Margo Howard | 10/09/2009 2:00 pm
A Letterman Update: More Information, More Thoughts, by Margo Howard

Image: Willem van Bergen/Flickr
Editor’s Note: A longtime journalist, Margo Howard went into the
family business (her mother was the fabled Ann Landers) in the 1990s as
Dear Prudence. Her broad experience and understanding of human nature
provide answers for the troubled — and entertainment for everyone else. Margo’s advice column, Dear Margo, appears twice a week — on Thursdays and Fridays — on wowOwow.com.
Well, now I think Dave has real trouble. It has come to light that the young assistant at the center of the Letterman/Halderman drama was being paid $200,000 a year and was sent to law school, courtesy of Letterman, with the promise that she would become his personal attorney. A guy can always be in the company of his attorney, right? Then it appears she was taken on trips “with the family,” with Regina none the wiser.
Now my guess is the humiliation is too overwhelming to overlook. My earlier thought was that the Lettermans would work it out, but now I ain’t so sure. I still think young Harry is the glue in that marriage, but he wouldn’t be the first kid to go between Mommy’s house and Daddy’s house. Were Regina to write me, I would encourage her to opt out of this humiliating arrangement and, as they say, take the money and run. I have no idea what their prenup says, but he is loaded, and given what’s gone on, her life would continue as lavishly as before. The guilty party is quite evident here … plus, the mother gets the kid, no question.
There is just so much a girl can put up with, and with each revelation he is looking more like a skunk. I wrote my previous piece with the information I had. Knowing what I know now, I am no longer sympathetic. It is quite clear that Dave, like many another middle-aged guy, cannot resist the chase and, alas, 20-some years with one woman has become totally boring to him. A pity. I believe that in any real sense he has already lost the cozy family of three, and if more drek comes out, he may lose his show. Stay tuned.
Well, now I think Dave has real trouble. It has come to light that the young assistant at the center of the Letterman/Halderman drama was being paid $200,000 a year and was sent to law school, courtesy of Letterman, with the promise that she would become his personal attorney. A guy can always be in the company of his attorney, right? Then it appears she was taken on trips “with the family,” with Regina none the wiser.
Now my guess is the humiliation is too overwhelming to overlook. My earlier thought was that the Lettermans would work it out, but now I ain’t so sure. I still think young Harry is the glue in that marriage, but he wouldn’t be the first kid to go between Mommy’s house and Daddy’s house. Were Regina to write me, I would encourage her to opt out of this humiliating arrangement and, as they say, take the money and run. I have no idea what their prenup says, but he is loaded, and given what’s gone on, her life would continue as lavishly as before. The guilty party is quite evident here … plus, the mother gets the kid, no question.
There is just so much a girl can put up with, and with each revelation he is looking more like a skunk. I wrote my previous piece with the information I had. Knowing what I know now, I am no longer sympathetic. It is quite clear that Dave, like many another middle-aged guy, cannot resist the chase and, alas, 20-some years with one woman has become totally boring to him. A pity. I believe that in any real sense he has already lost the cozy family of three, and if more drek comes out, he may lose his show. Stay tuned.
Read more about: David Letterman, Entertainment, Joe Halderman, Margo Howard, Marriage, News, Relationships
























116 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
C: Jay Leno is the only good TV comic and host (latenight). Letterman is horrible, Conan, is horrioble, Ferguson is ridiculous. I like Jimmy Kimmel, but never stay up to watch him. Maher and Stewart are loser comics that make a living off bashing Bush. Olberman, Maddow, Mr. Ed, and others at MSLSD are completely in the tank with Obama.
Jay Leno at 10PM just doesn’t blow my skirt up. If he hired new producers and refigured the format, it would have a chance.
If some of you are wondering why I didn’t mention Fox, well they are successful. Just look at these ratings. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/
The old stuff is always better than the new. Johnny Carson, rock n roll, automobiles made out of metal, and parenting.
Kathy, what always seems to surprise me, as I AGE, is how much alike people are who slam one another - almost as if one despised oneself - thus what that perceived mirror-image popped up, WHAM.
In the case of comedians (or whatever they view themselves as on paper), it may be sick writers, but their masters are not puppets.
C Jay,
I couldn’t agree with you more, how do you stand in front of an audience and bash someone who is doing the same as you? Do you think he ever thought that maybe I shouldn’t say this because I’m doing it too? Evidently not. It will be interesting now how his writers will have to change their writings and not ridicule men or women having affairs. Gee, what will he joke about now? I don’t watch Davey, so I really probably shouldn’t be commenting, but from just the clips I have heard on TV and the two or three threads on Wow, I see him as one big slimy, creepy, hypocrite. :-)
Kathy, sociopaths are all around us, increasingly so in fact. They’re adept at being the supreme moralists, and bashing their own images - without a consicience; dangerous people. The writers are not much different when they perpetuate sickness for money.
Letterman slid into the coal bin with me in the late 90s - he’s aged terribly in that regard, almost desperate to prove himself - on the tube and to others (himself?). That is not what I want from any communication medium, thus, I agree with you - but remember, people like him are everywhere, and the numbers are growing the past 10 years in America.