Veteran ‘Letterman’ Producer to Leave Show

Robert Morton, the executive producer of “The Late Show With David Letterman” and an associate of Letterman’s since the premiere of the talk-show host’s NBC program in 1982, is leaving “The Late Show,” effectively immediately.

Morton will take a newly created position with Worldwide Pants, Letterman’s production company. Morton will be executive producer of “The High Life,” a weekly comedy that World Wide Pants will begin filming this spring for HBO. He also is expected to play a producing role on “Bonnie,” a CBS sitcom starring comedian Bonnie Hunt, and to develop other prime-time projects for Letterman’s company.

The new executive producer on “The Late Show” will be head writer Rob Brunett. Brunett, who had been a writer on the show for several years, recently returned after leaving to produce the Hunt show. He co-produced Letterman’s prime-time special last month with Morton.

According to sources, Morton had told Letterman and others several months ago that he wanted to move into producing weekly prime-time shows. But, while the parting is amicable, the suddenness of Letterman’s decision--made over the weekend--was a surprise, given the two men’s long association. Morton, who has been Letterman’s producer since 1987 and is frequently shown on-air during the show, will not be involved in the transition between himself and Brunett.

“I wanted to do prime-time programming, and I’d told Dave that,” Morton said in an interview Sunday. “Dave’s the most talented man in American television,” Morton added, “and the show has been on an upswing with CBS’s improved fortunes in prime time.”

Said one source: “I think Dave realizes that he needs to refocus his attention on the show, and he took Morty up on what he he said he wanted to do. But it’s surprising, the way it was handled.”

In a statement released Sunday, Letterman praised Morton as a “great talent” who “has endured the impossible task of trying to make me look good for the past 15 years.”

Morton’s departure is the most prominent in a series of recent departures from “The Late Show,” which, with CBS’s decline in prime time, lost the No. 1 spot in late night to NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” Hal Gurnee and Bill Wendell, respectively the show’s longtime director and announcer, both retired recently. Jude Brennan, the line producer on the show, has told Letterman she intends to leave in the next several months.

Peter Lassally, who is the other executive producer on “The Late Show,” is based on the West Coast and has been in charge of “The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder” in Los Angeles for Letterman’s company.

In the past five weeks, “The Late Show” has been improving in the ratings and narrowing the gap between itself and “The Tonight Show.” The show will have a new set when it returns on March 18 from a week of reruns.