Dave

When a client appeared on “Letterman,” I got to tag along.

[Decided to write something every day during February. Hope you’ll stop in occasionally to see what’s on my mind.]

I had the pleasure of accompanying a client to “Late Night with David Letterman” taping in May 1989. Our agency had worked for nine months to secure the opportunity for our spokesperson to promote an upcoming sports business trade show in Chicago.

This spokesperson had successfully gone on “Today” a few months prior. He and I had previously traveled to New York — me as his advance/prep man.

After nine months of on-and-off contact between our agency account team and the production contact, my client and I were seated in the show’s green room.

This was special for me, since I had idolized Letterman and his off-beat humor.

We attended the “Late Night” taping, which featured actress Dana Delaney. My client and I were invited to hang out in the green room with my production contact from Late Night, who had become something of a friend to our agency team.

We set up for the afternoon, and the segment went well during the run-through. My client did a great job during the “real” taping, despite Letterman’s impatient mood.

It was a great plug for the Chicago trade show. Afterward, he and I grabbed a pizza to celebrate and later watched the Bulls-Pistons game, followed by the Late Night episode, which featured Corbin Bernson and Andy Summers, back at the hotel.

It was surreal to be standing next to Paul Shaffer and hearing the show’s band play live. We also had brushes with greatness, including comedians Jeff Altman, Chris and Bob Elliott, and Letterman staffers Biff Henderson — and Larry “Bud” Melman in a sailor suit.

Later, my producer friend helped me see additional program tapings when “Late Night” did a week’s worth of episodes in The Chicago Theater (taping with an enthusiastic audience in The Chicago Theater).

It was a great experience, and I was proud that our client got the opportunity to appear on Letterman. The months of hard work and persistence by our PR team paid off, and as a longtime Letterman fan, my getting to go behind the scenes and witness the taping firsthand was unforgettable. (The opportunity to see additional tapings when “Late Night” came to The Chicago Theater further solidified my appreciation for the show.)