The Letterman Remote to G.E. Headquarters Collection, 1985-93
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มี.ค. 2020
- With Jack Welch's passing, it seemed timely to post this. Some history:
On March 19, 1985, Capital Cities made a surprise announcement that it was purchasing ABC for $3.5 billion. Ted Turner then attempted but failed to buy CBS.
RCA, which owned NBC, saw its stock rise due to both renewed interest in takeovers as established by Capital Cities and attempted by Ted Turner as well as NBC's prime-time lineup, in particular the ratings successes of "Hill Street Blues" and "The Cosby Show." It had been in merger discussions with MCA this same year, but nothing came of it.
All of which led General Electric to begin meeting with RCA in early November 1985 to discuss acquiring the electronics giant. After "intense talks" that lasted for ten days, G.E. announced on December 11, 1985, that it had bought RCA for $6.28 billion, reportedly in cash. The deal had to first get approval from RCA's stockholders, then a number of regulatory agencies, including the FCC, all of which would take months before the takeover was complete.
Dave made note of the merger news the following night. He was not pleased.
1. December 12, 1985. Dave's first reaction to G.E.'s takeover of RCA isn't a positive one. Then Viewer Mail with more references to G.E.'s greatest invention, the push button. Later in the show, a message about the deal from NBC's President and CEO "Grant Tinker," portrayed as always by NBC's production manager Elmer Gorry.
2. December 16, 1985. After an aborted Opening Remarks and a visit to the Green Room, Dave displays a gift from G.E. Later, an installment of Peace Through Dramatization Players, entitled "No Time for Love," which features brand-new G.E. home appliances and entertainment.
3. March 25, 1986. Dave briefly discusses G.E.'s timetable for taking over NBC.
4. April 8, 1986. The first broadcast of the remote.
On Friday, April 4, Dave, head writer Steve O'Donnell, director Hal Gurnee, and various video and camera crew members embarked on a day of shooting remotes showcasing their new bosses at General Electric. They first visited G.E.'s headquarters in midtown Manhattan, then later inside two G.E. dealerships further south. For the latter, they came up empty, but for the former, they struck gold.
5. April 18, 1986. Dave guests on The Tonight Show and highlights his visit to G.E.'s headquarters. (Immediately afterwards, not included here, Johnny discusses stealing Dave's truck.)
6. April 30, 1986. The official video logo of the G.E. handshake airs during Late Night's close from late April through most of May.
7. June 25, 1993. Dave offers his perspective seven years later as he airs the remote one last time on Late Night's final show.
After decades in Corp. America, I can honestly say that no 10 seconds ever more clearly and perfectly reflected the groupthink, ice in the veins, CYA, humorless mindset of large corps better than the "GE Handshake"...for my money, the single best Late Night moment...ever.
I remember the show where Dave says "Oh, look, Paul, they're changing the sign on the RCA building" Then a photo of the top of the building is shown with the lighting of the "GE" logo....followed by a lit "Sucks", next to it. Because GE laid off so many NBC employees, their initials were known to mean "Goodbye, Everybody"
So, so good. The handshake. OMG. And the disclaimers he was clearly forced to read. So much goodness.
If a company took over a network today no late night host would have the balls to do what Dave did. Jimmy Fallon would be gushing over the company saying how great they are.
John Oliver couldn’t stop bringing up at&t
Thanks for posting this Don. This compilation is representative of Dave's subversive attitude toward authority and ownership during his NBC run. Executives at the peacock network would use these clips and others as ammunition in the battle over which proven commodity would replace Carson. Leno may have poked fun and jabbed GE and NBC during his guest hosting duties in Burbank but Letterman would authentically ridicule them with invective.
Today Jack Welch is rotting with maggots refusing to eat him, GE is in gutter. Dave light shines and will shine long after.
This is so awesome! In the late 90s, I worked for a company that was "acquired" by GE.. it was an awesome company that GE just slaughtered after the take over. A bunch of turds. I am glad the mighty has fallen. Thanks Don for another great upload!
HAVE THEY NOW ?! WOOOO
Now they are in outer space screwing things up.
That’s absolutely hilarious stuff. So fearless.
What a show.
Disastrous public relations guff by the security department. The only saving grace is that it was consistent with the times, of flexing one's power and put the underlings in their place! Kkkkkkkk. Why would some organisations who cannot stand media scrutiny think its a good idea to invite them to be part of them? I would love to hear from G. E's reflection on the interactions? The woman and the boss were more mean spirited than the braun guy who would have been the one to shift "the shit" figuratively speaking if it had degenerated to physical confrontation.
