VIDEO: David Letterman Slams NBC; Takes Poke At Jay Leno
Jan. 14 2010, Published 9:00 a.m. ET
David Letterman gave his two cents, and then some, on The Late Show Wednesday, talking about Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien's joust for The Tonight Show chair and the incompetence of NBC execs.
He joked that the chilly weather felt on the East Coast this week was actually caused by an "arctic chill between Jay and Conan."
VIDEO: Jay Leno Takes Jab At Conan; Compares NBC To Jon & Kate
Letterman said O'Brien was poised to depart NBC for a different network, adding, "Where'd he get an idea like that?!?"
The Indiana funnyman then took a not-so-veiled swipe at Leno, as he said, "I miss Johnny Carson; By God, when Johnny quit, he quit."
VIDEO: Conan O'Brien Expresses Contempt For Leno, NBC In Monologue
Letterman, it seemed, was most passionate in bashing NBC -- calling their old guard of execs "pinheads," "nitwits," "twits," "knuckledraggers" and "mouth-breathers” -- and recanting a well-known story about a show party he kept an unnamed Peacock Network exec out of, because "when you're this dumb, there's a price that comes with that. You can't be walking around stupid and expect to be invited to parties."
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The battles between Leno and Letterman for Carson's chair are well-chronicled in the 1994 book, The Late Shift, and 1996 film of the same name.