Great TV moments with David Letterman's mom, Dorothy Mengering
INDIANAPOLIS — David Letterman's mom, Dorothy Mengering, died Wednesday at age 95, but she leaves a lasting legacy as a correspondent and frequent guest on her son’s late-night TV show.
Letterman's mom, who lived in Carmel, Ind., delivered Top 10 lists, presented cooking segments and worked as a correspondent at three Winter Olympics.
Here are some of Mengering's best TV moments:
Cooking with Dave's mom, 1996
Mengering visits Letterman's studio to show off her cookbook and fry up a bologna sandwich.
"When I was a kid we had this, I would say, every day, three or four times a day for three or four years," Letterman says at about the 3:30-minute mark.
The first TV appearance of Dave's mom, 1986
In her first TV appearance, Letterman hands his mom a bullhorn, opens a window and has announced to the streets of New York: "My name is Jane Pauley. I'm being held prisoner by Willard Scott. He's not wearing pants."
Dave's mom reports from the Olympics, 1994
This clip shows five days of Mengering's reports from the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway.
At about 8:10 into the video, she asks figure skater Brian Boitano if he sews his own costumes, and at 10:45, she tries cross country skiing. At 15:45, Dave's mom sits down for an interview with figure skater Nancy Kerrigan and asks, "Are you sure you wouldn't like some cocoa?"
Dave calls mom on Thanksgiving, 1991
Letterman calls his mom to talk about the menu for the Thanksgiving celebration at her home. At 3:20: "Creamed onions, Mom did you make that up?" Letterman asks.
Dave's mom does Top 10 list on 84th birthday
"She looks great. She is great. She is active," Letterman says at the 20-second mark. "She dances. She tosses back a belt every now and then. And if you can't get her at the house, she's out at the dog track."
Letterman, of course, was kidding. Indiana has no dog tracks.
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