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On October 5, the announcer of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman, Alan Kalter, passed away at the age of 78. He worked as the announcer on the chat show from 1995 to Letterman's final day as the host on May 20, 2015.
The announcer also had his own segment in the show called Alan Kalter's Celebrity Interview. Here, he interacted with the guests after Letterman was done chatting with them on the main show. He would portray a character known as 'Big Red' during these segments. Along with announcing and co-hosting, Alan Kalter also made some comical phrases during the credits.
Jen Spyra succeeded Alan Kalter after he and David Letterman retired from the show. Meanwhile, Letterman himself was succeeded by Stephen Colbert. After 2015, Kalter remained in retirement, while Letterman had his own Netflix show titled My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
How much was Alan Kalter worth at the time of his passing?
Alan Robert Kalter was worth around $4 to $5 million, according to multiple publications. His considerable fortune mostly came from his work at the Late Show, which spanned for two decades.
The New York native was born on March 21, 1943. He started his career in the entertainment sector in the mid-1970s when he worked as the announcer of shows like The Money Maze (1974-1975), Finish Line (in 1975), and To Tell the Truth ( 1977-1978 and 1980-1981).
Throughout his career in the mid-1980s, Alan Kalter has also announced in game shows like The $25,000 Pyramid and The $10,000 Pyramid in 1981. Furthermore, he also did voice-overs for radio. In the 1970s, he had also voiced the Michelin Man, the official mascot of Michelin tires.
Alan Kalter replaced Bill Wendell on The Late Show with David Letterman. He was nicknamed 'Big Red' and 'TV's Uncle Jerry' by Letterman and also played a perverted character amongst many others. In 2003, Kalter was also the announcer for the 45th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held in New York.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, upon hearing the news of his demise, David Letterman reminisced about Alan Kalter in a statement. He said:
"When our announcer of 15 years Bill Wendell retired, producer Robert Morton came to my office with an audio tape containing auditions for several announcers."
He further added:
"Alan's was the first and only voice we listened to. We knew he would be our choice. Whatever else, we always had the best announcer on television."
Alan Kalter is survived by his wife Peggy and his daughters Lauren Hass and Diana Binger.
