NEW YORK (PIX11) — Less than 12 hours after David Letterman took his final bow from television, crews were already hard at work dismantling his iconic set at the Ed Sullivan Theater in Midtown.
In a matter of hours, the set that was part of 22 years of memories, history and laughs was lying in a dumpster along W. 53rd Street Thursday.
“We’re all kinda looking around, trying to keep a piece of history,” one memorabilia seeker told PIX11 News.
If you weren’t one of the lucky ones who managed to salvage some “Late Night” swag, look no further than Ebay.
In wake of Letterman’s sign off, the skyline backdrop from the original set of “Late Night with David Letterman” from the NBC era has surfaced online.
Filmmaker Mike Bonanno rescued the historic gem after he learned it was being tossed out by an Internet company back in the 90’s.
“I was kind of surprised they wanted to throw it out,” he told PIX11 News via Skype interview from Los Angeles Friday. “I had no idea what I was going do with it but I did know that it was something fun. I thought maybe it would be a nice backdrop for a club or for a set in fact.”
For nearly 20 years it has sat in a storage facility in Troy, NY and is now on the auction block with bidding starting at $10,000.
Sporting the original stickers from the union shop that made them, the blocky skyscrapers are one of a kind. Bonanno recently published a short promo on Vimeo showcasing the vintage backdrop.
Bonanno who is a member of the Yes Men, a culture jamming activist duo, plans to use the money raised to promote his upcoming film.
Despite the fact that he no longer has a place for the TV artifacts, the filmmaker says he’s a bit hesitant about getting rid of them.
“It’s funny because as soon as I put it up on eBay, I suddenly [thought] I really don’t wanna do that – I really wanna use this thing because I had so much fun making the video.”
If you’re a fan of Seinfeld the entire situation probably reminds you of the time where Kramer did, well… you know.
