Celebrity News
David Letterman Gripes People ‘Used’ to Know ‘Who’ He Is, Now He’s Mistaken For Dick Van Dyke
Uttering the clichéd celebrity line “Don’t you know who I am?” won’t work with David Letterman — because the iconic funnyman is learning the hard way what a decade off television can do to a man’s celebrity status.
During a candid sit-down on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the 78-year-old — who hosted the Late Show from 1993 to 2015 — revealed he was recently mistaken for another bearded showbiz legend: Dick Van Dyke.
“Here’s what happens to me now: People used to know who I am and now I have to wear a name tag to get anything going,” Letterman quipped during his appearance on Wednesday, December 10.
He recalled one encounter at what he believed was “probably the farmers’ market,” when a stranger approached him and asked, “Are you who I think you are?”
According to Letterman, who described himself as “all loaded up,” jokingly responded, “Well, that depends on who you think I are” — only for the man to guess he was the 99-year-old Van Dyke.
Letterman’s response? A simple defeated: “No.”
The comedy icon told Kimmel that fans have gone from saying they watched him every night to claiming their parents — or even grandparents “in the hospital” — were the real viewers.
Still, Letterman’s far from retired: Season 6 of his Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction premieres December 16, featuring interviews with Michael B. Jordan, MrBeast and Jason Bateman.
