captioning made possible by johnson & johnson where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations >> osgood: good morning, i'm charles osgood this is "sunday morning." a bittersweet subpoena day morning, because in just three days fans of the late show with david letterman will be saying so long, dave. he's retiring after wednesday's show. throughout this morning we'll be saying our goodbyes and hearing from david letterman himself as he talks with jane pauley.

>> after three decades of late night, david letterman is saying so long. >> i don't think i'll ever be back in this building again. honestly. >> because -- >> just too difficult for me. >> goodbye. >> david letterman. on the good times. the tough times. and the future. ahead this sunday morning. >> osgood: then off to the movies where the instruction places, means actors should be in position for the camera. but more often the places where movies are made are no where near hollywood. that lee cowan is costing l.a. big time. >> it's that time of year again. the summer movie season when hollywood releases it's biggest

blockbuster hopefuls. >> i'll be back. >> what? >> but hollywood home to the movies any more. >> still heart and soul of the industry where just the headquarters were. >> ahead on "sunday morning," what tinsel town is doing to gets it's tinsel back. >> the whitney museum is old new york institution with a brand new home. norah o'donnell will pay it a visit. >> from the outside it can be easy to underestimate. but step inside and newest museum to open in new york city dazzles. >> hope people will be surprised. i hope that they have moments of great pleasure and senses of humor. >> we visit a blockbuster new home of the whitney museum of american art. later on sunday morning. >> fun in the sun is the owner

of the day at first of kind community in arizona. that is marking a special anniversary. >> sun city first opened in 1960, people questioned the idea of a community just for active seniors. now, children and grandchildren of early residents have moved in. >> i can remember coming here in my 20s thinking, you know this is where all the old people live. then i became one. it was like, this is the most natural police in the world. >> sun city ages gracefully later on "sunday morning." >> rita braver talks with judy blume. steve hartman meets one young man's unusual prom date. and offers his own tribute to david letterman. first, the headlines of this sunday morning the 17th of

may, 2015. several tornadoes slammed into the nation's mid section. they were concentrated in rural oklahoma reports of damage to homes, businesses and power lines but no casualties or injuries reported. a top isis leader has been killed by american special operations forces in syria. the pentagon says, forces tried to capture him. but he put up a fight. his wife was captured, he was in charge. terror groups big money oil businesses. amtrak officials say an emergency braking system will be in police on the lines northeast corridor when passenger service resumes. a speeding train derailed last tuesday, killing eight people. a 16-year-old girl has been gored by a bison in yellowstone.

she was posing for a picture. the girl was airlift with serious injuries. the downpour at the preakness in baltimore american pharaoh took the second leg of the triple crown. he won with california chrome before losing at the belmont stakes. as for today's weather several straights from texas to minnesota are in the bull's eye again for severe storms. the week ahead calm, the plains scattered showers most everywhere else. >> next -- movie makers leave hollywood mind. and later -- >> the top ten things i'm going to miss 'doubt dave. >> electric sexual chemistry. >> yeah!

>> osgood: a long hollywood tradition, places is what the directors tells the actors. why is hollywood less and less frequently among the places that they're being shot. our cover story reported by lee cowan.

>> next week, california will have a very bad day. or at least that's the way hollywood will make it look. san andreas is all about the big one, 9.0 earthquake striking california. but surprisingly hardly of any of "san andreas" was actually made in california. they shot the disaster epic in australia instead. >> the term run away production has been a bugaboo for this industry for years and years and years. >> what hollywood is running to says producer david landis caster is any place that can get the most bang for movie making buck. >> economics are critical. any edge you can get whether it's a five, 10, 20% tax credit

you're going to chase it. >> nearly 40 states now offer some kind of tax break rebate or grant to entice hollywood to shoot somewhere else. since its peak in 1996, location feature filming in and around los angeles has plummeted by 50%. for those behind the cameras like video assist engineer david goldsmith, that has put a tarnish on tinsel town. >> wearer huge destination for tourism. it's hollywood. but we're not as busy as we used to be. that's a big problem, 7/8ths. >> hollywood was once synonymous with movie magic. >> react to that. let me see it in your faces. hear it in your voices. >> like detroit for its auto industry l.a.'s film factories

gave hollywood its identity. and while hollywood will always remain center of movie glitz and glamour it's the works force that the mayor is worried 'it. >> we're seeing these middle class jobs go off to louisiana to georgia to canada, north carolina. we're talking billions of dollars that would have been spent in california that was not there. tens of thousands of jobs. >> how are you? >> ever since taking office two years ago mayor eric garcetti has vowed to make hollywood at least more competitive. he's helped push through a new $330 million that will triple the tax breaks for movies like to one "message from the king." >> this is a show business. the show is nice but you have to be smart about the business, too.

