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Author Topic: David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"  (Read 4797 times)

Adam Nedeff

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« on: October 10, 2003, 11:16:52 PM »
OK, a comedy segment bashing game shows might seem inappropriate for a game show forum, but hey, I thought this was funny. The set-up...

It's October 24, 1980 at about 10:54 am. \"The David Letterman Show,\" a low-rated-but-with a loyal following comedy talk show, is going off the air after 18 weeks. How does Dave, not knowing if he'll ever be on television again, spend the final minutes of his farewell? Thanking the staff? Looking back at favorite moments? Introducing his girlfriend and members of his family and expressing gratitude for their support?

Nope. He's going to spend it burying one of the shows that will be replacing him.

With limited, and completely insincere, enthusiasm, Dave talks about the amazing twist of having a living deck in the new show's bonus round. With that, he turns things over to singer Harve Mann, playing his \"lounge singer\" character, and Frank Owens & the David Letterman Symphony Orchestra strikes up for a special tribute to \"Las Vegas Gambit,\" set to the tune of the theme music from \"The David Letterman Show\"........

It’s the Las Vegas Gambit Show
The Las Vegas Gambit Show-ow-ow
Win cash and fabulous prizes
on NBC

A chorus line of “living cards” walks on stage and dances.

It’s not just cash
Not just fabulous prizes
It’s a mixture of the two
Cash and fabulous prizes!

You’ll win dinettes!
You’ll win a car or two!
Round trips to Las Vegas
Where you’ll see Wayne New…ton.

A moose attacks the Joker in the living deck.

It combines the excitement
Of the classic game of Gambit
With a living deck.

We’ll have 52 people,
Each one representing
A different playing card
From the deck.

The NBC Peacock Girls, a Rockette-like group of women in skimpy but ugly-looking green outfits and stuffed peacock headdresses, walk on stage and dance with the surviving members of the living deck..

The Las Vegas Gambit Show-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!
Las Vegas Gambit Show-ow-ow!
From 10 to 10:30 mornings,
Right before Blockbusters

It’s for preschoolers!
It’s for you gals at home!
You’ll win a trip to Rome,
Or a styling comb.

You’ll win a boat!
You’ll win a furniture!
But just because you’re you,
You’ll win some things for her.

Balloons and confetti are now dumping EVERYWHERE, similar to the end of “The Gong Show”

It combines the excitement, excitement
Of the classic, classic game of Gambit
With a living deck.

And you will see 52 people
Each one representing
A playing card from the deck.

The studio audience now empties and walks on stage to take turns shaking Dave's hand.

Las Vegas Gambit Show!
Las Vegas Gambit Show-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!

‘Cause people like to tune into game shows
In the middle morning.

Cut to a fan in the audience holding up a sign reading “KILL WINK”

It’s set in Las Vegas
Well, in a studio.
We don’t really show you Vegas
But we’re there though

Another fan in audience holds up a sign: “Wink WHO???”

It’s not just trips.
It’s not just appliances.
Folks play from
Different creeds and alliances!

Everybody join in!

Las Vegas Gambit Show!
Las Vegas Gambit Show-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!...

Harve's voice fades out and just the regular theme plays.

And that's how Dave's daytime show ended. \"Blockbusters\" was spared, presumably because Dave had worked with and respected with Bill Cullen, who, a short time later, sent Dave a necktie as a gift after \"Late Night\" launched.

PS: \"Hit Man\" fans might be interested in how Bill Wendell signed off on the daytime \"David Letterman Show\" finale...

\"You want tickets to The David Letterman Show? FORGET IT! NO WAY! OUT OF LUCK! WE'RE HISTORY!...(suddenly very somber)...we're a ghost.\"

Skynet74

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2003, 12:25:14 AM »
I would Love to see Video of This. Who's Got It?



John

Adam Nedeff

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2003, 12:34:01 AM »
Quote
I would Love to see Video of This. Who's Got It?

I do, I do! That's how I got the transcript written. Amazing the many ways you find to kill time on Friday nights when you don't have a \"significant other\" cluttering up your plans. (Sigh....)

http://www.gameshowutopia.com

DjohnsonCB

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2003, 11:53:57 AM »
Thanks for posting the lyrics and the visual details--I forgot about the \"Wink Who?\" and \"Kill Wink\" signs.  That was one of the few times I actually watched Dave's daytime show, along with the debut, the show he did on location from Cresco, IA, and a couple others.  I probably should have watched it regularly, but at the time I was really steamed over the field day critics were having over the fact that NBC killed three games to put Letterman on (\"Anything that gets us away from game shows can't be all bad...\")

A couple of curious notes about this series:  Cresco viewers picked up the show from KTTC-10 in Rochester, MN, which later decided to dump his new late-night show to run \"The 700 Club\" (they went with it eventually, after a period of getting the show via cable from KARE-11 in the Twin Cities and then on KAAL-6, the ABC station from Austin, MN (home of Spam).

Also, Kansas City's WDAF-4, which for years locally bumped a LOT of NBC daytime games that weren't up the popularity of J!, HS or WoF, went with Dave at 9 when he began.  They wiped out Snap Judgment and It Takes Two for non-game programming at 9 AM years earlier, so now that NBC gave them a new non-game show in that slot, what did 'DAF later do?  They bumped it locally for a pair of *syndie* games.  They lost their NBC affiliation at least 25 years too late...

Finally, IIRC, LVG didn't actually use a \"living\" deck of cards as originally planned.
"Disconnect her buzzer...disconnect EVERYONE'S buzzer!"

--Alex Trebel

rugrats1

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2003, 04:51:01 PM »
Here in Tampa Bay, I don't recall ever seeing daytime Letterman -- or Las Vegas Gambit, or Blockbusters. At this time, WFLA ch.8 shown \"Romper Room\" at 10AM (after \"Gunsmoke\" at 9AM), then usually had either a \"live\" NBC show or a syndied program at 10:30AM.  One show that had the post-Romper-Room slot at 10:30 was \"The Charlie Rose Show\" (yes, the same host who's on PBS now), though that was in 1981 or 1982.

Of course, all this was against the point as I was in elementary school when Dave was on.

As for \"Late Night\", WFLA has shown it after Johnny / Jay right from the start, but in 1985-86, they delayed it a half-hour, so they can show a syndicated \"Comedy Tonight\".

mmb5

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2003, 06:46:00 PM »
Beat this one...

In Detroit, Dave wasn't shown so they could show the Richard Simmons show.


--Mike
Portions of this post not affecting the outcome have been edited or recreated.

BrandonFG

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2003, 09:32:55 PM »
[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' date=\'Oct 10 2003, 11:34 PM\']
Quote
I would Love to see Video of This. Who's Got It?

I do, I do! That's how I got the transcript written. Amazing the many ways you find to kill time on Friday nights when you don't have a "significant other" cluttering up your plans. (Sigh....)

http://www.gameshowutopia.com [/quote]
 I'm sorry...I'm probably just illiterate, but where on the page is the video or pics?
"They're both Norman Jewison movies, Troy, but we did think of one Jew more famous than Tevye."

Now celebrating his 22nd season on GSF!

Adam Nedeff

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David Letterman's tribute to "Las Vegas Gambit"
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2003, 10:11:28 PM »
Quote
I'm sorry...I'm probably just illiterate, but where on the page is the video or pics?

Well, that was sufficiently misleading, I'm sorry.

What I meant was I have the video in my collection, and my collection is listed on my website, and www.gameshowutopia.com is the website where you can find a link to my collection. Sorry I made that confusing.