# Bruce Willis is hosting Letterman!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816 "2003-02-27T04:35:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/1 "2003-02-27T04:35:34Z")
Yikes! Letterman is out with an eye problem so Willis is in! This is classic! ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/2 "2003-02-27T04:42:34Z")
Wow. Watching Bruce makes you realize how easy Dave makes it look. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/3 "2003-02-27T04:47:55Z")
Well, it was a short 12 minutes before Bruce was out there playing his harmonica with Paul. I like it. I’ve always liked that Bruce Willis isn’t afraid to put himself on the line(even at great risk) for fun. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/4 "2003-02-27T04:57:31Z")
I just turned it on and was like, WTF??? What’s with the plastic drop behind Bruce? Does Bruce look different than normal? He looks maybe skinnier than usual to me. Kinda sickly. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/5 "2003-02-27T05:01:38Z")
I like it too; Bruce is trying his best, and clearly having fun. I’d prefer to have seen Dave do the Rather interview, but Bruce is doing his best. On the other hand, if Bruce became the regular host, I might suddenly find that I like Leno a lot more than I used to. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/6 "2003-02-27T05:03:41Z")
**Tangent** , the plastic backdrop is from a joke they did at the beginning about terror-proofing the studio. I wish they’d take it down during a commercial break. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/7 "2003-02-27T05:13:50Z")
I’ve always noticed that Bruce looks thinner when he’s not on screen. I tend to think he bulks up for the movies and allows himself to thin back down inbewteen. Either that or his next movie requires him being skinny. I think it was very wise to have him interview each guest for only one segment so he didn’t have to handle commercial breaks too much. I wonder if Dave will be back for tomorrow? I know they film Thursday and Friday’s epsiodes on Thursday, so if he comes back for tomorrow, he has to do two shows in one day. I’m hoping they get another guest host for the next two nights. I would also love to hear the story about how Bruce went from guest to host. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/8 "2003-02-27T05:19:36Z")
Thanks for the info on the plastic, jackelope. I think Bruce is doing fine for such a last-minute stand-in. I can imagine he’s nervous as hell. I didn’t know that about taping Friday’s show on Thursday! You learn something new every day on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/9 "2003-02-27T05:41:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tangent \* > \*\* > I didn’t know that about taping Friday’s show on Thursday! You learn something new every day on the SDMB. \*\* Yes, one of the very few things I’m an expert about is Letterman. You can often here Dave make jokes about Thursday’s audience to the Friday crowd(which is primarily made up of the same people). It plays well on T.V., but the inside joke is always with the audience. If your curious, Dave used to live in Connecticut. He liked to have a three day weekend every week so he had to make the drive(which he did everyday) one less time a week. He now lives in New York state, so the drive is less but he still likes the time off. Funny thing is, the papers didn’t realize Dave had moved to New York until a year after he did, so they reported it like big news…a year late. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/10 "2003-02-27T05:53:34Z")
According to the AP, Thursday and Friday they’ll be showing reruns. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/11 "2003-02-27T06:00:57Z")
I thought the plastic and duct tape behind Rather talking about Saddam was very appropriate. Bruce did a good job. The fact the he doesn’t take himself seriously is a big help. “Can we show this on TV?, Look.” ---
**Author:** ![D-bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@D-bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D-bear)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/12 "2003-02-27T06:09:51Z")
I don’t think it’ll be Bruce again tomorrow, Carmen Electra said she was supposed to be on “tomorrow” but since Dave’s having the eye surgery she rushed to the studio and didn’t even have time to shave her legs. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/13 "2003-02-27T08:02:27Z")
I would not want to see Bruce host on a regular basis, but I watched the Rather interview and thought it was done quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/14 "2003-02-27T14:34:46Z")
I was impressed by the amount of prep work they did to help Bruce out. The burlesque scene, as well as the “Tears of the Sun” post-screening poll were pretty funny, and really showed how much effort Bruce put into it. Not spectacular stuff, but it worked in a pinch. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/15 "2003-02-27T14:48:08Z")
Actually, he did that burlesque scene years ago (when Demi did _Striptease_) and they play a clip of it almost every time he’s on the show. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/16 "2003-02-27T15:43:28Z")
Isn’t this first time Dave ever had a guest host? Johnny used to all the time, but I’ve never seen it from Dave. BTW, Leno is unwatchable IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/17 "2003-02-27T16:01:42Z")
Nah, when Dave went out for heart surgery Bill Cosby stood in for one night (and was hysterical), and he even refused to sit behind the desk because that was “Dave’s seat”. He sat in the first guest chair because he said that was where he always sat. Very classy. Kathie Lee Gifford also sat in as guest host one night, and, as much as I hate to say it, was actually pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/18 "2003-02-27T17:53:50Z")
Damn, I wish I hadn’t missed the first half hour!! I thought Bruce was funny, but I can’t stand that Carmen Electra, so I didn’t watch very long. Got in just in time to see the clip of Bruce wearing the bikini…it’s STILL funny after all this time. And I’d rather see Kathie Lee Gifford host every night than watch Jay Leno!! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/19 "2003-02-27T18:41:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\*I was impressed by the amount of prep work they did to help Bruce out. The burlesque scene, as well as the “Tears of the Sun” post-screening poll were pretty funny, and really showed how much effort Bruce put into it. Not spectacular stuff, but it worked in a pinch. \*\* Bruce probably filmed the Tears of the Sun screening stuff planning on showing it as a guest. He always does one thing like that when he’s on Letterman(like the Strip Tease dance, done when Demi Moore was in Strip Tease). He actually revealed he shaved his head on Letterman, wearing a skull cap the whole time, then whipping it off to reveal that he was bald and had a Eight-Ball sticker on the top of his head. He is on the short list of Dave’s favorite guests. Others include Bill Cosby, Regis Philbin, Tony Danza(he’s a nice guy), and Julia Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Madawc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@Madawc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madawc)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816/20 "2003-02-27T18:41:53Z")
yes jay leno sucks! amen to that, but bruce willis every night would be a very different change and i’d probably tune in to Jimmy Kimmel for a bit. then it’s LATE NIGHT WITH CONANNNN O"BRRRRRRRRRRRIENNNN (ala Joel). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-willis-is-hosting-letterman/157816.md?page=2)