TV & VIDEO - Sept. 2, 1988

Sometimes being on the cutting edge of TV laffs leads to bloody fingers, as “Late Night’s” David Letterman realized anew Wednesday. After making a remark about the death of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. on his show Tuesday night, Letterman apologized to the city of Pittsburgh Wednesday, saying, “It was poor judgment.” On Tuesday night’s show, Letterman responded to the news of Rooney’s death with the comment: “It’s terribly sad, and there’s a little controversy surrounding this because he died during the exhibition season. So does it count?” Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WPXI-TV said it received calls complaining about the remark. During the station’s newscast Wednesday, offended viewers were told to call NBC headquarters in New York.