>> especially when you consider the recent success of the other l.a. louisiana. "pitch perfect 2" released this weekend was shot in the bayou state as were two other blockbuster sequels "jurassic world" and terminator 2" there have been so many feature films shot in louisiana it's earned the nickname hollywood south. louisiana first rolled out its tax credit red carpet back in 200 offering to cover up to 35% of the film's local cost. that means when warner brothers spent around $120 million shooting "green lantern" in louisiana, the studio got back almost $37 million. that's more than the statal located to the university of new

orleans last year. >> do you think the program is worth it? >> yes absolutely. when you see what this industry and what this incentive has brought here it's absolutely worth it. >> this is the small -- i don't know -- i'm not too good with square foot glam we met chris stelly who heads up louisiana's film office. a recently finished shooting another super hero film "the fantastic four." >> we deal with a hundred projects annually. we're doing something right. >> independent film makers love louisiana, too. take "showing roots" shot in louisiana. >> for economic standpoint why do they shoot the movie in l.a. if they can possibly. >> while the tax credit helped his film's bottom line it also boosts the local economy. >> these are mini economic

zons. >> how many people are you employing here? >> a hundred. certain days more. >> critics aren't impressed. >> every independent study has shown that it returns pennies on the dollar. >> jan is the director of the louisiana budget project a watchdog group that claims rewarding the film industry has cost the state. >> this doesn't come close to paying for itself. what we're doing in effect is paying movie productions to come and shoot in louisiana. >> is there any economic benefit in your view? >> sure. for the people in the film industry. >> in a state with an estimated $1.6 billion budget short fall those are public dollars not being spent on basic necessities. >> nobody is saying it has to make money for state government. i think there is argument we

shouldn't be spending money to keep this industry here. >> many louisiana legislators agree. last month, several pre pose as were put forward to cap the amount of money the state spends on film credits. but some worry about limiting the program too much. take north carolina. played host to the film "the hunger games" the tax credits used to be among the most generous. worried it was costing too much, north carolina abandoned the program. hunger games two" was shot in georgia. the test for california, whether it actually translates into more jabs or just subsidizes films that would have been made in hollywood anyway. for workers like david it at least gives california a fighting chance to keep the state's home grown industry at home. >> this is a job creating machine, and we manufacture something. and that's what california

needs. >> osgood: coming up -- laurence welk. that were just totally pitch black. those things had to change. we wanted to restore our lighting system in the city. you can have the greatest dreams in the world, but unless you can finance those dreams, it doesn't happen. at the time that the bankruptcy filing was done, the public lighting authority had a hard time of finding a bank. citi did not run away from the table like some other bankers did. citi had the strength to help us go to the credit markets and raise the money. it's a brighter day in detroit. people can see better when they're out doing their tasks, young people are moving back in town the kids are feeling safer while they walk to school. and folks are making investments and

the community is moving forward. 40% of the lights were out, but they're not out for long.they're coming back. why am i so awake? did you know your brain has a wake system... and a sleep system? science suggests when you have insomnia, the neurotransmitters in your wake system may be too strong, which may be preventing you from getting the sleep you need. talk to your doctor about ways to manage your insomnia. ♪ ♪ you and me, we could be bare footin' ♪ ♪ we'll certainly get around, ohh ♪ the ultimate do-over for wood and concrete. don't replace, resurface. behr premium deckover. exclusively at the home depot. >> osgood: now a page from our sunday morningal mayonnaise. may 17, 1992, 23 years ago

today. the day the champagne music went flat. for that was the day tv band leader and accordionist laurence welk died at the age of 89. he was born into a german speaking immigrant family in strasberg, north dakota. a school drop out after just four grades. welk promised his father he would work on the family farm until age 21. in exchange for the gift of an accordions. >> he took off to become a me generation to find his fame and fortune. he didn't speak any english at the time. >> in the 1999 interview welk's son larry told our bill geist his father spent years touring the midwest with other musicians. >> my dad had bands called the honolulu fruitglum orchestra. >> in 1951 welk and his

orchestra landed local tv show in los angeles. show that went nationwide. >> from hollywood, the one the only, laurence welk and champagne music. >> for 27 years first on abc then syndication. >> ready boys? >> laurence welk and champagne music makers bubbled their way into millions of homes. hosted his final show in 1982. distinctive on air delivery was used for preserving the. >> a one, a two a three a four, a half a million dollars. >> the funding of defeated laurence welk and his show are beloved by many watched in reruns and dvds to this day.

>> wear comfortable shoes. the new whitney museum, next. woman: it's been a journey to get where i am. and i didn't get here alone. there were people who listened along the way. people who gave me options. kept me on track. and through it all my retirement never got left behind. so today, i'm prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today.

