--- description: As the storied television host announces his retirement from the Late Show in 2015, we take a look back at his early career title: Photos: David Letterman’s Early Career image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6171827962ecb017/698688df35ba6ff580c01559/103385721.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Photos: David Letterman's Early Career by [Joseph C. Lin](/author/joseph-c-lin/) ## Joseph C. Lin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 3, 2014 9:39 PM CUT  One of David Letterman's earliest roles before he made it as a television host was as a guest star on Mork & Mindy. One of David Letterman's earliest roles before he made it as a television host was as a guest star on Mork & Mindy.CBS/Getty Images by [Joseph C. Lin](/author/joseph-c-lin/) ## Joseph C. Lin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 3, 2014 9:39 PM CUT  One of David Letterman's earliest roles before he made it as a television host was as a guest star on Mork & Mindy. CBS/Getty Images  Before he received his own show, Letterman was a regular guest host for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Above, he is seen interviewing Betty White. Paul Drinkwater—NBC/Getty Images  In 1980, Letterman finally got his own morning comedy show, The David Letterman Show. Above, he is seen interviewing Truman Capote. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  After the cancellation of his morning show, Letterman was given a new show and time slot, Late Night With David Letterman which immediately followed The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The first version of the Late Night franchise, debuted on February 1, 1982 and would eventually be succeeded by Conan O’Brien, seen above. Al Levine—NBC/Getty Images  Letterman left NBC for CBS to start the Late Show with David Letterman when NBC gave the reigns of The Tonight Show to Jay Leno instead of him after Johnny Carson's retirement. The first show debuted on August 30, 1993, with Letterman's retirement announced for 2015. New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/48995/photos-david-lettermans-early-career/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/48995/photos-david-lettermans-early-career/"},"headline":"Photos: David Letterman's Early Career","datePublished":"2014-04-03T21:39:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:29.834Z","description":"As the storied television host announces his retirement from the Late Show in 2015, we take a look back at his early career","url":"https://time.com/48995/photos-david-lettermans-early-career/","keywords":["David Letterman","photography","Late Show with David Letterman"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6171827962ecb017/698688df35ba6ff580c01559/103385721.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph C. Lin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-c-lin/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6171827962ecb017/698688df35ba6ff580c01559/103385721.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mork & Mindy","caption":"Mork & Mindy","creditText":"CBS/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/48995/photos-david-lettermans-early-career/","name":"Photos: David Letterman's Early Career"}}]}] ```