David Letterman: One More for the Road

Boasting that he would pay $10 million if his hometown would name an expressway after him, the "Late Show" host downsizes his offer.

By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Monday October 07, 2002 10:00 AM EDT

David Letterman has an offer for his hometown of Indianapolis. On second thought, make that an ultimatum.

The "Late Show" host, 55, will pay for new road signs if Mayor Bart Peterson renames Interstate 465, the highway that circles the city, the "Dave Letterman Expressway," Letterman told the mayor over the phone during his show late last week.

Dave had been making jokes about renaming the highway for weeks, the Associated Press reports.

"How about this: What if we change the name of that to the 'Dave Letterman Expressway'?" Letterman said on the air to Peterson.

"You know, Dave, I will tell you, I like that idea," the mayor replied.

Originally, Letterman boasted that he would fork over $10 million to rename the highway, but when he actually spoke to the mayor the offer seemed to shrink to covering only the new signs.

"What happened to the $10 million?" Peterson inquired.

"That's a different telephone call," Letterman replied.

Letterman, who recently renewed his contract with CBS for a reported $31 million a year, grew up in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis and graduated from Ball State University in Muncie.