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>> osgood: the whitney museum a trevor trove of american art. first opened its doors 101 years ago. now opened its doors in a brand new building. nora o'donnell of cbs this morning gives us a tour. >> sitting on the edge of the hudson river in new york city, the new home of the whitney museum of american art looks ready to set sail. packed with a cargo of art. >> our greatest specialty that we focus on art of the united states. >> adam is the museum's director. >> art made by an artist from

abroad working in the united states. maybe from the united states working abroad. it's america in its broadest sense but it is art that somehow has connection to this country. for example here you have charles the great grain elevators which were in pennsylvania. >> he over saw whitney's move from the home of 49 years on upper east side of manhattan to the trendy meat packing district downtown. you outgrew the old space. >> i always say it's a little bit like a wonderful suit, fantastic thing but it's still too small it does not function for all of the things that we need to do. whitney originally opened in 1956 we had two thousand works of heart. now we have 22,000.

>> once you say it's right in the financial district. on this side of the city, when you lock out on the west side, you see the rest of the world. >> famed italian architect was enlisted to design the 422 million dollar whitney reboot. i noticed the ceilings. >> the ceiling that puts the lighting or the sound or need to put light and sound. also to suspend things. the artists come and use like the factory. the shelter.

>> he has design add true artist's museum. there are approximately 50,000 square feet of indoor gal prespace and 13,000 square feet of outdoor space for artists to use. >> it's a dream come true. to be an artist in the whitney and then have people actually sitting on my art is amazing. >> artist mary heilmann is one of many works designed to accommodate. usually museums just focus on the inside and the artwork this is a new kind of cultural idea that the art is part of the whole world. >> but some critics have not been so kind to the new design. calling it ungainly, a jumble, in cuss treial. there has been some criticism that the outside of the building

looks a little clunky or dull. >> well, yes. this is typical. i expected that. i think you don't have to do what people expect you to do. and there's no one artist in this collection. what people expected him to do or her to do, you do what you feel. you do what the truth is for you. you do that. >> the whitney first opened its doors in 1914, in nearby greenwich village. it was originally just a simple gallery space for neglected american artists. founded by gertrude vanderbilt whitney of the famous vanderbilt family. she was a sculpture and serious collector of american art. >> she never intended to build a museum. she actually offered -- didn't think american art was very interesting. >> so the whitney was born. >> it was her baby, the museum,

a place an incubate for for artists. a chance to show what they were doing at a time when nobody was interested in contemporary american art. >> artists like edward hopper, georgia bellows all found a home before they were wanted anywhere else. and as the whitney collection grew so did respect for american art. so much so that former first lady jacqueline kennedy was at the opening of the last whitney building in 1966. and almost 50 years later first lady michelle obama was there for the opening of this whitney. >> one visit one performance one touch and who knows how you could spark a child's imagination. >> in keeping with the whitney's original mission the inaugural exhibition is called "america is

hard to see." it's a collection of well-known and not so well-known american artists, all mixed together as an od to, the country and welcome to the world. what do you hope people will find when they come here? >> i don't think there is one particular thing. ♪ i hope that people will see things that surprise them. i hope that there are things that will move them. i hope that they have moments of great pleasure and senses of humor. that's the great thing about art it can be different things. i hope people can find the full range of experience at the whitney. >> when i'm down here during band numbers or commercial breaks -- >> osgood: hill to come. >> try to memorize what it looks

like. >> osgood: david letterman looks back. but first -- >> i could not glenn less you had somebody that was 55 years or older. c sun city.

>> osgood: more than half a century now folks have been having fun in the sun at pioneering retiring community. we take the plunge. >> sun is he, arizona has seven swimming pools eight golf courses and 40,000 residents. one thing it doesn't have. children. sun city is the country's oldest active adult age restricted retirement community. >> how do the three of you know each other? >> we're sisters. >> lynn and carol all live in sun city where each of the over 27,000 homes must have a resident of a certain age. >> so if i wanted to live here. >> i could not. >> up less you had somebody that was 55 years or older living with you. >> the citizens of sun city,

senior citizens, the average age well over 70, know how to keep busy. lapidary students learn how to make their own jewelry and if you like to bowl, you can have your pick, indoor or lawn. >> come on. >> any kind of activity you can think about there is a club for it. >> this is true de's club of choice. she's a uke-lady. today true delives in the same home her parents retired to back in 1968. >> i can remember coming here in my 20s thinking, you know, that's where all the old people live. and then i became one. and it was like, this is the most natural place in the world to live. >> her sisters never thought they would end up in sun city, either. >> when my husband came here he had the why the that this was a

