When New Yorkers get late-night jitters, who better to turn to than Letterman; remember how good he was post-9/11? But Dave has been awol with shingles, leaving A-listers like Whoopi (and Z-listers like Tom Dreesen) to fill in. Here, the best and worst rent-a-hosts.
THE WORST: Brad Garrett The Everybody Loves Raymond co-star attacked the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, did a bug-eyed mockery of the mentally challenged, and, worst of all, dissed diminutive Paul Shaffer: “Get back in the Keebler tree!”
THE BEST: Vince Vaughn The Old School star had a youthful vibe and a natural’s ease. His decoding of Dave’s illness: “That’s show-biz talk for ‘drying out in Malibu.’ ” Best of all was Vaughn’s wink-wink gag when Rosie Perez described her Broadway co-star Joey Pantoliano’s onstage orgasm: “You don’t have to tell me, girlfriend,” he said. “I feel ya on that. That old Joey and that weird climax of his.”