Billy Eichner Makes His Late Show Début

In her recent Vulture reminiscence about having worked with Joan Rivers, friend of the site Julie Klausner detailed instances of the late comedian's generosity, including her eagerness to use her influence to promote the careers of younger performers in her field:

I will never forget how, on the day before she returned to late-night television as a guest on Letterman's Late Show after 27 years in the post-Johnny chill, Joan wouldn't let the segment producer off the phone until she could tell him about a young comedian named Billy Eichner. "He's absolutely brilliant. You have to have him on the show," Joan insisted to a producer assigned to find out what jokes Dave would need to set up for her the following day. "Billy Eichner." She repeated. "He's hilarious. I'll bring you a DVD." And the next afternoon, in the middle of all of her frantic preparation for what would be her big, nerve-wracking, triumphant return to the Ed Sullivan Theater -- where she debuted as a 33-year-old on a show that preceded Dave's -- she did bring a DVD of Billy's YouTube clips to personally hand to that very producer. Billy, by the way, will be appearing on Letterman next week for his first time. Somewhere, she’s kvelling.

For someone who is maybe more of a fan of Eichner's comedy than Rivers's (hi!), this was a very exciting passage to read, and in last night's episode, Eichner made his Late Show début -- and, because he mentioned Rivers's intercession too.

By far the best thing about Eichner's guest appearance on The Late Show is that the delay in booking him may be due to the fact that David Letterman had to watch all three seasons of Billy On The Street first, and apparently he loved every second. It happens less often now that Letterman gets guests booked for whom he has no respect or tolerance, and those instances have their own charm, but it's even more fun when he has someone on who genuinely delights him, and that is definitely the case with Eichner. Not only is Letterman very familiar with Eichner's show and trademark screamy delivery, but he is extremely excited to play a Billy On The Street-style game. The ensuing thirty seconds on the clock (and then some) are pure magic.

The best part is that when Letterman says he wishes this were his show, I actually believe it. If (WHEN) Eichner and Klausner's Difficult People gets picked up, Eichner could just hand off his old Fuse gig, and Dave On The Street would become an integral component of American/world culture.