Las Vegas Weekly

October 2, 2009 · 1:31 PM

Dane Cook on Letterman’s performance: ‘Fascinating,’ ‘The guy’s a pro’

By John Katsilometes

Dane Cook arrives at the 14th annual Andre Agassi Foundation for Education's Grand Slam for Children benefit at Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 26, 2009. The event raises funds for the Foundation's efforts to transform education and benefits the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a K-12 public charter school in Las Vegas that strives to provide children with a first-class education. RD/ Kabik/ Retna Digital

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Dane Cook watches TV unlike you or I. He’s a comic, hard-focused on funny material and precise delivery.

And last night, Cook was “fascinated” by David Letterman’s 10-minute explanation of how he was blackmailed by a man threatening to write a book and screenplay about what Letterman described as “creepy stuff,” in the form of Letterman's admitted sexual activity with women on his staff. In measured tones, his voice unwavering, Letterman explained how a man attempted to extort $2 million from him in a scheme that began a little more than three weeks ago. The audience, unaware of what Letterman was about to disclose, laughed and applauded throughout the segment, which was slotted after the opening monologue and before the night’s first guest, the luck-of-the-draw Woody Harrelson. Letterman was seated at his desk during the segment and spoke to the camera.

Cook was watching. He happens to be between Vegas dates -- he was a featured performer last weekend during the Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children and next weekend performs two shows at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel. In another unexpected bit of timing, we were scheduled to talk by phone this morning about the gig at The Joint, and he called from Los Angeles. But our time was largely eaten away by the Letterman saga, taking up eight of 10 minutes after I asked Cook what he thought of Letterman’s bracing oratory.

“Well, I was fascinated,” Cook said (he used that term a half-dozen times in those 10 minutes). “He did the whole monologue and it was typically funny, nothing different, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this guy’s a pro.’ He didn’t let you see him sweat.”

Far more thoughtful and well-versed than his frat-boy-centric onstage character, Cook said the seamless, undetectable shift from comedy to “nine or 10 minutes of deeply personal material” gave the audience no warning of what Letterman was going to reveal. “He didn’t set it up by saying it was going to be serious. I really noticed that he didn’t start with an announcement saying it was not a joke,” Cook said. “So the audience is with him, but you’re thinking at the end, Dave’s going to say, ‘And the guy was Regis Philbin!’ ”

Cook stressed that he was speaking of Letterman “strictly as a performer,” not casting judgment on the specifics of the incident. “This guy is such a pro, he had a really articulate way of handling it. It was almost like watching a great magician in the sense that he got through this thing that shouldn’t have worked. It wasn’t for us to hear, but I was really fascinated by it. Somewhere within that very serious and personal story, he had kind of won the audience over.”

It was not possible, watching the show’s original telecast, to put aside the extortion story even as Harrelson made his appearance. “Welcome to the fun!” Letterman said in greeting his first guest.

Cook continued, “Now, he’s actually talking about his wife and his kid, he’s connecting, and I just kept thinking, wow, what a spot to be in. I’m kind of thinking today, and I’m not casting any judgment because everything here is none of my damn business, that he was able to stay in the pocket and deliver. It made him even more human, it made him more relatable.”

Cook hadn’t yet spoken with any other comics about the show, but he said something to agree with: “This isn’t over. However this shakes out is certainly going to be difficult.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.

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