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Letterman, who previously owned a home in New Canaan, turns 68 on Sunday. The late night television host and comedian was born April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Ind.
He began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station WBST and as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as an anchor, and weatherman.
In 1971, he appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500.
In 1975 , he moved to Los Angeles, and by the summer of 1977, he was a writer and regular on the six-week summer series "The Starland Vocal Band Show," broadcast on CBS.
He made a guest appearance on "Mork & Mindy" and appearances on game shows such as "The $20,000 Pyramid," "The Gong Show," "Password Plus" and "Liar's Club," as well as talk shows such as "The Mike Douglas Show."
On June 23, 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, "The David Letterman Show," which was a critical success.
He hosts the late night television talk show "Late Show with David Letterman," broadcast on CBS. He has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of "Late Night with David Letterman" on NBC.
In 1996, he was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.
In 2013, he surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in TV history, at 31 years.
He is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow up "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was "Everybody Loves Raymond," currently in syndication.
He is among the most nominated people in Emmy Award history with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and five Primetime Emmys since 1981.
He also won four American Comedy Awards and in 2011 became the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards. He was a recipient of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors.
On April 3, he announced he will retire at the conclusion of his current contract, which ends in August 2015.
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