Dorothy Mengering, an Indianapolis church secretary who found unexpected fame as a correspondent on her son’s late-night TV show, died Tuesday at age 95. David Letterman’s mother died at home in suburban Carmel, according to an obituary compiled by Mengering’s three children and provided by Letterman’s publicist.
“Late Show with David Letterman” viewers warmed to Mengering’s unassuming style when she served as a correspondent during Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway (1994), Nagano, Japan (1998) and Salt Lake City, Utah (2002). She also delivered Top 10 Lists from her Indiana kitchen and challenged Letterman to guess what pies she had baked for Thanksgiving. “As long as David was home, I would make him a chocolate chiffon pie for his birthday,” Mengering told IndyStar in 2001, reminiscing about the comedian’s childhood. “We just put the candles on top of the pie.”
So far today there’s been an amazing outpour of support for David Letterman as he mourns his mother. Obviously we wish him well in his time of grief. While going through clips of Dorothy Mengering, I found one that pretty much summed up all of her time on Late Night. It’s a compilation video that Dave did on his show during its final season. If you want to sum up Dorothy the entertainer best, this video does it beautifully. R.I.P.
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