Crispin Glover almost kicking Letterman in the head still remains one of the wildest TV moments ever
Crispin Glover was only 23 when he made his debut on 'Late Night with David Letterman,' and ironically, it is one of the most bizarre interviews in the history of reality TV. On the show, Glover entered dressed in a disheveled, pinstriped outfit with wild hair and platform shoes, almost like playing some character. And when the host pointed out and asked what Glover had in a case, the 'Back to the Future' star went on an erratic rant and said, "Yes, can I tell you, because the press, they can do things... they can twist things around," he said. He was clutching a piece of paper with an odd statement, and he trembled while reading: "Crispin Glover was pinstriped and greased up for the occasion and pressing the girl things... who were trying to get next to him. Guess some people are turned on by pressing [sic] cream."
Glover rambled about how people try to make him sound weird. "I'm just strong, you know? I'm strong, I can arm wrestle. Do you want to arm wrestle?" he asked Letterman, who flatly declined. But Glover didn't let it go. "I can kick, OK? I am gonna go..." he declared. Before anyone could react, he performed an unexpected high kick, inches away from Letterman’s face. The host, visibly startled, stood up, muttering, "I'm gonna go check on the Top 10," and Letterman left the stage as the audience cheered.
Fans have never stopped talking about the moment, with YouTube comments continuing to dissect the wild interaction decades later. "I’ve always been convinced that Phoenix used this as inspiration for his Joker character’s appearance on the Murray Show," one user speculated. Another wrote, "I saw this in ‘87 and have never forgotten it. Most memorable Dave interview ever." Some fans sided with Glover, claiming Letterman "took it badly" and was a "control freak." Some fans even noticed that since his entry on the show, Glover looked weird, as if he was playing a character. One said, "He came on the show as his character for the movie Rubin & Ed. Dave hated it. The audience loved it." But sided with Letterman, praising his quick-thinking exit. "Walking out of the curtain talking to someone backstage is such a good move," one viewer wrote.
When Letterman returned after the commercial break, he wasted no time roasting Glover. According to UCR, Glover returned to 'Late Night' just weeks later, appearing much calmer. When asked about the bizarre moment, he laughed it off, saying, "I wanted it to be this interesting kind of a thing that would happen that people would find interesting." Even years later, Glover remains cryptic about the appearance. According to HuffPost, when asked about his first appearance, he refused to give a straight answer. "Well, the thing that I say in media, which we're in right now—what I always answer is, 'I neither confirm nor deny that I was ever on the David Letterman show,'" he said. When pressed about returning to the show shortly after the kick attempt, Glover simply laughed and repeated, "I neither confirm nor deny that I was ever on the David Letterman show."