Michael Douglas on David Letterman

This is why Dave remains Dave and nobody else can touch him. Not competitors with better writers or who can play guitar (did Jimmy Fallon do a great job hosting the Emmys or what?!) or are younger and more hip…

Jimmy Cagney used to say of acting, “Hit your mark and tell the truth.”

And it’s that quality that elevates Letterman’s show on a nightly basis. Jay Leno is a consummate showbiz celebrity knob-polisher, which is great, because that is the job description. I always thought Conan had the best writers. I’ve never really watched the Jimmys except when they had a guest on I was interested in, but both seemed affable and likeable and quick on their feet; again, a good skill-set for a late-night talk show host. I’ve never watched Craig Ferguson but I like him a lot based on just having finished his autobiography, American On Purpose.

But only Dave is Dave. Only Dave could articulate the national outrage after 9/11 the way he did. Only Dave still turns on the sexy young actresses like Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts the way Dave does. Dave even handles messy personal scandals better than most, and it all comes down to the same thing.

Dave is Dave. It’s not a front or a feint or a fugazi… If Dave is having a bad night, his show will suffer and he’ll spend the 60 minutes castigating himself on-air for the travesty unfolding around him.

If he has a politician on, he’ll skip over the small-talk and jump right to the hot-button issue that he can’t get off his mind. He asks the questions that you or I would ask if John McCain or Al Gore dropped by to have a beer with us without their handlers.

And honestly, I cannot imagine a stage-four cancer-stricken Michael Douglas asking Jay Leno for a hug. It had to be Dave.

I know this post should be about Michael Douglas, but what’s to be said? Cancer is a motherfucker and I hope the odds really are in his favor as he seemed to imply on the show. I’ve always loved his work and thought he was a cool guy with a prescient knack for picking projects that would dovetail with the national zeitgeist at the time of their release. The movie that comes immediately to mind is China Syndrome, which was released concurrently with the nuclear melt-down at Three Mile Island, but a quick scan of his filmography reveals far too many of such coincidences for them to all be coincidences.

Godspeed, Mr. Douglas. I hope to see you back on Letterman in the near future feeling as good as you looked last night.