place to come to die. so his famous saying was every time you heard a siren that meant there was a house up for sale. >> there was a time when the houses in sun city were brand new. the project was created by developer del webb. he built the beverly hilton hotel in beverly hills but sun city was his biggest gap i will. the experts said sun city would fail. you just didn't pull up roots and move away from the family unit. >> bill pearson is a past president of the del webb sun city museum held in one of the five original model homes. >> sold for $8500. >> i think in the arizona summer that's worth $600. >> very popular item here in sun

city. >> when the models open to the public in january 1 1906, the developers were nervous. >> it was new year's day. picture that. >> shows a turn out that exceeded their wildest dreams. >> 100,000 people through over three-day period. >> he knew he was selling a lifestyle and created promotional videos emphasizing that retirement didn't have to mean a pocket watch from the company. there were no schools to fund. and constant entertainment. >> that's the beauty of sunset. all your favorite activities are available to you right up the street. >> today, there are grandchildren of the original sun city residents moving in. rich followed his mother to sun city who followed her parents over 30 years ago. >> as soon as we were old enough i retired and we moved. and love it.

best decision we ever made. >> i couldn't believe it. when they told me i thought he was kidding. >> typically when you think three generations because you grew up here. by definition you are not allowed to grow up here. >> that's right. >> the development just for seniors has been duplicated across the country. compared to newer, more modern offerings, the 1960 community looks a little dated. so sun city is getting a facelift. installing solar panels and updating the r,c centers including the pride of sun city a brand new pickle ball facility. >> people are moving here from sun city west because of the pickle ball that we have here. it's incredible. >> pickle balla game played on a shrunken tennis court with paddles and a whistle balance isest growing sport among retirees. the sun has barely come up and the courts are already packed

with players like larry. who showed me the ropes. >> good job. what are you doing? >> i was introduced to the game about nine years ago and lost my first game just like you did. but it was -- >> we don't need to say that part. >> it's addictive. i try to play every day. some things interfere with my pickle ball and it doesn't make me happy. >> now faced with the largest generation of retirees in american history, sun city is attempting to age gracefully. after all it's 55 years old. sun city is old enough to live in sun city. ♪ >> osgood: ahead -- put a smile on my face.

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those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. fibromyalgia may have changed things. but with less pain, i'm still a doer. ask your doctor about lyrica today. lyrica. move forward with less fibromyalgia pain. the volkswagen golf was just named motor trend's 2015 car of the year. so was the 100% electric e-golf. and the 45 highway mpg tdi clean diesel. and last but not least the high performance gti. looks like we're gonna need a bigger podium. the volkswagen golf family. motor trend's 2015 "cars" of the year. ♪ ♪ with ingredients like roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and cocoa, there's a whole lot of happy in every jar of nutella. spread the happy.

>> osgood: second chances in life don't always come along. that's why michigan woman didn't hesitate to seize one when it was offered by her own son. here is steve hartman. >> for most of the sees i don't know at waterford high school outside detroit prom is optional but not for danotiss smith. every time this kid even suggested not going he got a electric from you his mom. >> she always started crying. >> you are going to do

everything that i wasn't able to do. >> belinda smith grew up dirt poor. her family couldn't afford to send her to prom. >> every day i came home from high school i cried because i wanted to go. >> that's why she vowed danottis would have the opportunity. that's why she was so disappointed when it seemed like he wasn't going to take it. every time she asked him about prom he was evasive until about a month ago when he finally came clean. >> i said, what's wrong? he said, i want to ask if you want to go with me. >> you? >> yeah. i'm like, yeah. i'll go! heck yea i'm going. >> it's like, all right. >> he helped his mom with every step. on prom day he got in the car he borrowed from his aunt, drove around the block and got back out to pick her up. corsage and all just like the date she always dreamed of.

>> i told my husband i love you, but you know what? i think your son just out did you. i just had to tell him that. >> did he it up right. >> she was beautiful. she was gorgeous. >> of course, there are disadvantages to bringing your mom to prom. >> stop chewing that gum. >> like getting parented on the dance floor. >> i'm moving. >> but that's the truly amazing thing about danottis, he didn't care. on this night when most kids want to be as far away from their parents as possible he had the courage you know it took courage to make this her moment. >> now she can say she went to prom. >> put a smile on my face that is going to last me a lifetime. >> whoever said you're only young once obviously never had a son who believed in second chances.

