Alan Kalter, David Letterman’s ‘Late Show’ announcer, dead at 78
Alan Kalter, the legendary on-air announcer with a melodramatic flair for two decades of “The Late Show with David Letterman,” died Monday at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. He was 78.
The veteran hype man’s wife Peggy Kalter confirmed his passing to the Hollywood Reporter. Kalter’s official cause of death has not yet been shared by his family.
Kalter cemented his place in television history by switching up his “Late Show” intro — to include “From New York, the greatest city in the world!” — as NYC started to rebuild after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
The bombastic, ginger-haired voice-over talent had scores of A-list credits — but he remained especially loyal to the gap-toothed Hoosier who made him something of a household name for several decades.
In a statement to The Post, Letterman said he had “many great memories” with Kalter.
“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. Alan’s was the first and only voice we listened to. We knew he would be our choice,” Letterman said.
“Whatever else, we always had the best announcer in television. Wonderful voice and eagerness to play a goofy character of himself,” he continued. “Did I mention he could sing? Yes, he could. He enthusiastically did it all.”
“A very sad day, but many great memories,” Letterman said.
Kalter talked to The Post about his boss before Letterman’s iconic final episode aired in 2015: “He’s a perfectionist. He keeps the people that are doing the job they were hired to do. He’s very complimentary when you do a good job.”
Born Alan Robert Kalter in Brooklyn on March 21, 1943, he was a veteran behind-the-scenes talent before braving the cameras in September 1995 — a role he would fulfill for 20 years, until Letterman’s final episode on May 20, 2015.
“I stayed away from the camera purposefully for 25 years because I didn’t want to be recognized,” Kalter told The Post of his on-camera avoidance in 2006.
“My very first day on the set, I was dressed to kill, and Dave had an Olympic diver on the show and he said, ‘Alan, do you swim?’ Without any time to think about it, he said, ‘Come on down,’ and I came from the side of the stage and he took me by the wrist outside to 53rd, and I marched up a ladder and dove off into a Nike pool.”
He ruined his suit and electronics he had on hand, but he was apparently hooked.
“I’m doing the back-float looking up at the camera on the roof,” he recalled of the incident. “And I said to myself, ‘So this is what it’s like to announce for David Letterman.’ ”
The 1964 Hobart College in Geneva, NY, grad later attended law school at NYU and taught English and public speaking in high school on Long Island for a number of years before launching his broadcasting career at the late, great NYC radio station WHN.
Then came the game show circuit: Kalter was the announcer on a string of ’70s and ’80s classics such as “To Tell the Truth,” “The Money Maze,” “The 10,000 Pyramid” and “The $25,000 Pyramid.” The latter gig is where he met young standup comic Letterman, who was a guest celebrity on the show.
He also specialized in voiceovers for hundreds of local and national commercials, including New York’s Mega Millions — and the Michelin Man.
In lieu of flowers, Kalter requested that donations in his memory be made to Temple Beth El in Stamford, Connecticut.
