(NOTE LANGUAGE) David Letterman and others paid tribute to Alan Kalter, the former Late Show announcer who died Monday at age 78.
“When our announcer of 15 years Bill Wendell retired, producer Robert Morton came to my office with an audio tape containing auditions for several announcers,” Letterman told the New York Daily News via email. “Alan’s was the first and only voice we listened to. We knew he would be our choice.”
In addition to being the show’s announcer, Kalter was the star of numerous madcap sketches on the show, which included fake tirades against his talk show host boss.
Former How I Met Your Mother co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas were writers on Late Show, and were among those who penned sketches featuring the flame-haired announcer. Bays tweeted, “Alan Kalter RIP,” adding, “To us Late Show writers Alan was so much more than just the ‘From New York…’ guy. He was our muse. We loved writing for him. Such a cheerful presence on the show. And around the office. Rest easy Big Red.”
Thomas noted, “Oh man, @CarterBays and I loved writing for Alan — some of my fondest memories of Late Show are the absolutely batsh**-bonkers bits we wrote for Alan, who was always game to let us make him look insane…rest in peace, Alan, and thanks for the laughs…”
Bill Scheft, another Late Show alum, posted one of Kalter’s bits, adding, “RIP Alan Kalter. A lovely man, and as my old boss might say, a ‘perfect stooge….’
Kalter died Monday at Connecticut’s Stamford Hospital, his wife Peggy told The Hollywood Reporter. No cause of death was given.
Alan Kalter RIP. Between him and Tony Mendez it’s a heartbreaking time. To us Late Show writers Alan was so much more than just the “From New York…” guy. He was our muse. We loved writing for him. Such a cheerful presence on the show. And around the office. Rest easy Big Red. pic.twitter.com/xjPY906VlJ
— Carter Bays (@CarterBays) October 4, 2021
Oh man, @CarterBays and I loved writing for Alan — some of my fondest memories of Late Show are the absolutely batshit-bonkers bits we wrote for Alan, who was always game to let us make him look insane…rest in peace, Alan, and thanks for the laughs…https://t.co/5RUfMGmryS
— Craig Thomas (@HimymCraig) October 5, 2021
RIP Alan Kalter. A lovely man, and as my old boss might say, a “perfect stooge….” https://t.co/szujjPYBFN
— Bill Scheft (@billscheft) October 4, 2021
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