>> it was probably the most vivid year of my life. >> osgood: coming up. >> i'm great half you're sharing. >> thank you very much. jane and dave, together again. female announcer: the mattress price wars are on at sleep train! we challenged the manufacturers to offer even lower prices. now it's posturepedic vs. beautyrest with big savings of up to $400 off. serta icomfort and tempur-pedic go

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>> our first guest has been the very first guest on every first television program we've ever done. bill murray! >> it's sunday morning on cbs here again is charles osgood. >> are you all right? >> i went to the other place. is it dead over there. >> osgood: in 23 years after memorable entrance as david letter machine's first guest on the lay show here on cbs counting down to his last show.

visiting david is another hoosier who worked with dave way back home in indiana our own jane pauley. >> dave letterman. in his final days in the ed sullivan theater david letterman is reminiscing. >> when they were fin aring it there was a garbage can here. i had a football with me. and i said, let me see if i can drop the football into the crash can from up there. one shot. bang, zoom. i thought this was a sign of something. so i -- do we have the thing sneer. >> i'm game. >> it seems like you and your boys don't have anything planned? >> well, we had some plans we can change them. >> do anything you want. somebody stay down here. jane pauley, ladies and gentlemen. >> we were off and running. are those inflated? along the catwalk into the balcony.

>> so close. that scared me. >> was that closer? >> sure. no follow through. >> it took ten tries. >> thank you very much. >> i'm sorry. what does it mean? >> i don't know. i'm just happy i was able to do it. >> you were. that means you can't leave. >> okay, no. we have to leave. >> and leaving he is. with an astonishing line up of guests in his final weeks on the air. really a nervous place to sit. i have been honored to be among the 18,000 guests. no seriously. you remember stuff. you remember people? >> you know, i don't remember

things we've done on the show. we're lately been showing video of things we've done on the show. i have no memory of it. no memory of it. when i get home, regina will say, who is on the show. it's like dark dash yeah, who was? it might have been reese witherspoon then again might have been regis philbin. i'm just not sure. >> semi times appeared in the early days. once he thought it would be town make our voices sound like we'd inhaled helium. i wasn't so sure. >> it could be used against you one day. >> i want to apologize about the helium thing? >> what? you were on helium? >> if we spoke our voices sounded like -- i wouldn't say a

word. you did whatever you could to make me -- >> see, you behaved the way humans are expected to behave. my behavior was aberrant. i owe you an apology. >> often something apologetic about david letterman which goes way back. as we do. having both grown up in indianapolis. i recall an appearance in the '70s. you told high school kids about your success. you said, it's like robbing 7-eleven the money is good but you know you're going to get caught. >> yeah i hope i said that. in those days i was probably not you waiting to be tapped on the shoulder. okay, the real guy is here, you can go home now. that's what i was motivated. that fear, the fear of failure. then i had to -- oh, darn. i wasn't chosen again so i go

back home. >> in high school letterman was not a candidate for most likely to succeed. but that's where he found his calling. what did you want to be? >> i knew exactly. my sophomore year in high school, public speaking class. i signed right up. first day of class everybody has to stand up give a speech about themselves. i got up, gave my speech. had to be like two minutes. i said, wow that was easy to myself. and i had never said that about any other class in my academic career prior or after. couldn't do it now. couldn't do it in english. metal shop, maybe. >> after college at balance state, letterman became a local jack of all tv trades. >> i started when i was 0 years old in indianapolis. >> i remember you. the weather and the weekend movies. >> maybe not. >> hysterical.

>> the higher ups removed the border between indiana and ohio making it one giant state. personally i'm against it. >> one of the most important decisions he ever made was to get serious about comedy and move to los angeles. >> david letterman. >> within a few years he landed an appearance on "the tonight show" with johnny carson. >> it's white hot adrenaline. that's all it is. you go and talk to john know it's like, you are sitting on the knee of the lincoln memorial and lincoln is talking to you. like holy god it's the guy on the $5 bill. he's talking to me. >> i have a feeling you're going to be working a lot. of the i hope you come back. >> more appearances on "the tonight show" led to the morning show. and 11 a.m. >> it was a daytime version of

what you do now. >> my office would be filled with people watching, it was brilliant. >> it was like standing on overpass looking at a chain reaction collision that goes, okay nine cars. ten cars. look, it's 100 cars. it couldn't have been more poignant. >> the show lasted just four months. >> i thought that's it. you get one shot and away you go. >> though, letterman was a rating disaster in daytime nbc gave him a shot at late night. >> i started off at 12:30 following johnny carson. that was a safe place for a kid who didn't know what he was doing. >> that's what the network said, find some kid who doesn't know what he's doing. only one in america. that would be a kid from indianapolis, dave letterman. >> that's exactly. >> they gave you a paycheck. >> right. >> do this. that's right. >> for them.

it was all different. i couldn't get a show now. >> for years letterman was the heir-apparent to his idol, johnny carson. >> there were rumors that you were going to fire bomb nbc. >> i ain't waiting in line. >> letterman publicly wounded moved to cbs. >> i was disappointed. but to my way of thinking it was not bitter. >> this morning, i wake up and next to me in bed is the head of a peacock. i don't know. >> he turned the late show into a comedic laboratory. >> this is it. this is my tv show. >> there was top ten list. >> i still wear those under wants for risky business. >> the stupid pet tricks.

