Yet another one of David Letterman's wacky "suits"... Here is the "Alka Seltzer" suit originally aired on NBC's "Late Night w/ David Letterman" on Sept. 6, 1984
The people calling that lame don't realize that he was charting new territory. People have been borrowing from and improving on Dave's type of bits for decades. He completely changed Late Night.
This is actually really similar to Steve Allen's bit, when he was wearing a suit of tea bags and jumped into water. In case you don't know who Steve Allen is, he was the first host of late night.
That and the fact that the head writer almost died trying it out in rehearsal. All the Alka seltzer reacting with the water pumped the top of the tank where his head was full of CO², and he almost suffocated. That's why Dave's wearing an Oxygen mask in this clip when they did it on the show.
Same here. And I was just remember it and decided to look it up on RU-vid. I'm glad somebody uploaded this so I could watch it again and share with younger friends.
The head writer almost died trying this stunt out in rehearsal. All the Alka seltzer reacting with the water pumped the top of the tank where his head was full of CO², and he almost suffocated. That's why Dave's wearing an Oxygen mask in this clip when they did it on the show.
We didn't have internet or home video games (Atari, sure, but most people didn't have that), just three local channels, and this was on one of them, later than most people stayed up. To those of us who did stay up that late, this kind of thing was what you talked about the next day to entertain your classmates/coworkers when you talked to them face to face (as opposed to texting or calling them on your mobile device). This was the RU-vid of our time ... and there was no thumbs-down button.
ohhhh soo profound so emotional it's true we never talk face to face with co workers we just beep booop bop now wow it was so amazing back then do wax more poetic please daddy please
@@rickpaul2531 Yeh.. that's probably right... I thought they did a week of them while they were on break, in reruns. I could be wrong though.. I'm old and mentally decrepit.
I wonder what would’ve happened if Dave were lowered in his Alka-Seltzer suit into a tank of vinegar. I’m guessing they wouldn’t have needed wires and a harness to pull him out because the bubbles created would just carry him away.
Funny thing about this stunt: they actually showed a preview of it during the "Office" episode where it was unusually hot and humid in November. They had a little doll with alka seltzer attached to it.
Yep. It was funny and very innovative. Much better than the late night tv you have now. Do yourself a favor and watch as much Letterman from NBC as you can find. If you end up not digging it, I sincerely feel sorry for you.
at1212 b Amen to that, at1212! The show had a "produced in someone's basement" kind of vibe. And, boy, was Dave quick-witted with just a touch of wiseass smarminess to make both him and the show VERY entertaining. Guests like Brother Theodore and those remote shots like "Just Shades" and Larry "Bud" Melman at Port Authority bus terminal were the greatest. The 12:30 AM time-slot was perfect for this kind of humor. As the years rolled on, and Dave switched to CBS, the show was never the same.
Steve Sam N Yes. It's like a good bad nightmare... especially with Melman. Dave was also so much smoother in his delivery. Never off beat. And how messy the set was was also awesome. The CBS one especially later on just became too slick for me (first few years set was good). The other thing that made the NBC show stand out was the Band and intro. Just had that extra beat, vibe and base to it. That really held it together and made the show pop.
That was nowhere near as impressive as I'd hoped it would have been. Somehow I missed this when it was on TV the first time. I was probably out on some hot date knowing me in 1984- I was fifteen and a half when this aired so..... I'm imagining I was probably not near a TV
Dave brought a dry, almost British humor to his shows. I enjoyed it, although some people just thought it was stupid. He was on the air for 30 years, so apparently i was not the only one.
Dude he invented this shit. This was 1984 and a hell of a lot of what he did had not been done before. And btw, alka-seltzer IS MEDICINE. Why do you think they put that mask on so damn tight and gave him oxygen? It's not worth risking illness or injury just to make dudebros like YOU happy. Dave changed and shaped the entire face of late-night tv with shit like THIS absolute classic piece, and those of us who got to watch it in the beginning are lucky as hell.
