddies Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes. The trio can also be caught in the documentary miniseries SmartLess: On the Road.
Credit Nick Brazao, the Just for Laughs VP of programming and talent, for landing Letterman. A 20-year JFL veteran, he is fully aware of the efforts undertaken in bringing Letterman here.
“This will be the cherry on top of the festival this summer,” Brazao cheerily says. “As a festival producer and programmer, I can’t tell you how rare and special this one feels. My body tingled when I got that confirmation.”
Not to take away from JFL appearances this year by Jerry Seinfeld, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Gabriel (Fluffy) Iglesias and Mae Martin, but there’s no doubt this one will be viewed as the highlight and tickets will be quickly gobbled up.
“We had tried many times over the years to get (Letterman) but this year it has finally worked out,” Brazao says. “And the fact that we have Will Arnett — a Canadian icon to boot — makes it that much more amazing.”
David Letterman has spoken with everyone from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (pictured) to Billie Eilish on his Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. (Netflix)
It sounds like the show might resemble My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, with Letterman interviewing Arnett. But Brazao suggests it will likely be more than that, touching on all manner of current topics.
“It’s not going to be completely one-sided. Who’s to know? They will be having a conversation throughout. And it should be very exciting for audience members to be flies on the wall taking it all in.”
JFL’s relationship with Letterman began with the Vancouver show.
“We were in talks with his people in the fall to get him to come to Vancouver in February,” Brazao says. “And that show with Zach Galifianakis worked out really well, and luckily that set the table to make this happen in Montreal.
“What makes this so special is he has been so popular and so much in the public eye for so long. I imagine that when he was doing his late-night show so many nights a week during the year, he needed breaks during the summer. Which is not to say he’s not busy now. He’s out there now, working on his latest show and making his mark, still so much respected.”
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Brazao is not normally star-struck, having met every major comic in the biz. “But I must admit I was in awe meeting him for the first time in Vancouver.”
Brazao is not anticipating any further major lineup announcements this year.
“In terms of making another really big splash, I think this one is it. But I can never say never, because things happen — and have happened. We’ve had artists confirmed in the past after the festival had started. And we still have the New Faces to announce, among them some who will become household names — as has been the case so often over the years.”
AT A GLANCE
An Evening With David Letterman and Special Guest Will Arnett takes place July 21 at 7 p.m. at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts. Tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m.; a presale for Just for Laughs members and Place des Arts subscribers begins Monday at 10 a.m.
The Just for Laughs festival runs from July 15 to 26. For tickets and more information, visit hahaha.com.