Beloved 'Late Show With David Letterman' Announcer Alan Kalter Dead At 78, 'We Always Had The Best Announcer In Television' Letterman Says
Former Late Show With David Letterman announcer Alan Kalter has died at the age of 78.
Kalter died at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut with his wife, Peggy, and daughters Lauren Hass and Diana Binger by his side, Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Temple Beth El said, per Entertainment Weekly.
His cause of death was not disclosed.
"When our announcer of 15 years Bill Wendell retired, producer Robert Morton came to my office with an audiotape containing auditions for several announcers. Alan's was the first and only voice we listened to. We knew he would be our choice," David Letterman said in a statement.
"Whatever else, we always had the best announcer in television. Wonderful voice and eagerness to play a goofy character of himself. Did I mention he could sing? Yes, he could. He enthusiastically did it all. A very sad day, but many great memories," Letterman added.
Kalter, who was nicknamed "Big Red," joined the show in 1995 after Wendell retired. Kalter held the position until the talk show came to an end in 2015.
Kalter's job mostly entailed announcing guests but he often took part in hilarious scripted segments where he played a satirical version of himself.
Outside of the Late Show, Kalter had also done voiceovers and announcements on shows such as The $100,000 Question, To Tell the Truth, The $25,000 Pyramid and The Money Maze.
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Fans and coworkers posted tributes for Kalter online.
"Alan Kalter RIP. Between him and Tony Mendez it's a heartbreaking time. To us Late Show writers Alan was so much more than just the 'From New York...' guy. He was our muse. We loved writing for him. Such a cheerful presence on the show. And around the office. Rest easy Big Red," former Late Show writer and How I Met Your Mother co-creator Carter Bays tweeted.
"Oh man, @CarterBays and I loved writing for Alan — some of my fondest memories of Late Show are the absolutely bats**t-bonkers bits we wrote for Alan, who was always game to let us make him look insane...rest in peace, Alan, and thanks for the laughs..." fellow HIMYM co-creator Craig Thomas wrote.
"This is incredibly sad. Alan was always fun to write for and was always up for anything. Rest in peace…" former Late Show writer Eric Stangel tweeted.
A private funeral for Kalter will be held on Wednesday, October 6, Variety reported.