the television's most reliably irreverent personality is feeling that stall lick. >> when i'm down here during band numbers or commercial breaks i will go to various places and try to memorize what it looks like and how i feel and look at the audience and get the scale of things. because even though i've done it for so long, i don't ever want to be without a fairly accurate, fairly vivid impression of this experience. >> by any measure david letterman took his craft to new heights. his comic genius recognized by everyone. except himself. >> i had this conversation as recently as last evening with my wife. and she will go to this -- strategy to pep me up. >> what does she say? >> she says everything's fine. and you've accomplished some things and you should be proud

of that. and i don't believe her. so we, you know, we have to be separated. he go to neutral corners. >> life can be hard work for you. >> for anybody for god's sakes. isn't it really? i mean, jumping crap. well there's sunday morning. charles osgood i'll be back. >> he's right. we'll have more of our interview coming up.

♪ >> how are you? >> really ha dear old friend. >> thank you. >> could i suggest tonight you're interviewing hillary clinton, first lady of our nation. >> that's right. >> try not to be a jackass, will you? >> walter cronkite's warning david letterman's time in the late night spotlight has had share of good times and bad times m. of his own creation. here is more of his enter view with jane pauley. >> you talked about alcoholism. >> yeah. oh, man. >> is that for real? you're not just talking about i drink a lot or i drank a lot. >> you're always an alcoholic,

yeah. >> when did it start? >> well, i started drink when i was about 11. >> really? >> it that was old thing where my dad used to like scotch and so d. >> i said, this is fantastic. i just kept drinking. it was delightful. i loved everything about it. >> explains your grades. >> in high school it was part of the culture. in college it was mandatory. then when you get out of college people start to taper off. ivity surprised. i'd look around where. are all my drunk buddies? i drank right through until i was 34. i had the show at nbc and i just said to myself, you're a fool. you're a dumb fool. you can't do this. they just don't give these shows to everybody. you have one. you drink yourself into trouble. you're done, pal. i just quit. never took another drink.

>> really? >> yeah. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> that's huge. >> it was huge. because i'd be dead. i'd just be dead. >> remarkable candor for a man so famously private. but letterman's personal life has sometimes become public. >> i have had sex with women who work for me on the show. >> i am 2009 he admitted to having eli aesopw is staffers after a cbs news producer tried to extort money. >> my wife has been horribly hurt by my behavior. >> letterman delivered on air apology. the revelation came months after his marriage to long time girlfriend. >> let me tell you folks, i got my work cut out for me. wait until you hear what happened to me. >> but david letterman has been

no stranger to headlines. >> while i was gone. i had quintuple bypass surgery on my heart! plus, i got a hair cut. >> i don't know anybody who has had open heart surgery loved it. >> it was great. because it was all about me. oh, my god it was great. >> you like being taken care some of. >> fantastic. people would come in and worry about me and help me out of bed and walk me around the wing of the hospital. after i got out of the hospital they come up to the house and it was delightful. >> five weeks ago today that these men and women right here saved my life. >> he celebrated his doctors on the air. >> i'm stemming you i couldn't have been more proud when these guys carved their initials in me. >> admits his surgery did that have surprising emotional impact. >> i did get weepy which i

don't think was depression. it was a joyful weepieness. i would hear a certain song or certain image or -- be talking to moi wife and i would just explode into tears. but it was never that -- like clinical depression where i can't get out of bed. >> have you ever had that? >> yeah. i've had that. that's just -- that's the worst. bottomless pit that sucks you and keeps sucking you down. >> one episode. >> it lasted about six months. it. >> it was triggered he says, when he went off prescription medication after a painful outbreak of shingles which forced him off the air for more than a month. just recently letterman found himself a bit player in brian williams' woes. the nbc news anchor was caught

embellishing the truth in a story he told on letter machine's show about a helicopter mission in iraq. >> two of our four helicopters were hit. by ground fire including the one i was in. >> no kidding? >> typically letter machine's version begins with a joke. >> i went to his dressing room, it would be so much mentioned you were in the chopper. that took the hit. >> williams had been a frequent guest on late night talk shows and reportedly even lobbied to host one. >> he would have been fantastic. he would have been great. he's a natural born broadcaster. >> supposedly he approached nbc about leno's job and cbs about you know he had the chops. >> don't you think? smart, funny, good looking. >> you can see the future as well as i can only maybe a little better because you're taller. will he end up in comedy? >> no. i don't think so. i think in a year or two it will

