David Letterman’s Signing Quirk and How I Got Around It

In the mid 1990’s you could find myself and many other autograph seekers at the corner of Broadway and 53rd Street in midtown Manhattan New York outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre. The home to the hottest show of its era The David Letterman Show featuring some of entertainments biggest names not to mention the King of Late-Night David Letterman himself. Given the number of tapings per week and the long run of the show, many of the same collectors could be found hoping to get their items signed. The environment for autograph seekers was always full of possibilities.

Mr. Letterman himself although always kind to the autograph seekers and accommodating with his signature. However, over time it became clear that for whatever reason, he chose to sign photographs presented to him right through his face.

By signing in this matter many felt it ruined the end result. Yes you had gotten an autograph, but the item was not as desirable as you had hoped going into the encounter.

After having this same experience multiple times over and over and not being able to convince Mr. Letterman to sign in any other location on the photograph. It became my life’s mission to get a “clean” signature on a photograph.

We knew what we could expect from Mr. Letterman so the only things I could control were my approach and presentation of the item.

On my next trip into the city I was determined to have that night be the night. Mr. Letterman was signing autographs on the street as he so often did. I was behind him waiting with another group of autograph seekers.

Rather than try and be one of the first items he signed I hung back to be one of the last. The risk I was taking was that he would not sign for everyone, but I wanted to try a new strategy. When my opportunity came, I held my 8x10 Color photograph with my hand covering his face thus leaving underneath the only place to sign. Mr. Letterman genuinely seemed amused by my attempt to thwart his normal signing technique, laughed, and said, “Obviously you have been here before”. He then signed beneath my hand giving me a beautiful signature and the one and only non-through-the-face signatures I've ever obtained of David Letterman.