That was a young Dave Letterman, who had a reputation for obliterating hecklers. Word spread backstage and the other comics filled the room to watch the massacre. Letterman, blinded by a spotlight, had no idea who was razzing him so he fired back with both barrels. That didn’t exactly faze Ringo, who was too drunk to notice how badly he was losing the fight.
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Finally, one comic clued in Letterman: “Hey Dave, it’s Ringo!”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Letterman responded before turning back to Starr. “You ruined your career, and now you’ve come here to ruin mine.”
Larry David Laid the Smack Down
Larry David, according to his fellow comics, hated the audience. And he wasn’t afraid to let his animosity show.
“Whenever there was a heckler (Larry would) invariably get into an argument,” says Kevin Nealon. “From the stage, Larry couldn’t tell if they were big or not … but he’d say, ‘Come on, let’s go. You, me, outside, right now!’”
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“Every time I saw him perform,” remembers Gilbert Gottfried, “he always seemed to hate it … to the point where fights would often break out. Of course, this was the most fun part of watching. I think my hands-down favorite was the time this massive guy who must have weighed over three hundred pounds stood up.”
But David always had a back-up plan. “I never had any physical altercations with anybody,” he says. “I always made sure I had the bouncers behind me anytime I ever said anything.”