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He is one of many talk hosts who admired Johnny Carson and actually became somewhat of a disciple of his. After a stint as a weatherman and a failed morning talk TV show, David Letterman became the late night talker who took over where Carson left off with a younger generation.

In addition to appearances on “The Tonight Show,” Letterman guest hosted for Carson many times and in 1982, “Late Night with David Letterman” was born.

David Letterman doesn’t possess the smooth interview skills that Johnny Carson did but he connects with his audience through his comedy perhaps better than any late night talk host ever has. His sarcasm and cynicism both in comedy bits and during interviews grabbed hold of the younger audience that flocked to his program in the 1980s and 1990s and propelled him to superstardom. He took a format that was almost 40 years old and brought new life to it through his fresh approach and created features such as his top 10 lists and animal tricks that have become staples of popular culture.