I suppose they still achieved their end goal of getting rid of David Letterman and his staff, would have been disastrous headlines in Morden times! Kkkkkkkk
@@alfrednyabango9097 That guy grabbing the mic was a total ape.
I was hoping to see the big musical tribute to GE done around this time. The singers and dancers take the stage; the music plays a couple of bars - and the stage goes dark. Dave says, "Hey, what happened!?" Biff answers, "I'm sorry, Dave. The thing is, these GE bulbs really suck."
I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers this fantastic bit.
Didn't Dave wheel out a big old G. E. or Westinghouse fan on one of the first CBS broadcasts?
@@xalash Westinghouse didn’t buy CBS until 1995 (right after Disney announced they were buying ABC).
Dude this was amazing!!! Paul's Cher impression! I think about that once a week and I hadn't seen it in 30 years. Thank you so much!
Here are all of his Late Night Cher impressions - th-cam.com/video/-pzVtiJ31oQ/w-d-xo.html
@@dongiller It's like someone sent in Rambo when he fixes everything with impossible odds.
OMG. That remote segment was pure classic. I wish I was old enough (at the time) to have watched this when it first aired
I saw it when it aired in '86.....I was 19....2nd year of college....my mouth fell to the floor...then I laughed my ass off..
30:36 - 570 Lexington Avenue! That's one of the most architecturally spectacular skyscrapers in NYC - you can't really see the details in this video, but it's worth looking up. It's a few blocks from my office now and I always enjoy walking by it and take a minute to look up at it.
24:45 The house went up in flames because of a faulty GE breaker panel…
I see Dave, I see GE. I clicked before even reading the title.
14:10 Brilliant. The writing on this show was through the roof.
I forgot it was RCA ... love this old school stuff
I remember the night the fruit basket remote aired. One of my favorite all-time Late Nights.
poor Hal Gurtner 🤣 I never tire of that
LOL It's Gurnee with two "e's"
I have a theory: One of the reasons Letterman didn't get the tonight show was because of his hatred of the GE takeover of NBC.
I believe Jack Welch was the one who sided with Leno, mus t be because he saw Dave refusing to bow to that Welch garbage.
That has to be the only reason.
Letterman wanted to host the Tonight Show. Jay Leno wanted to 'be' the host of NBCs Tonight Show. That's why Jay got the job ultimately.
@@chonconnor6144 That's not the reason.
From what i heard jay was a company man, just watch the show. He never got out of line, was manic when his guest did. Plus he was the hottest comic at the time
Thank You So Much for posting this! This was a Jack Welch aquisition and was so fun to watch. Not like Immelt..He was the true Nuetron Jack...So..so..close to Bank--rumpting the co.
My father worked for GE when they acquired RCA. The tradition of laying off employees was continued by “Hatchet Jack” Welch
Is that him being a gorilla toward Dave?
Thank you for all the work you put into these!
Miss the show! Never get tired of the nonsense! Keep it coming!
Didn't have much to choose from back then and it's the way we liked it.
As an added bonus, you get Paul doing Cher singing "O Holy Night"!
Absolute classic balls. Dave took no shit.
Those "G.E. Pinheads"!
This was the day Dave lost the 11:30 slot.
Another great collection. I don't know if time has dampened this at all, but I remember this being really edgy stuff back then. It's still hilarious today.
Thanks as always, Don.
Thumbs down came from evil GE security guy
I wonder if that GE storm Trooper ever got that broomstick removed? 😁 I saw this the very night it aired and, being in high school then, it was a real lesson for me on just how cold, ruthless and greedy corporations are. If any of you born long after 1980s wondered what the "real" '80s were about, look no further than this moment. What a pure example of a corporate lackey toad.
Ahhh thankfully proof still exists of the old thumb down.
Dave was great on NBC, not so much on CBS.
Great collections, thanks. Pleeeease do a compilation of Dave's on location bits, "Just Shades." I know you have some but do them all!
Just Shades, the original broadcast, is here - th-cam.com/video/5K-DakHvUBM/w-d-xo.html
This is the absolute worst time to ask for more, more, more.
'Neutron' Jack, radio division sold off, consumer electronics division sold off/RCA employee store closed, one-sided NABET contract 'negotiations' - overtime elimination, Six Sigma - designed to streamline the making of widgets 99.99966% without flaws HA!/"...I went nuts about Six Sigma,” - J. Welch, Daily hires/'87 strike, obsessive acquisition of Olympic broadcast rights and much, much more!
Now Jack's the dearly departed "...Jack was a life force made of love," his wife, Suzy said. I wonder if she knew about Ann Curry?
"...like a men's room in Penn Station..."
