Dying to Do 'Letterman'
By Mike Krumboltz,
Y! Buzz | Saturday, September 5, 2009, 1:13 AM
Letterman welcomes comedian Steve Mazan.
CBS/John Paul Filo
Several years ago, Steve Mazan, a stand-up comedian, was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer. Unsure of how much time he had left, Mr. Mazan immediately set out to achieve his life-long dream -- perform comedy on the David Letterman show. Tonight that goal became a reality.
It didn't always seem like this was going to happen. After hearing about his illness, Mazan began petitioning CBS to let him perform at the Ed Sullivan Theater. He even started a website, the darkly comic "DyingtoDoLetterman.com." But CBS said, "No dice." Just because Mazan had cancer, CBS wasn't automatically going to book him on "The Late Show With David Letterman." In other words, Mazan would have to earn it.
Mazan was undeterred and respected the network for its decision. After all this is a guy whose motto is: "If you stop chasing your dream, you're already dead." He worked at his craft and eventually, he got to perform on Craig Ferguson's show twice. Of course, while Ferguson is great and all, he's not Letterman.
Mazan kept on pushing. And soon enough, Letterman came calling. But that's not all -- a documentary on Mazan's mission is currently in production. No doubt his Letterman routine on the evils of hotel keycards will be a highlight.
Dying to Do 'Letterman' - Yahoo! TV Blog