Letterman fans who missed their chance at owning a piece of his old Late Show marquee are getting another chance.
David Letterman announced on his YouTube channel yesterday that another portion of the marquee from his time at the Ed Sullivan Theater—the part that says “featuring Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra”—will be raffled off for charity. Shaffer joined Letterman for the announcement and offered some background on the sign and his decision to part with it.
“At a certain point, Dave was nice enough to put my name on the marquee, too,” Shaffer remembered. “I had my name in lights on Broadway, just like the song. It was thrilling.”
According to Shaffer, the sign has been in his basement since Letterman’s Late Show ended. When Letterman suggested he auction it off for charity last year, Shaffer initially said he was “never going to part with it.” But the success of Letterman’s previous marquee giveaway changed his mind.
Last fall, Letterman and Shaffer launched a raffle for one of the side panels of their old Late Show marquee, benefitting Habitat for Humanity. The sweepstakes raised $116,000 for the organization.
“I was so inspired by how well you guys [did],” Shaffer said. “You raised over a hundred grand or something.”
This time around, proceeds will go to Pup Culture Rescue, a foster-based dog rescue in Pasadena, CA, founded by Shaffer’s daughter, Victoria Lily Shaffer.
“She’s starting a new Pup Culture venue [in Pasadena],” Paul explained in the announcement. “They want to take in emergency cases. They want to house dogs that are in need for any reason. Low-cost vaccine clinics right there on site. If they raise enough money, they’re going to have spay-and-neuter clinics… They’re going to give supplies and food to low-income and homeless people who have dogs.”
“This really is an enormous undertaking,” Dave added. “Hence the… giveaway of the marquee sign.”
The winner will also win one of the show’s iconic staff jackets, signed by both Letterman and Shaffer.
The duo says they’ll cover shipping costs to get the sign to the winner. That’s what was advertised in the first giveaway, but when the winner wound up being local, Letterman hand-delivered it himself.
“It is a hell of a cool artifact,” Shaffer says in the announcement. “I never thought I’d give it up.”
Fans can enter the sweepstakes via GalaBid for $10 per ticket.
