Letterman
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Stupid Pet Tricks: How Letterman’s Failed Morning Show Launched His Longest-Running Gag
For context, I was on the Late Show with David Letterman when I was 20 years old, in 2014, with my Yorkshire Terrier, Grabel, who lived to be about fifteen years old. I trained him to say “Mama” on command when I a teenager, and then it slowly morphed into “Obama” and we just changed the trick around to match that. Our goofy little party trick turned into a three year long relationship with The Late Show With David Letterman, and the WorldWide Pants staff. We were invited to the show in November 2012 and did rehearsals, and didn’t make it on because they bring on more acts than they need. We were invited back in April 2014, where we finally made our appearance, and we were almost flown out for the final episode of Letterman, but the “Best of Stupid Pet Tricks” segment that was being planned was cancelled altogether because of multiple variables. I’m probably okay to talk about it now, but at the time it was top secret for a solid month. This article was released towards the conclusion of the show. It was such a pleasure working with Dave’s team, I’m grateful for the friendships I made there, and I learned so much about live television, entertainment, stage etiquette, and the power of laughter through my experiences with them.
-Kirbs
Excerpt from the article:
Dogs have something of a monopoly on the bit. There have been horses and cats aplenty, rabbits, birds, ferrets and even one iguana, but man’s eager-to-please best friend is unrivaled in appearances on The Late Show — thanks in large part to the fact that dogs constantly surprise. Grabel, a Yorkshire Terrier from South Carolina, became a staff favorite last year when his response to his owner asking “Who’s the president?” was a throaty growl that sounded uncannily like he was saying “Obama.”
Link to article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/stupid-pet-tricks-how-lettermans-722849/
Snippet of the actual Television Segment:
