BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?

Subject: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 05:31 PM

I think it looks awful. I love Dave's show, always have, even saw him in person back when he was at NBC- and am glad that he is the only talk show host who found a way to pay his writer's adequately and not have guests crossing picket lines to do the show; besides which he has always showcased the most creative and hippest musical talent on tv talk shows-

BUT the Beard. Ugh....well not to be biased here, but... Waddya think? Does he need to look like he's been riding the rails with Utah Bruce.... or should it go??

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Kim C
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 05:33 PM

Too caveman for me. (no offense to any cavemen reading, of course.)

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 05:35 PM

Buy him a bodhran instead.
G

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Wesley S
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 05:53 PM

Maybe he should shave it when the strike is over.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Big Mick
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 05:55 PM

Yes.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 05:58 PM

I was as shocked as anyone to see Dave walk out on the stage last night, but not unpleasantly so.

Of course, I'm a graybeard myself, almost exactly the same age as Dave (both of us born in 1947 ~ I'm a little younger). Only difference is, I haven't shaved my whole face since being discharged from the US Army in 1973.

It'll be interesting to see if and when he decides to go back to the cleanshaven look. I hope he doesn't.

I'd recommend that he just shave his neck, and maybe a bit on the cheeks, to create a clean line defining the shape of the beard. That's what I began doing at about age 45-50 (after years of not shaving at all).

Following that strategy, you can get away without shaving for a few days at a time. Well, maybe not if you appear on TV five nights a week...

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: bill kennedy
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 06:16 PM

no

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 06:33 PM

Odd coincidence: I too was born in 1947; I too have a beard that resembles Dave Letterman's; and I too haven't shaved since sometime in the early 1980s—I have forgotten the exact year. I had a beard intermittently before that, starting when I was a college freshman.

Yes, I think he could trim it a bit better. I agree that shaving one's neck and cheeks is a good idea, especially for a professional performer. He could probably get his makeup person to do it—unless union rules require a professional barber—but surely he, or his network, can afford it.

Another suggestion I have is to trim his mustache a bit shorter, so his mouth isn't hidden. He looks down a lot, at the papers on his desk, or maybe just out of habit, and with his head bent down you can't see his mouth. Although he's usually pretty deadpan, the expressiveness of the lips is an important communication tool. Let us see those lips!

No, I hope he doesn't shave it off completely.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 06:40 PM

Ummm....

Uh...

Well...

Can I get back to you about this later?

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Jan 08 - 06:52 PM

Last night, my friend called to say to be sure to watch him for the beard. She said he looked as though he should have a banjo on his knee or a mando! I agreed with his own assessments...he said he looked like a bum or something other and then like a lost hiker. He should shave it.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: gnu
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 05:20 AM

I like my beard because, as Dave said, I get tired of shaving every day. When they grey, as Robin pointed out to Dave, it ages one by years. Of course, when yer good lookin to begin with, it don't make no nevermind.

Dave has the best idea. Go on another show (I liked his shot at helping Conan out) and get it shaved off. Another $10k in his pocket.

Craig went the extra mile and ripped his off with his bare hands on his way back from Scotland. Stache too. What a trooper.

I vote ratsass.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Tweed
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 10:59 AM

Dump the beard Dave, you look like Foster Brooks and if you do the Wall of Velcro thing again you will rip your face trying to get loose.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Becca72
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 11:01 AM

I like it, but I'm partial to beards anyway...on men, of course. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 11:17 AM

His beard.
His choice.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 12:01 PM

I like beards, too, but it just looks wrong on him. You're right, he does look like Foster Brooks!

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: KB in Iowa
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 12:09 PM

Yes, Foster Brooks. As I watched I kept trying to think who he looked like but couldn't come up with it.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 12:22 PM

I'm appalled that so many seem to feel that beardedness automatically makes a man look like a "hobo."

Do you really feel that way, or isn't it really just that a very familar face suddenly looks so different, and that you find the effect unsettling?

If Dave was a complete stranger, a 60-year-old-guy, grayish-blond, with a neat haircut (or hairpiece, ha ha) and full beard, wearing a suit and tie, wouldn't you classify his appearance as "distinguished"?

Of course, there is the matter of those white socks, always so highly visible below the trouser cuffs of those thousand-dollar suits, thanks to the low-cut dancing-master tassel loafers. What the hell is that all about? At first glance, I once thought that they might be spats, which would signify a taste for old-fashioned formality. But once I realized they were white socks ~ gym socks? tube socks? ~ I didn't know how to react, and still don't.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Mooh
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 02:43 PM

Why would it matter to anyone but him? Are we so concerned with appearances? What's the issue?

Peace, Mooh (bearded for 20 odd years).

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 02:56 PM

Backwoodsman has it right.

But it is an improvement, IMO.


(bearded since 1977)

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 03:55 PM

Usually I think a beard does make a guy look distinguished. On him, it just looks ridiculous, imo. There is something to be said, as it noted above, about his needing to trim it all so his lips are more visible. can you imagine Jack Benny with that full of a moustache and beard getting his pursed lip look across? Letterman has a bit of that, but it is in the "bush" now...nearly invisible!

I get the white socks, if he has sensitive skin like mine. I wear white ones all of the time because the dyes in most really make me itch. For him, they've become sort of an icon, like that silly magic wand pencil he plays with.

To me a hobo is one who goes tramping around ala Utah Phillips. A bum is a lazy no-good-so-and-so...after all the song says "I know I'm a hobo but WHO said I was a bum?!"

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 04:10 PM

Kat, I think you may have inadvertently proven my point, that your distaste for Dave's facial hair is nothing more than a reaction to unexpected change to a very familiar face:

Usually I think a beard does make a guy look distinguished. On him, it just looks ridiculous, imo.
(Emphasis mine)

Trimming that moustache clear of the upper lip would help. I do it about once a week*, but if I were on TV, I would definitely do so just before every show. Makes a big difference.

I have heard about those sock-dye allergies, and always figured that must have been Dave's problem. I've always wondered if a sufferer could safely pull on a pair of colored socks over the white socks worn next to the skin. (I'm a firm believer in two pairs of socks ~ not only to withstand the cold of winter, but also as a preventative against blisters, etc., when embarking on a long hike or any other activity where one will be on one's feet more than usual.)

Sorry about mixing up the meaning of "hobo" vs "bum." My bad. I, of course, have been both, which may be why I'm not real careful about the distinction...

* "Whether I need to, or not," as they used to say about the weekly Saturday-night bath.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: topical tom
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 04:20 PM

I think he does look younger and better without it but he is right that it's a drag shaving every day. I grew a beard mostly because I seemed to have a gift for cutting into my skin or irritating it.
    Anyway, who cares what we think about it? It's what's inside that counts and I have always liked the man.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 04:43 PM

Too true, Tom.

Poppagator...I expect you're right. It is my preference on him.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: RangerSteve
Date: 04 Jan 08 - 04:50 PM

My first thought was that if his show ever fails, he can always get a job portraying A.Lincoln, pre-Civil War. Should he ever get any wrinkles, he can then be the Civil War Abe.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: gnu
Date: 05 Jan 08 - 06:41 AM

White (or gray) socks and underwear are the only healthy choice. Ya can actually contract non-gonococcal urethritis from dyed underwear. I found that out the hard way. (Go ahead, pun. Make my day.)

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Becca72
Date: 05 Jan 08 - 08:13 AM

Oh good lord...I'm glad my mother never knew that, Gnu...it was bad enough learning to "hover" over the toilet seat and not sit on anything cold for fear of hemorrhoids...and use of a tampon, even one time, meant instant painful death via toxic shock syndrome. And now you tell me my undies could make me sick! :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Desdemona
Date: 05 Jan 08 - 11:00 AM

I think it gives him gravitas, and helps to counterbalance the goofiness implied by his "gat-toothed" grin!

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Rapparee
Date: 05 Jan 08 - 12:49 PM

I think he should shave his entire body. Go for the eunuch look some men find so appealing these days.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: GUEST,EBarnacle
Date: 05 Jan 08 - 05:26 PM

I understand he is going to remove it on the next show. As a beardo [1972], I feel he should neaten it up to match his image but definitely keep it.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: Joybell
Date: 06 Jan 08 - 05:02 PM

I like it a lot. Must be fun to be able to make yourself look so very different by just waiting for hair to grow.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: gnu
Date: 07 Jan 08 - 03:12 PM

Fun? Not the two weeks of itchy and scratchy near the collar line. Well, that can be almost eliminated if you trim it as described above... from the rear line of the sideburns to just behind the jawbone and then under the jaw just above the Adam's Apple. You ladies will just have to judge under the jaw.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 07 Jan 08 - 09:06 PM

I wonder how much pressure he is under from the network--and which way.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 11:04 AM

Well, he did it, last night live. I was so sure I didn't like it on him; after I wasn't so sure. He just suddenly looks a lot older to me, with or without it. I thought he'd look younger without as he had done before, but not imo. Ah, well, he can always grow it back and it made for some fun anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 02:29 PM

YAY. I missed it on the show, but was able to view it on good ol' You Tube . He looks MUCH MUCH better without it I think. IF he ever (dares ) grow it back, he may want a trimmed beard and mustache, just a thin line around his jaw.

So do ya think Dave peeks into Mudcat here? and decided the "Nays" had it re: the beard? (or in case of how that one looked, the "neighs"). I prefer to believe he read this very post ;-)

Oh btw, I never minded the white socks, years ago he used to wear them with more sporting slacks (tan Dockers?) and I think he runs and plays baseball still, so he's ready to go.

Whatever.... now he looks like Dave again. And I'm happy 'nough with that.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 02:48 PM

I got another question. Letterman or Leno? Both seem personable and pretty down-to-earth, despite the fame and money.

I think I'd rather hang out with Dave. But, if Jay wanted me to take one of his bikes for a cruise with his crowd on the Calleeforneeahh coast highway, I wouldn't refuse. Unless Dave's mum was laying on pies for dessert.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:36 PM

Dave, in preference to Leno, any day.

I used to like both of them, but when Johnny Carson retired I felt very strongly that Dave would have been his proper successor. (Dave's program was already underway on NBC, same network and same production company as Carson's Tonight show, in the late timeslot following Johnny.)

Dave's show, even then, was a little more edgy and slightly more "youth-oriented" than Johnny's Tonight Show. At that point in history, I thought it would be entirely appropriate to move Dave into the slightly-earlier time slot, complete with his very moderately New-Age orientation, and granting him the official Tonight-Show mantle as successor to Steve Allen, Jack Parr, and Johnny Carson.

But no, the relative johnny-come-lately Jay Leno got the nod. It has always seemed to me that Jay is quite consiously just a little less adventurous and forward-looking than Dave, a little bit more of a corporate toady. (Before his coronation as successor to King Johnny, Jay seemed to be as irreverent as any other mainstream comic, but he seems to have altered his behavior since then.)

Another important factor: Dave enjoys the services of the incomparable Paul Shaffer. One of the great joys of Late Show viewership is listening to the musical selections Paul plays as each guest appears, trying to remember the title and/or lyric, and appreciating the enormous wit that went into that particular choice.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jan 08 - 06:26 PM

Paul is indeed quite the showman, composer and bandleader extrordinaire... but, what a band!!! Each and every member is superb. I would like to see a TV concert featuring the Late Show Orchestra. Especially, gosh, why can't I remember her name??? the chick on guitar?? she is not only an amazing guitarist, she sings like an angel.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 09 Jan 08 - 01:35 AM

Paul's "CBS Orchestra" functions as the house band for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony each year, along with a couple of notable ringers each year (Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn, often as not, plus another couple of guests each time out).

Bassist Will (whose last name I'm not sure of ~ Smith?) has a side gig as part of the "Fab Faux," a brilliant five-piece Beatle tribute band that manages to sound exactly like the original four.

I feel stupid about forgetting the woman guitar player's name, too. I think of her as one of the "new" members of the band, but she's probably been part of the group for well more than a decade by now.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 09 Jan 08 - 06:32 PM

Letterman hands down over Leno, for many of the reasons already stated (by Poppa) and many more. He's funnier- just seems to be overall smarter and fast on his feet. He has a certain class or depth, not always shown, but certainly in evidence in instances like the show he did right after 9-11, when he questioned whether he should even be there and closed it with Nanci Griffith singing "Goodnight New York." As a native NYer, I will tell you that he understood perfectly the feeling of our city, and I still get chills thinking of it.

I think Letterman is more loyal, has kept the same staff for years, whereas Leno fired his long time manager when he was hired by the tonight show because she was too brash too fit in with his new Hollywood set.Also Letterman has a show with satisfied writing staff; not forcing people to cross a picket line to be on it. Overall I think Dave is more sincere in some way I can't totally describe (not that I don't think Leno is a nice guy overall too; and would be happy to meet him, but would rather spend time with Dave).

Dave can't be beat on his musical guests; the Darlene Love Xmas song is always a highlight of the season (alas not this year). Yes I love the witty selection of musical references that Paul plays for different guests (almost reminds me of the old Mad Magazine's marginal drawings)and most of all I have actually learned about new music through his show! He seems more interested in showcasing 'folk' style music too.

I think Carson definitely wanted Letterman as his heir on late night btw, and I adored Carson. Also both Carson and Dave have a bit of 'adorable' quality, more so since he became a poppa.

Dave's just better that's all. And much better now, without the beard.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Jan 08 - 10:16 AM

The bass player's name in the CBS Orchestra is Will Lee.

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 11 Jan 08 - 03:04 PM

I was lucky enough to him saw perform with Bob Dylan at a concert at Jones Beach a number of years ago. Very gifted and intuitive player. Can't remember the woman's name tho. (drat).

Subject: RE: BS: Should Dave Letterman shave that beard?
From: gnu
Date: 11 Jan 08 - 04:22 PM

Felicia