Did a ‘Far Side’ Comic Convince David Letterman to Fix the Gap in His Teeth?

Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, David Letterman was known for two things: hosting a talk show, and having a big gap in his teeth. Pretty much every caricature and impersonation of the comedian made sure to include this signature dental quirk.

But somewhere along the way, the Late Show host had the gap “closed,” which is somewhat surprising, considering that he was so adamant about not altering his smile early in his career. 

Before he was a late-night star, Letterman was cast as the lead of Peeping Times, a 60 Minutes parody that was co-written by Christopher Guest and featured a brief appearance from Mel Brooks in the role of “Adolf Hitler.”

According to the Television Academy, the network was very concerned about Letterman’s teeth, and tried to force him to get dental surgery before shooting the pilot. Letterman refused, and convinced them to let him wear a dental insert instead. “Which was fine, except that when I wore them, I couldn’t speak,” Letterman later recalled.

So why did he opt to alter his teeth after so many years of steadfastly refusing to? On Reddit, one user speculated that it could be due to a particularly biting Gary Larson cartoon. A 1994 Far Side installment depicted a tooth-like rock formation with a torrent of water gushing through the middle. The name of this landmark? “Letterman Falls.”

“David Letterman got his teeth fixed not long after this comic. Maybe not a coincidence,” the Far Side fan theorized.

Incidentally, this comic was the source of some controversy since it seemingly copied a nearly-identical joke (involving “Letterman Dam”) created by 12-year-old Trevor Moore. The young cartoonist reportedly sent his book, Scraps, to Larson seven months prior to the publication of “Letterman Falls.” 

In a recent YouTube video, Letterman opted to clear up exactly why he opted to close his toothy gap, and it had nothing to do with The Far Side. “I would whistle when I talked, and it used to drive me crazy,” Letterman explained. “I mean we used to get calls from kennels on Long Island!”

But despite the fact that this video is literally called “The Truth About Dave’s Teeth” that may not actually be the truth about Dave’s teeth. Jason Zinoman, author of the biography Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night, said in an interview that Letterman once admitted that he “had that gap tooth closed” when “his son was born.” This was purely due to his insecurities around “how his son would see his teeth.”

“Which is kind of mind-blowing, you think here’s this guy, one of the most successful entertainers today — and obviously even if he wasn’t, his son’s going to love him regardless,” Zinoman pointed out.

This may be the first time in history that a YouTube video has contained inaccurate information.