My Dad was part of the GE plant closure in CNY. He found employment with RCA. It's like the bastard followed us. I remember my Dad saying... Neutron Jack, nukes the people and leaves the buildings. Or something very similar. We were thankful that Thomson stepped in a bit after. Needless to say we loved it when Letterman tossed GE stuff off the building. FU Jack. You're the reason I had to move away from my friends and my sick elderly grandparents. And that's the memories I have of my childhood. My father and other employees went through hell to meet GE's expectations all for nothing.
Oh and let's not forget GE workers from a certain communist country being executed, which was shown on the overnight news here. Good ol Jack.
Christmas bonus? pause, good people :( Classic Dave
I actually did have a fleeting glimpse of Gene Shalit from the Late Night line, however that was during the Conan years.
i wish Dave did more of the camera crew trolling like he did with GE
1:26 Reminded me how often Dave took a shot at Punky Brewster back then. Easy target, guaranteed laugh.
@William Campbell
Two great contrarians, Letterman & Randall.
If Dave only knew the hell he was embarking on with GE.
And since 2011 now, Comcast has owned NBCUniversal and their corporate headquarters being in Philadelphia.
But around that same time, Australian businessman Rupert Murdoch bought 20th Century Fox _and_ Metromedia, using the latter’s seven television stations as a springboard for the Fox network.
By the way...MCA, Coca-Cola, and Gulf+Western still owned Universal, Columbia, and Paramount respectively at the time of these clips, while Walt Disney Productions (under the leadership of Michael Eisner) would be renamed The Walt Disney Company.
'Shake my hand like a normal person' . . 'NO'
The jerk in the brown suit made every possible mistake you can make when dealing with the media.
The end product of RCA going bust with its failed SelectaVision VideoDisc CED gamble.
He was the best. After Johnny
jack welch gutted ge
then gave himself
a golden parachute.
Harvey warned him.
20:55 - I have an easy-to-see mushroom head.
I kinda see what Harvey Pekar was talking about
Yes!
that we warned you once @ the end was stage right ?
6:10 Letter #2- "Dear Dave, It is very boring waiting on line to get in to see your show. Could you do something about it." Audience cheers. Oh, wait- it's 1985: had to wait for the smartphone to be invented.
Dave was such a rebel rouser 😂😅
And now, even the push button is as obsolete as late night tv.
And now NBC is owned by Comcast LOL.
21:56 opaque night ?
Wow, GE really *did* suck.
Anyone else catch the song the band played at the very end?
“Respect” 😆
Dave was brave.
Where's the GE carpet in Dave's office and Dave pretending to be Jack Welch while yelling at people with a megaphone from a window that he's not wearing any pants?
It was NBC President Lawrence Grossman he claimed to be while disrupting a live “Today Show” broadcast in the late afternoon with his megaphone.
I probably didn’t upload it because so many others had already done so.
this...THIS is why dave didn't get the tonight show. mocking the bigwigs and hurting their feelings....they got him back.
And he wonders why he didn’t get the tonight show! 🤣🤣🤣
Comcast the one that we didnt care about ge and we own xfinity
Song at 13:22?
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
didst NE1 from ge........EVER...........address this ??
I remember the taking the fruit basket to GE and they were horrible.
🧖♀️Giggle❣❣If it had been up to me, I would've told G.E., with its hypnotic logo, leave NBC alone; It's👄me👄you👄want❣❣
The mitten wins.
Dave does have cutest hands ever!!! I wish I could hold them!!!☺️
37:50 on the CARSON show
I wanna SCREAM!! "BOOM IN THE SHOT! BOOM IN THE SHOT!!!"
They look like they're fishin for guppies!
Dave at his subversive best.
I wish I was born a boomer...
The most ironic thing is, Dave wouldn't even be on TV or have a job if it wasn't for GE. GE literally created RCA, which in turn created the NBC network.
Lol that's a bit of a grand statement to make. Another network would have filled the void. Dave started on ABC in Indiana if I'm not mistaken
@@MrSteelermania Yes, ABC... which was formed from divestiture of a NBC owned property, the NBC Blue Network... my point still stands.
If you think a guy as talented as Dave Letterman wouldn’t have made it to TV regardless is preposterous.
Dec 1995? (16:17) Reagan wasn’t president then. Plus Dave was on CBS. Still, this is an invaluable video.
Patently obvious a typo. Accurate date in the description, which you surely read, yes?
@@dongiller you’re hard work does not go unappreciated nor unnoticed. Simple thank you
look there's another one - they are everywhere - look out - danger danger eeeeeeek oh my word please no not another one
🙄🔫