The easiest way to comprehend David Letterman's influence on late-night comedy thirty years after his debut is to examine his rivals now. For all the discussion of the genre's major shift and its budding new age, hailed by rising star Jimmy Fallon, the genre's edges have just been honed since Letterman revolutionized the formula with The Late Night in 1982.

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When he departed, he left a landscape littered with imitators: an inescapable predicament, given that the majority of American comedians who have achieved significant success in the previous two decades owe a lot to his work.

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This is, in some ways, a sign of monoculture: In the 1980s, there were limited outlets for alternative humor. David Letterman has always had a paw in Johnny Carson and his cohort's club comedy culture while preserving its polish of Midwest civility. Despite his assertions to the contrary, his art has always had a darkly defiant edge. Letterman broadcasted from New York in the 1980s, a city that announcer Paul Shaffer parodied in his intro by referring to it as the "birthplace of the scary scowl."

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Years active: 1970 - present

Notable shows:

• The David Letterman Show
• Late Night With David Letterman

Conan O'Brien, one of Hollywood's funniest comedians, has been a broadcast regular for decades. After working as a behind-the-scenes screenwriter for other entertainers, O'Brien had his big break when he was unexpectedly chosen to host NBC's daily talk program "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," which replaced Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show."

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O'Brien was appointed the successor for Leno when he opted to leave his position, going to the coveted 11:30 time slot. However, Leno did not depart late-night television; he had another program scheduled to begin at 10 pm. The new Leno program “did not do well. He wanted to return to the 11:30 hour, and NBC allowed him to do so." NPR summarized. NBC considered moving "The Tonight Show" starring Conan O'Brien to after 12 am, but the host rejected and spent ten years on TBS with "Conan."

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O'Brien's TBS program ended in 2021, after thirty years of anchoring daily late-night broadcasts. However, O'Brien confirmed that he will be transferring to HBO Max to present "a weekly variety program on HBO Max."

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Years active: 1983 - present

Notable shows:

• Late Night with Conan O’Brien
• The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien

James Tom Fallon is a well-known entertainer, actor, and singer in the United States. Jimmy Fallon has aspired to be a comedian since he was a boy, and his goal came to fruition in 1998 when he was cast as a regular on Saturday Night Live. Jimmy departed SNL after six years to pursue a career in late night television, eventually replacing Jay Leno on the renowned The Tonight Show in 2014.

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Jimmy Fallon is a musician in addition to being a broadcaster, comedian, and parodist. Jimmy began playing guitar at the age of 13 and continues to include musical parts into his presentation. He has collaborated with a number of well-known artists, including Justin Timberlake, Neil Young, and Mariah Carey. Also, he has published a few songs and albums.

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Jimmy Fallon has garnered several important honors over his career, including the People's Choice Awards, Critics' Choice Television Award, a Grammy, three Emmys, and a Webby Grant for "Person of the Year." Jimmy is not just a gifted comedian and renowned television host; he is also an excellent husband and father.

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Years active: 1995 - present

Notable shows:

• Saturday Night Live
• The Tonight Show

Jimmy Kimmel has been a staple of late-night humor for over two decades, and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, since his program is ABC's longest-running late-night talk show. Along with presenting his own program, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," the comedian has hosted Emmy and Academy Awards events on many occasions. Not only is he a late-night presenter, but he has also produced, written, performed, and directed in a variety of mediums, from radio to tv to cinema, according to IMDB.

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Kimmel's ascension to the top, however, was not always smooth. While some fans believe they have learnt all there is to learn about the comedian, there is more to learn. Jimmy Kimmel is a narcoleptic, which is not well known. While it may seem counterintuitive that a late-night television host would suffer from a sleep condition, Jimmy Kimmel does. Though Kimmel has a fairly mild version of the illness that is well treated with medicine, other people may encounter unexpected involuntary sleep bouts during physical activity.

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Years active: 1989 - present

Notable show: Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Steve Harvey is, no doubt, one of the most prominent presenters in modern television history, yet his career has been marked by ups and downs. From 1993 through 2000, the West Virginia man worked as a stand-up comic and hosted Showtime at the Apollo. In 1997, he embarked on the very spectacular Kings of Comedy tour with fellow entertainers D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac.

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Throughout the early aughts, the Daytime Emmy winner expanded his career into film, television, and radio, launching his syndicated talk show The Steve Harvey Morning Show in 2001. Then, he also made his narrative film debut in 2003's The Fighting Temptations.

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Eventually, the artist was forced to abandon his stand-up career due to his overwhelming workload of managing his radio program, sitcom, and more. In 2022, he said that he had ceased doing stand-up due to concerns about "cancel culture" interfering with his other job.

