From The Golden Age Of Late Night Comedy

Came across the infamous Crispin Glover clip from Letterman's show in 1987 (again, Windows Media Player needed to join in the fun). Really worth watching. Extremely funny. Seriously. No, I mean it.

This was when Letterman was open to his guests performing conceptual pieces in lieu of an interview (though here Letterman appears simply annoyed, which makes the segment even funnier). Think back to Andy Kaufman, Pre-Playhouse Pee Wee Herman, and Sandra Bernhard. Each time they came on Letterman you knew they would force Dave into a corner which, again, made for great TV.

I spent an afternoon with Glover on a Hoboken film set (along with Rik Mayall of "The Young Ones," who I was profiling for a women's -- that's right, a women's magazine). He was low-key but intense, and wouldn't touch the film crew's food spread (he had a macro-feast shipped in from Souen). When he prepped for a scene he paced in a corner talking to himself, working himself into character. Clenched his fists and his jaw. His eyes sharpened. Within minutes, he was someone else completely. Mayall advised that I shouldn't approach Glover while he was in that state. Feeling Glover's raw but focused energy, I had no intention of doing so.

So, enjoy this little blast from the exciting 80s. I did. Honestly.

OH YEAH: Here's a nice audio summation by Harvey Pekar about his experiences on Letterman's show.