One of David Letterman’s closest friends gives us a look at the man behind the desk

“As a broadcaster he is second to none. As a human, a friend, he is second to none,” Tom Dreesen, comedian and close friend of David Letterman, said.

We got to see the former on our TVsfor 33 years, but the latter – few got to know.

“He’s such a private person, had I known that earlier I may not have been aggressive , but by the time I realized he was shy, we were friends,” Dreesen said.

David Letterman let Dreesen in from day one, 40 years ago.

“The guy I met in 1975 is the same guy I know now,” he noted.

Letterman is a Midwestern guy in every sense of the word. He was born in Indianapolis; his dad was a florist, his mom was a church secretary. After graduating from Ball State with a degree in radio television, he worked as a weatherman at a local TV station. Ever the funny guy, friends encouraged him to move to LA to pursue comedy writing.

“He came out here in a red pickup. I came off stage one night and he came up to me and said he liked my material. He said he’s from Indiana, I said I’m from Chicago, we started talking sports. We became friends, playing b-ball, jogging together, became fast friends,” Dreesen said.

Tom went with David when he did his first stand-up on The Tonight Show.

“He was always uncomfortable on a nightclub stage. I saw him come out of The Tonight Show curtain and thought ‘he is home’,” Dreesen said.

Letterman got his own morning show at age 33. Eventually, The Late Show came to life and the rest is television history. Dreesen rose to fame as Frank Sinatra’s opening comedic act for 14 years.

“Frank introduced me to the desert,” he said.

He became one of Letterman’s favorite guests, and frequently hosted the show in Letterman’s absence.

“‘Tell me a Frank Sinatra story’, he’d say. I told 800 million Frank Sinatra stories on Letterman’s show.”

Through his more than three decades on television, people credited Letterman with changing the talk show genre.

“They all stole from David, took his routine and material, they’ll admit it some in public. He was a creator, an innovator,” Dreesen said.

The Love Boat’s Gavin MacLeod, who now lives in the desert, appeared on the show many times as well.

“He is irreverent. He has high moral value-ism, but irreverent. The younger crowd liked that,” MacLeod said. “I was in a captain’s uniform they had one made for me.”

Letterman’s interview list includes presidents, world leaders, sports figures and the biggest names in Hollywood. He and his shows won 16 Emmy Awards and a staggering 112 Emmy nominations, a 1992 Peabody Award and a prestigious 2012 Kennedy Center Honor.

“Letterman doesn’t know how good he is and doesn’t want you to tell him, has trouble taking a compliment. That’s what made him great, he kept striving,” Dreesen said.

He hosted 6,028 late night talk show broadcasts – more than any other late night talk show host. His roots are the common thread that made his and Dreesen’s friendship, and his connection to audiences, so strong.

“It’s no secret the most successful talk show hosts came from the Midwest. Johnny Carson, Oprah, Phil Donahue, David Letterman. Midwestern personality wears well over years.”

On may 20th, 2015 – at the age of 68 – that comes to an end — with Letterman’s retirement.

“It’s going to be a vacuous element, that hour. Colbert is fabulous, but each person has its own individuality,” MacLeod said.

From George Clooney to Julia Roberts, Letterman chose his final guests, and that includes his long-time friend, Dreesen.

“I almost got choked up (my final time on his show). I was only going to say, ‘I hope you get half as much joy as you’ve given to the world’, and I could tell he was getting emotional,” Dreesen said.

Though the TV will turn off for Letterman, he’s given us more than three decades of laughs to hold onto.