be a dim memory. >> as for letterman his audience well knows -- >> i don't want to go all kathy lee on you -- >> his heart belongs to harry. >> this is i believe the reason my life was spared so that i could be part of this kid's life. there he is. >> he's looking forward to spending more time with his wife and son born when letterman was 56. but first, he has to say goodbye. you had me on an important point in my life when i was leaving "the "today" show. >> here she is jane pauley. >> probably the most vivid year of my life. i was a guest on your show. >> i don't know that the night before my last show i would feel up to coming on a little two bit deal like this. >> now you're having, what i'm guessing profoundly vivid moment

in your life. and i'm grateful that you're sharing it. >> thank you very much. and i'm -- i'm naked and afraid. because, it's so cliche, that i'll share with you anyway. any enormous uprooting change in my life has petrified me. really petrified me. but once i've come through the other side, the reward has been unimaginable. >> david letterman! >> this wednesday night david letterman will walk out the stage door for the last time. what's on the other side isn't clear. i noticed how when you talk about it you say that you are retiring from the show. retiring from the show is not the same as i'm retiring. >> right. yeah. i -- i think i'm trying to make

it more palatable to myself. i doubt that anybody will ever see me again. >> i doubt that. >> we love to gourmet cook. see the variety we have. we get to do the same thing. petsmart has really brought us together. we had a little trouble in the marriage, how many years back? oh...well, i'd say as recently as three weeks. oh, (laughs) i thought we were doing better than that. petsmart has food choices to fit your kid's unique needs. like blue buffalo... made with the finest natural ingredients. 'cause pethood's better with a partner.

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>> you need a lot of wine. >> half a bottle or so. >> really? >> this is for a children's birthday party you couldn't use a whole bottle. half a bottle.

>> actually talks? >> yes. >> i love you. >> whoa! >> ready go. stay. now stand. stay, catch it. stay.

catch it. stay. stand. stay. >> osgood: those stupid pet tricks are one of the features that every david letterman fan is going to miss. someone who is else, jim gaffigan. >> david letterman is retiring and i'm having an identity crisis. i don't know what i'm going to do. that brilliant emotionally distant yet endearing grumpy-guy whose gap-toothed smile filled my television every night. he shaped my entire adult life. i feel like i'm being abandoned. as an awkward teenager growing up in indiana dave represented a beacon of hope. he was and still remains the hoosier who made good. dave didn't just leave indiana and succeed, he brought indiana with him and succeeded wildly. david made it okay to be funny smart and midwestern.

sure, his style is sarcastic star done i can and challenging but somehow david remained a civil, sincere selfie facing populist. as a college student i would attempt to imitate his style and mimic his ability to make fun of someone while still allowing that person to be in on the joke. yes, david letterman was my mentor. he didn't know know to or care. as a young comedian appearing on the late show with david letterman was not just my ultimate goal. it was also the only measurable achievement of significance far a young stand-up comedian. when i finally received the call, a peace came over me. i'd arrived. i bought myself a suit. did my set. shook hand wes a today's mark twain. i could die the next day satisfied. i was a real comedian. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome, jim gaffigan. >> i appeared 22 times.

that's just how i smell. i smell sexy, dave. i don't know dave personally but like many of you i got to know him over the last 30 years. i know when dave is in a great mood. i know when dave is in a bad mood. i know when he december likes a guy and disappointed in himself. dave is having a great team it's genuine. there's nothing phony about dave. i know it sounds like i'm in love with david letterman. well, maybe i am. but don't worry dave. i'm already married. as a retirement gift i'm giving you my five children. all five. you're welcome. >> osgood: next. remembering b.b. king

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e*trade. opportunity is everywhere. >> osgood: it happened this past week. the passing of b.b. king. who died thursday. born riley b. king in mull mississippi in 1925, the aspiring guitarist arrived in memphis at age 22. nicknamed b.b. short for blues boy, he released his first big hit in late 1951. ♪ king spend the next several grueling decades on the road. the painful break up of his second marriage powered his

greatest hit in 1969. ♪ king once explained the hold his milwaukee i go had on him to our anthony mason. >> how would you describe the blues? >> when i'm feeling bad. and good for me when i'm feeling good. >> 15-time grammy winner and kennedy center honoree. king kept touring until bad health caught up with him. a curtain call seemed long way off back when king spoke to the late ed bradley. >> when -- the great ones have said that's enough. >> b.b. king was 89.

