David Letterman’s mom, Dorothy Mengering, died Tuesday, a day before the former “Late Show” host's 70th birthday. Mengering was 95.
Mengering, known simply over the years as “Dave’s Mom,” came to fame in her 70s as she made frequent appearances on Letterman’s show via satellite, according to The Huffington Post.
The two would often team up for a “Guess Mom’s Pies” segment on the show, in which Letterman would try to guess the types of pies his mother had baked in her kitchen in Carmel, Indiana, NBC News reported.
Mengering quickly became an audience favorite as many enjoyed her “sweet temper” and “charming sincerity” during her appearances on the show.
Mengering began making annual appearances on the show on Mother’s Day as well. Letterman even brought his mom on as a foreign correspondent for the Winter Olympics in 1994, 1998, and 2002, HuffPo noted.
In fact, during her first rodeo as a correspondent in Lillehammer, Norway, in ’94, Mengering interviewed Hillary Clinton, who was first lady at the time.
That interview earned her a visit to the White House.
“After Lillehammer, I couldn’t believe how it all took off,” Mengering told The New York Times, as she spoke about her role on Letterman’s late night show and the success of her 1996 book, “Home Cookin’ with Dave’s Mom.”
“I think it’s about the idea of mom and of a family. People are eager for families to be like they used to be,” she added. “Even though there are lots of working moms and single-parent families now, you can still be a family in spite of the size and form it takes.”
Letterman, who turned 70 on Wednesday, aired a Mother’s Day special honoring his mom back in 2015 — the same year he retired from late night television.
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