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Years active: 1985 - present

Notable shows:

• Little Big Shots
• The Steve Harvey Show

Larry King, who spent a half-century on TV and radio, including three decades as the anchor of CNN's worldwide renowned "Larry King Live," died in January, 2021 in Los Angeles. He was 87 years old. Mr. King's co-founding company, Ora Media, confirmed his passing in a message published on Mr. King's personal Twitter account, stating that he passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Clinic.

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Mr. King's cause of death was not specified in the statement, although he had just been hospitalized for Covid-19. He was hospitalized in 2019 for chest symptoms and claimed to have had a stroke as well.

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Larry King began his career as a local radio interlocutor and sports commentator in Florida in the 1950s and 1960s, came to fame with an all-night coast-to-coast broadcast show in 1978, and anchored CNN's highest-rated, longest-running program from 1985 to 2010, reaching millions of audience across America and the world.

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Years active: 1957 - 2021

Notable shows:

• The Larry King Show
• Larry King Live

Handler is now definitely one of the most well-known comedians in the world. She began her career in the early 2000s as a cast member of Oxygen's hidden-camera prank program Girls Behaving Badly. Handler later joined The Tonight Show as a reporter.

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However, Handler only gained popularity in 2006 when she earned her own program on E! titled The Chelsea Handler Show. Though it was brief, Handler returned to the late-night spot a year later with another program: Chelsea Lately. This program lasted seven seasons, until Handler's contract with E! terminated in 2014. Chelsea Does was the name of another Netflix documentary series in 2016. Later in her career, she presented a late-night series called Chelsea On the Streaming Network, albeit it was terminated after two seasons.

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Chelsea Handler is such a household figure in comedy that it's nearly impossible to fathom a world without her. That, it turns out, might have occurred if it had not been for a 21-year-old DUI conviction. She presented a humorous anecdote during a story-sharing session and got several praises, which motivated her to pursue a career as a comedian.

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Years active: 2001 - present

Notable show: The Chelsea Handler Show

The term "icon" is often overused these days, but as host of the longest-running game show in American television history, it most emphatically refers to performer and veteran comedian Drew Carey. The bespectacled entertainer started his tenure on The Price is Right in 2007, replacing the retired Bob Barker. He's become as associated with the TV show as Barker. Yet, Carey is much more than his television career, which includes not just his massively popular namesake comedy, but also the relaunch of another seminal television game show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?

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The Cleveland, Ohio man has traveled quite a distance since deciding on a career in comedies, and at times his private life was far from amusing. Drew Carey grins so often that it's difficult to picture him not being happy and pleased, but that has not always been the truth. The future celebrity struggled with major mental health issues in his teenage years, which reportedly resulted in two suicide attempts. Thankfully, Carey was capable of developing effective coping mechanisms for his difficulties.

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Years active: 1985 - present

Notable shows:

• Whose Line Is It Anyway?
• The Drew Carey Show

To the majority of the audience, Jon Stewart will forever be remembered as the host of The Daily Show. Even though he stepped down from the desk years ago, he will always be remembered for it, much as Johnny Carson is with The Tonight Show. He was the face and voice of people fed up with Washington, the media outlets, and the pundit class — to the point that, against his will, he became one of America's most trusted news sources, as the New York Times wrote in 2008.

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Jon Stewart has dabbled with directing in recent years and continues to produce programs, most prominently The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He's also developed a reputation for dogged advocacy on behalf of 9/11 first survivors and, as NPR reports, veterans who have been refused compensation.

Stewart, of course, had a lengthy career prior to The Daily Show - he is not even the show's original host. Gen X people are likely to recall his MTV program, rom-com lovers may recall his work from the mid-1990s, and lifelong stand-up fans may recall him on the circuits when he first debuted. However, for many, what Stewart did prior to Indecision 2000 remains a mystery.

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Years active: 1987 - present

Notable shows:

• The Daily Show
• The Jon Stewart Show

Joan Rivers burst into the 1960s comedy scene with a razor-sharp tongue – and a tough-as-nails attitude and nails. Rivers abandoned the "good girl" standards in favor of her own. "Ignore goodness. You have to speak the truth; that is what comedy is all about," says Joan Rivers, whose quips were often about herself as she shared self-deprecating personal anecdotes with her audiences. Rivers ushered forth a new era of humor.

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She was completely irreverent and was only concerned with the crowd in front of her. Rivers' jokes were brutally candid, addressing issues that people were pondering but were afraid to express. Rivers began her career on Broadway as a serious actor and swiftly transitioned to stand-up comedy, performing in New York City's comedy clubs. By 1965, she had made her television debut on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," which led to her anchoring one of the first national talk programs on daytime television in 1968, "That Show with Joan Rivers."

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Joan Rivers died in New York City on September 4th, 2014. Ms. Rivers will long be known as one of America's most hardworking and most respected first women of comedy, with her distinctive sass, piercing wit, and underlying compassion.

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Years active: 1959 - 2014

Notable shows:

• The Joan Rivers Show
• Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?