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>> osgood: here is a look at the week ahead on our sunday morning calendar. monday is the annual oscars of the minute. honoring the year's best websites, videos and other features. speeches are limited to just five words. on tuesday comic actress melissa mccarthy receives a star on hollywood's walk of fame. as for wednesday, did we mention it's the final broadcast of the late show with david letterman? on thursday the in tread in sea, air and space museum in new york kicks off fleet week with a salute to freedom gala. friday is don't friday, an appeal to america's take precautions against skin cancer throughout the summer. saturday is the finals of the

60th annual euro vision song contest. said to be the world's largest nonsporting tv event with around 120 million viewers. read all about it. author of fiction has written novel about her own youth. her name is judy blume. rita braver caught up with blume on her home turf. >> we're on shelly avenue in elizabeth, new jersey. on is the where i grew up. >> in those days judy blume was a girl who never dreamed that she would become a pioneering author, writing ground breaking books for and about adolescents struggling to make sense of everything from puberty to budding sexual desire. that's my sun parlor. that's where i used to make out when i was a katrina ager. >> i was interested in puberty

long before it happened to me. i was late. i was a late developer. i'm still waiting. >> in fact she says, she felt compelled to write about subjects that had often been taboo. >> i wanted to be honest. i felt that no adult had been honest with me. we didn't have the information that she would have had. >> but now she is interested in another aspect of her youth. real events that unfolded right here in elizabeth, new jersey when she was just 13. >> you know, it must have been buried so deep inside me because i lived through it. and three planes fell out of the sky in 58 days. >> that's right. three horrifying plane crashes all in and out of newark airport f. december 1951 -- >> mushroomed over the entire

area. it was almost indescribable. >> to february 1952. more than a hundred people were killed in all. later it was determined logical explanations for each crash. in the beginning elizabeth was a terrified and confused town. >> i remember the smart girls i wanted to be part of the smart girls that said, sabotage. the boys on the other hand, were into flying saucers and aliens and zombies. >> some people thought it was the russian too. >> the communists, yes. they did. >> nobody -- you know when you're scared like that when something crazy is happening you feel better coming up with an explanation. >> blume's new book is a fictionalized account of the impact of the crashes on elizabeth.

still touches on some of blume's profound and familiar themes of youthful anxiety. in cluing a young girl's question about how god could let such terrible things happened. >> and her mother says to her it's not god's job to decide what happens. it's his job to help you through it. and then of course her mother goes off and thinks to herself if only i believed that. if only that were. what was i supposed to tell my daughter when she asked me if i believed in god. >> judy blume was born in 1938. the daughter of a dentist and a homemaker. she studied to become a teacher. but there was another agenda, too. you married while you were still in college. >> i did. i mean that was my job too. get a degree and meet someone whole your there.

this is my mother talking. >> she had two children. but needing a creative outlet trying to get her books published. did you get a lot of rejections at first? >> yes. two years. which wasn't that bad when you think about it. i cried the first time. then i didn't. because determination is what gets you through. >> she broke through in 1969. now, with more than 80 million books sold and several generations of devoted fans, blume spends most of her time in key west, with her third husband, retired attorney george cooper. they were set up when she lived briefly in new mexico. >> we got together for dinner one night and two days later i was living in the house that was 35 years ago. >> but blume's life has not been

a fairy tale. the 1980s brought attempts to ban her books from some schools. because of frank depictions of teenage sex and other controversial issues in works like "forever." >> the idea was, i don't want my child to read this book. there for no child should be able to read this book. >> she battled back. then in 2012 another struggle. this time with breast cancer. now, after a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery she can even joke about it. >> i've got one nip they'll points that way. one nipple that points this way. but it's mine. and i'm fine. i'm fine with it. >> what do you love about key west? >> how can you not love a place like this. >> at age 77, judy blume says, if there's one thing her books especially her latest have taught her it's the lesson of

human resilience. >> there's joy in life even after terrible things happen. terrible things do happen. we can't predict when or what. but we're humans and we go on. >> osgood: report from rita braver. now to bob schieffer in washington for look what is coming up on "face the nation." good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning. we'll ask former secretary of defense robert gates of what he thinks of parade of presidential candidates. his answer may surprise you. plus latest on the amtrak accident. >> osgood: we'll be watching. next week here on "sunday morning." >> the little combo we were back then. c anthony mason on tour with u2. science suggests when you have insomnia, the neurotransmitters in your wake

system may be too strong, which may be preventing you from getting the sleep you need. talk to your doctor about ways to manage your insomnia.

>> osgood: we leave you this morning in david letterman's home state. in the indiana dunes along lake michigan. i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then i'll see you on the radio.

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morning. good morning, i'm anne makovec. i'm phil matier. i'm mark kelly. there's a lot to talk about in our next good morning. it is 7:30 this sunday. thanks for joiningus. we've lot to get you in our next hour. >> tuesday is election day in the east bay, and the race is hot. it is steve glaeser versus susan bonilla. and they areboth here in our studio this morning. >> and i'll sit down with each of them about the show down between union and businesses and the millions and millions of dollars being pumped in on both sides. by the way we have the video of