David Letterman Show, WIUS Hitchhiking trip, October 1980
Logsheet 1/26
30 Rock
David Letterman Show, October 13, 1980 (holiday)
Mike Conway, Jeff L. Nance and Bob Rouse from WIUS hitchhiked to New York to protest the cancellation of the NBC David Letterman morning show.
This is an audio cassette of their time at 30 Rock.
:10 Chrissy Francis of Letterman’s staff talking to MC about taking our petition up to Fred Silverman’s office.
1:00 Showing the Letterman staff the flyers and buttons we made for the hitchhiking trip.
2:05 Chrissy Francis says that Andre is going to escort the WIUS to “his” office. Fred Silverman. They have no idea if we’ll get to see him or if we should just leave the petition with his secretary.
3:10 Mike talks about how WIUS set up the hitchhiking trip.
Left on a hitchhiking trip on Friday
4:30 Mike talks about guy who picked us up in Ohio who said Chinese were jamming our airwaves. Took us to Mansfield, OH.
We had about 5-6 people pick us up
6:52 guy who got a flat tire.. we helped him and got ride.. works at Northwestern radio.
Got to PA by midnight Saturday
Basically tape machine is running while WIUS crew tells the Letterman Staff about the hitchhiking trip.
10:30 how the hitchhiking trip got started
14:10 They ask if we know Will Shriner, who’s from Indiana. His dad is Herb Shriner
16:10 we go up to Fred Silverman’s office
-they can also try Brandon Tartikoff’s office
20:00 lots of ambient sound of walking and getting in/out of elevators
Guy named Andre, NBC Page, is taking us around.
None of the administrators are around because it’s a holiday.
Staying at Holiday Inn on 57th Street
28:15 we briefly run into David Letterman while walking around. He wanted to make sure we got our stuff out of the hotel.
28:40 Now we are in Letterman Show offices.
30:00 We are at Chrissy Francis’ desk. She answers the phone
-music coordinator
33:11 Chrissy Francis is talking about Robin Williams at the Comedy Store in LA where she used to work.
34:40 We’re told that David is in meetings trying to sort out the “whole thing” (cancellation) but they’d like to take us to lunch. Go down to Hurley’s
36:40 Still in the Letterman offices
37:50 Irene Cara’s “Out Here on My Own” is playing while someone is typing
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The next part is also on the audio file:
WIUS David Letterman NYC Hitchhiking Trip, October 1980
40:02 12:30pm October 13
Interview w/ Lee Chernick. They are in “the pit.”
41:40 Tim who does cue cards
Nance describes the “pit” of the David Letterman
42:45 Interview with Barbara Gaines. She puts the script together
-I started as a receptionist and am now production assistant
46:30 George Callahan. I try to keep order. Working with younger people
48:50 Chrissy Francis. Music coordinator for David Letterman.
-arguing with Barbara Gaines.
-I book whoever sings on the show. She is from Sussex, outside London
-met David Letterman at the Comedy Store in LA.
-she might have a job with Johnny Carson
-Letterman’s nickname is “Big Guy”
50:50 -she’s been offered a few jobs after Letterman, but she doesn’t want to say
-talking about Johnny Carson
-Fred Silvermen
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52:20 Group has left the Letterman offices and are in Central Park talking about the experience
53:00 They took us out to lunch, $106 check
-have to get back to Bloomington
54:00 Letterman seemed shy when we met him
55:00 we got to see some taped segments that rest of audience didn’t see. Will Shriner
-he’s from Angola, IN
55:28 Rich Hall -did a skit about dining cars being stolen
56:00 Mary Tyler Moore -she was on show promoting “Ordinary People”
57:00 gray squirrels in Central Park
57:32 Letterman’s staff took us to Hurley’s for lunch ($106 check)
-one had sirloin, another had baked lobster tail, great coffee
59:00 unrolling the Letterman petition after the show
59:45 A page took us up to Silvermans office to drop off the petition. No execs working on
Columbus Day
1:00:00 Lee Chernick. Never went to college.. was a nurse and filled out an application
1:01:00 People in Central Park have more than one dog
1:02:00 Remarking about what they’re seeing in New York City. City is clean
1:04:00 We saw the new Bruce Springsteen album because crew went out and
bought copies…think it came out today
1:06:00 The staff was very nice to us
1:08:00 talking about Winky’s Cow Paste can they gave us
1:10:00 adding up how much money they have left
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1:12:00 talking with some woman about our trip
Woman says she saw Andy Kaufmann at Improvisation the night before and
he was really strange, talked about his failed marriage and then asked for money for a drink since he’d been living in the streets
1:17:00 We are in the Raintree Lounge at Rockefeller Plaza
Waiting for the bus back to Bloomington
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1:18:00 6:52pm, October 13th, WIUS crew waiting downstairs in Port Authority for our
bus
-hour to go before bus leaves
-paying $254 for busride home
1:20:00 brainstorming ways to make WIUS better when we get back
-get more feedback on our work
1:26:00 -benefits of radio as a medium
1:31:00 hashing out ideas on how to improve the WIUS radio show