# David Letterman: did he say this about Roger Ebert, ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471 "2018-10-25T01:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/1 "2018-10-25T01:07:35Z")
Some of you older Dopers, can you ever remember David Letterman ragging on Roger Ebert (when he was alive) about ‘eating Boy Scouts’ or ‘Little Leaguers’ (his being so fat and all, har har.) . I know Roger Ebert was on Dave’s show off and on for years and years, but someone said Dave implied in a joke or monologue or … something - about Boy Scouts or Little Leaguers. I’ve looked and can’t find anything. Ring any bells? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/2 "2018-10-25T01:38:53Z")
I think you have the wrong tubby; Dave used to rag on [Atlanta Braves pitcher Terry Forster](https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/05/remember_when_david_letterman.html) constantly as the fattest man in baseball. Am I in the ballpark? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/3 "2018-10-25T02:12:44Z")
Touch down. Er… I mean homerun. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/4 "2018-10-25T03:02:16Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I think you have the wrong tubby; Dave used to rag on [Atlanta Braves pitcher Terry Forster](https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/05/remember_when_david_letterman.html) constantly as the fattest man in baseball. > > Am I in the ballpark? Aye; the “fat tub of goo” is the only time I recall Dave being directly insulting and rude about someone else’s appearance. Forster’s appearance on the show after losing weight was one of the best _LNwDL_ shows ever IMO. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/5 "2018-10-25T03:14:23Z")
I guess not Dave Letterman, but Roger Ebert was also a frequent guest on Howard Stern, and Howard would regularly joke about Ebert’s weight and want him to step on a scale, it seemed like good-natured ribbing though and Roger made light of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/6 "2018-10-25T09:56:56Z")
I am a huge fan of both Letterman and Ebert, and no, I don’t recall anything between them as described. I definitely remember the Fat Tub of Goo silliness, though. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/7 "2018-10-25T12:17:15Z")
The one reference I remember Dave making to Ebert’s weight was in a top ten list. The topic was something like “Top 10 Diet Book Titles”, and the item was: Look like Siskel, Eat like Ebert! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/8 "2018-10-25T13:46:47Z")
I remember Letterman once referred to Siskel and Ebert as “the fat guy and the gay guy”, then when the audience booed he said, “Okay, I guess he’s not _that_ fat.” I don’t remember anything about boy scouts or little Leaguers though. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/9 "2018-10-25T14:15:29Z")
Making fun of fat baseball players is a time honored tradition. I remember the respected baseball writer Bill James, in one of his _Abstracts_, listing Cecil Fielder’s weight as “220 lbs… leaving open the question of what he would weigh if he put his other foot on the scale”. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/10 "2018-10-25T14:42:52Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember Letterman once referred to Siskel and Ebert as “the fat guy and the gay guy”, then when the audience booed he said, “Okay, I guess he’s not _that_ fat.” > > I don’t remember anything about boy scouts or little Leaguers though. Really? Calling Siskel the gay guy sounds out of character. And of course he wasn’t gay either. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/11 "2018-10-25T15:12:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Really? Calling Siskel the gay guy sounds out of character. And of course he wasn’t gay either. Yeah, that one doesn’t really sound like Letterman. OTOH, I have vague memories of Letterman (I think) using the phrase “Ebert-seeking missile” in the punchline to a joke. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/12 "2018-10-25T16:40:48Z")
It’s interesting how items like this so easily and smoothly transfer themselves from one well-known character to another, for both the commenter and the target of the comments. (Letterman, known for a certain amount of snark, easily becomes the one who people think “must have said” just about any snarky talk-show comment.) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/13 "2018-10-25T17:29:12Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember Letterman once referred to Siskel and Ebert as “the fat guy and the gay guy”, then when the audience booed he said, “Okay, I guess he’s not _that_ fat.” > > I don’t remember anything about boy scouts or little Leaguers though. There was a “Simpsons” bit from back in the day where Homer is watching a pair of critics (not explicitly named Siskel and Ebert, but clearly inspired by them) reviewing a new “McBain” movie. Homer remarked “I love watching the bald guy argue with the fat guy.” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/14 "2018-10-25T18:45:20Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Really? Calling Siskel the gay guy sounds out of character. And of course he wasn’t gay either. That was the joke… Ebert was obviously “the fat guy”, and I don’t think anyone really thought Siskel was gay, which is why he got booed. So the joke was to back off on the “fat guy” statement rather than the obviously offensive “gay guy” crack. And this was back in the NBC days, definitely not out of character for the David Letterman of that era. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/15 "2018-10-25T19:13:35Z")
Well, thank you for the answers, _I_ couldn’t remember anything about Ebert and scouts or ball players, and if you good people couldn’t either, then it just didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/16 "2018-10-26T09:54:37Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember Letterman once referred to Siskel and Ebert as “the fat guy and the gay guy”, then when the audience booed he said, “Okay, I guess he’s not _that_ fat.” > > I don’t remember anything about boy scouts or little Leaguers though. I am extremely skeptical of this recollection, doesn’t sound like Letterman at all. BTW, **Shoeless** , you have the best username/avatar combo on the board. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-letterman-did-he-say-this-about-roger-ebert-ever/823471/17 "2018-10-26T13:28:21Z")
I remember Letterman making the comment in a monologue “Siskel and Ebert have officially changed their names to 'The Fat One and the Other One.” Never heard him make a gay comment about Siskel.