Letterman Ends Tonight, Which Late Night TV Host Would You Want to Grab a Beer With?

[polldaddy poll=8880855]It’s still 100+ days until football season and there isn’t much to talk about JMU sports-wise, so let’s go a little off topic. As you’re probably well aware, David Letterman ends his 33 year run as a late night tv host this evening. You’re going to read plenty of tributes to Dave that are far more poignant and well written than anything I could come up with. Or maybe you won’t read them, but there will be no shortage of options for anyone who wants to. That’s not what this is.

I’m a huge Letterman fan and am sad to see the show go. The truth is though, Dave has always struck me as a bit of a curmudgeon. It’s contributed to his humor and is part of his charm for tv viewers. I love watching Dave, but I’m not sure it would be too thrilling to be around him. Which got me thinking, would any of these late night tv hosts be fun to hang out with? Are there any of them who’d be fun to grab a beer with? Let’s decide.

We’ll stick to the current crop of late night hosts. Of course, that means the following guys.

Conan O’Brien – Whip smart guy who honed his craft as a writer on the Simpsons (he penned the monorail episode) and at the Harvard Lampoon before that. He got screwed by Leno, but rallied to become a bit of a cult favorite. He’s got an offbeat sense of humor and doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously.

Jimmy Fallon – Creative and non-offensive might be the best way to describe him. He’s a guy who definitely seems to enjoy himself and put everyone at ease. You never know with any of these folks, but he sure seems like a nice person. Part of me wonders if he’s ever “off” though, or if he’d be doing bits when you just wanted to drink a beer and relax.

Jimmy Kimmel – The other Jimmy, like Dave, seems destined to always finish second to the Tonight Show. And like Dave, that might be due to the fact that he doesn’t take a least common denominator approach to his comedy. That’s not to say that he’s super edgy, but he’s not a polished guy riffing on wacky headlines either. Also, he’s apparently a legit sports fan, so you could always talk football over beers.

John Stewart – Like Conan, he’s a super smart guy. He’s very funny and probably the most topical. He went to William & Mary though, so if you grabbed a beer with him, it might need to be in a Williamsburg deli instead of a bar.

Seth Meyers – He’s clearly still finding his rhythm as a late night talk show host. I’ve always been a big fan of his though. I think that like Conan, he might be a guy that starts slow, but evolves to be very funny in his own way. Plus, he was a former head writer at SNL so he’s probably got stories for days.

James Corden – Alright, I had to Google “Craig Ferguson’s replacement” to pull this guy’s name. He’s definitely the new kid on the block and has some work to do to make inroads here in America. I’ve only seen the show once, but I actually thought he was really fun. For the purposes of this exercise, I think he should get bonus points because I think he might actually have a beer with you if you asked. You gotta build ratings some how.

David Letterman – There’s not a lot of middle ground with Dave. You either love him, or his humor falls flat. As I mentioned, I’m firmly in the former camp. But I don’t think the curmudgeon thing is an act. He really seems like a guy best admired from afar. I’m not saying he’s a bad guy, but he’s pretty private and by most accounts is a pretty private guy who isn’t much for socializing.

Now, I know I’m never going to have a beer with any of these guys. Without over-thinking this (too late), here’s how I’d break the list down however. It’s in order of guys I’d least like to have a beer with to most. And yes, I’ll probably change the order about a million times if we were ever to discuss it in person.

7. Corden (too new, might rise with time)

6. Letterman

5. Stewart

4. Fallon

3. Meyers

2. O’Brien

1. Kimmel