# Did David Letterman and Jerry Garcia play Scrabble? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435 "2004-05-10T11:05:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/1 "2004-05-10T11:05:50Z")
I recall seeing Late Night with David Letterman start one time with him playing Scrabble with Jerry Garcia. I remember an argument started when Dave argued that “truckin” was not actually a word and could not be used. Was I hallucinating? ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/2 "2004-05-10T11:57:12Z")
I can’t say if you were hallucinating or not. But according to [this](http://db.etree.org/myshows_detail.php?showid=1884013), Dave and Jerry did indeed play Scrabble on Sept. 17, 1987. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/3 "2004-05-10T12:38:42Z")
That may have been the same show where Dave, Biff, and Bob Weir performed the parlor trick where they all tried to lift Jerry using only two fingers each. It didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/4 "2004-05-10T14:51:24Z")
I remember that show. I don’t remember the Scrabble game (probably was part of the “cold opening”, I’m guessing), but I do remember one of the guys (Bob Weir I think) used the “n-word” when calling over Biff to do the levitation trick. I don’t believe the Grateful Dead were ever welcomed back to Dave’s show… ---
**Author:** ![Purple\_Brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f19dbf/32.png) [@Purple\_Brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purple_Brain)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/5 "2004-05-17T21:22:48Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I remember that show. I don’t remember the Scrabble game (probably was part of the “cold opening”, I’m guessing), but I do remember one of the guys (Bob Weir I think) used the “n-word” when calling over Biff to do the levitation trick. > > I don’t believe the Grateful Dead were ever welcomed back to Dave’s show… Bob Weir used the “n-word”? Whoa, that is most disappointing. Can anyone substantiate this? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/6 "2004-05-17T21:31:05Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I remember that show. I don’t remember the Scrabble game (probably was part of the “cold opening”, I’m guessing), but I do remember one of the guys (Bob Weir I think) used the “n-word” when calling over Biff to do the levitation trick. > > I don’t believe the Grateful Dead were ever welcomed back to Dave’s show… From the TV Tome page for Late Show: > [@](#): > > Show #0013 > gs: Louie Anderson (Guest) Jerry Garcia (Guest) David Grisman (Guest) > > Jerry Garcia sits in with the band, while Dave makes several jokes at the expense of Yassir Arafat. > [@](#): > > Show #2003 > gs: Sarah Jessica Parker (Guest) James Earl Jones (Guest (cameo)) The Dead (Guest) Joan Osborne (Guest) > > Dave promotes the as-yet-scripted “Indiana Jones IV,” while Alan turns into a certain comic book hero on “CBS Mailbag.” I guess they all made up. ---
**Author:** ![jerrysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47774/32.png) [@jerrysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerrysdad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/7 "2020-08-18T18:17:41Z")
Bob says “You don’t have to lift a finger”… Not the n-word. Use your ears peeps. ---
**Author:** ![jerrysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47774/32.png) [@jerrysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerrysdad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/8 "2020-08-18T18:18:41Z")
Bob says “You don’t have to lift a finger”… Not the n-word. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/9 "2020-08-18T18:53:15Z")
and if Joan Osborne was on with The Dead, then Jerry wasn’t ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-david-letterman-and-jerry-garcia-play-scrabble/244435/10 "2020-08-18T18:57:27Z")
> [@jerrysdad](#): > > Bob says “You don’t have to lift a finger”… Not the n-word. > > Use your ears peeps. Welcome to the SDMB, @jerrysdad. So you know, you’ve resurrected a thread that was 16 years old, and rebutting two posts from 16 years ago.