Last Night Last Century: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Makes Her Late Show Debut

Late Night Last Century is a weekly column highlighting some of the funniest and most unforgettable comedy from late night, talk shows, and variety shows of the 20th century currently streaming on YouTube. Today, we go back to 1994, when Julia Louis-Dreyfus first appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.

A year before David Letterman famously burst onto the set of Seinfeld and less than 12 months after the host made the jump from NBC to CBS, Julia Louis-Dreyfus made her Late Show debut on May 11, 1994. By this point, Seinfeld, or, as Letterman described it, “the popular television series that the kids are all talking about,” was nearing its apex in popularity, having nearly finished its fifth season, which included such classics as “The Puffy Shirt,” “The Marine Biologist,” and its finale, “The Opposite.”  

Despite the show’s popularity, Louis-Dreyfus, Letterman told the audience, was nearly bumped from the program. Previous segments, including an interview with the great James Caan, caused the show to run late, leaving room for just four minutes of time with the woman who would go on to become arguably the greatest comedic performer of television’s last 50 years. Not even Nielsen ratings can guarantee a late night spot. 

But Louis-Dreyfus doesn’t need much time to take over the show. Letterman asks her about the success of Seinfeld, and Louis-Dreyfus says that she often gets recognized and almost recognized. She recounts a story of walking through a park and being stopped by a woman who asks whether anyone had ever told her she looks like Elaine from Seinfeld. Not wanting to make a fuss, Louis-Dreyfus nicely responded in the affirmative, to which the woman replied, “You’re actually a lot prettier than she is,” before adding that she thought the show was “awful.”

Just one day after Louis-Dreyfus’s appearance on The Late Show, Seinfeld aired the second-to-last episode of the season, “The Hamptons.” In the episode, George is changing after a swim. Jerry’s girlfriend then accidentally walks in on him, gets a look, and laughs. This leads George to famously ask Elaine if women know about “shrinkage.” 

Another plotpoint concerns Elaine, who is smitten after a pediatrician calls her “breathtaking.” But she is soon shocked when the man then uses the same word to describe her friend’s ugly baby. She must confront him. “Well, you know, Elaine,” he says, “Sometimes you say a thing like that just to be nice.” He then looks up at the stars, leaving Elaine to wonder. At least she knows where the woman from the park stands.

Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic and researcher, who first contributed to Paste in 2022. He is an assistant editor at Cineaste, a GALECA member, and since 2019 has hosted The Video Essay Podcast. You can follow and/or unfollow him on Twitter and learn more about him via his website.