March 25, 2009: A Late Show to marriage

David Letterman finally marries girlfriend of 23 years.

by Jeffrey Cottrill

Some couples get married quickly right after they meet, and some put off marriage for years while remaining together. Comedian David Letterman, an icon of American late-night television since 1982, is clearly among the second group. He announced at a taping of Late Show with David Letterman on March 23 that he'd married girlfriend Regina Lasko secretly the previous Thursday -- after seeing her for more than 23 years.

Us Weekly had already revealed the news about the wedding.

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"Regina and I began dating in February of 1986," the comic and host said at the taping, according to a transcript of the CBS show, "and I said, 'Well, things are going pretty good; let's see what happens in about ten years.'" He added, "I had avoided getting married... I secretly felt that men who were married admired me... like I was the last of the real gunslingers."

Letterman married Lasko (who is alleged to be 48) at the Teton County Courthouse in Choteau, Montana. Their five-year-old son, Harry Joseph, attended the ceremony.

However, Letterman said they almost missed the wedding because the family's pickup truck got stuck in the mud not far from their Montana ranch. "So I get out of the truck," he told the Late Show studio audience, "and I walk two miles back to the house into a 50-mile-an-hour wind... and the whole way, I'm thinking, 'See, smartass, see, see, you try to get married, this is what happens.'" Fortunately, he returned on time with the car.

This is Letterman's second marriage. He was married to college sweetheart Michelle Cook from 1969 to 1977, and he also had a lengthy relationship with Late Night with David Letterman head writer Merrill Markoe during the 1980s.

David Letterman, who'll turn 62 in a few weeks, began his comedy career writing material for the 1970s sitcom Good Times and performing stand-up at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. He hosted Late Night with David Letterman from 1982 to 1993 and has hosted Late Show since then, in addition to his infamous Academy Awards stint in 1995.

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