“People used to know who I am,” Letterman told Jimmy Kimmel.

David Letterman reveals he was mistaken for Dick Van Dyke: ‘Now I have to wear a name tag’

"People used to know who I am," Letterman told Jimmy Kimmel.

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a staff writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2019 and is a published author. Her work has previously appeared in *TV Guide Magazine*, E! News/E! Online, *The Hollywood Reporter*, Mashable, Bustle, IGN, DCComics.com, Inverse, *The Daily Northwestern*, and more.

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December 11, 2025 5:11 p.m. ET

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David Letterman, Dick Van Dyke. Credit:

Arturo Holmes/Getty; Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty

Blame it on the beard.

David Letterman and Dick Van Dyke are both titans of comedy, but Letterman reveals he was recently mistaken for Van Dyke — who is 21 years his senior — by a "fan" on the street.

The *Late Show With David Letterman* alum, 78, went on *Jimmy Kimmel Live* on Wednesday, and recounted the shocking story of how people have seemed to have forgotten who he is after over a decade since his talk show ended.

David Letterman on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'.

Disney/Randy Holmes

"Here's what happens to me now — people used to know who I am, and now I have to wear a name tag to get anything going," Letterman told Jimmy Kimmel.

He recently discovered that after someone "recognized" him at a farmer's market "just the other day," they actually thought he was Van Dyke, who turns 100 on Saturday.

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"A guy comes up to me and he says, 'Excuse me, are you who I think you are?' And now, I'm all loaded up and I respond, 'Well, that depends on who you think I are,'" Letterman said. "That always gets a big laugh. I said, 'Who do you think I am?' He said, 'Dick Van Dyke,' and I said, 'No! What?!'"

Letterman left the *Late Show* in 2015 after 22 years of hosting it on CBS, and he told Kimmel that he's noticed a huge change in how people talk to him in the decade since.

"When I was your age," Letterman said to Kimmel, 58, "people my age and younger would come up to me and say, 'We watch the show every night, we love it.' And then when I left, it was, 'Oh, we miss you.' And then it would be, 'Oh, my mother watches you now every night, and she really misses you now that you're gone.' Lately it's, 'You know what, I'd like a picture of you to show to my grandfather, and his father also, because we used to watch it together in the hospital.' Just like that."

Watch a video of his interview below:

Letterman went on to host his Netflix talk show, *My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman*, three years after leaving the *Late Show*. The latest season premieres Tuesday, Dec. 16 with Michael B. Jordan, MrBeast, and Jason Bateman as guests.**

Meanwhile, Van Dyke became a comedy legend after his breakout hit sitcom *The Dick Van Dyke Show, *which ran from 1961-1966, earned him three Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor. It later spawned *The New Dick Van Dyke Show*, which ran from 1971–1974. He has also won a Grammy, a Tony, three more Emmys, and is a Disney Legend.

Earlier during his late-night appearance on Wednesday, Letterman asked Kimmel if "people are aware of the fact that you are the leader of the resistance," as he sat down to the cheers from the studio audience. "I am the totally ineffective leader of the resistance," Kimmel quipped in response.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

"By the way, will this be televised tonight? I can never keep track with you getting yanked off," Letterman continued, referring to ABC's decision in September to suspend Kimmel for his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel was reinstated nearly a week later, amid a nationwide debate about freedom of speech.

"Speaking of leaders... I'm going to suck up to you because I feel like if I kind of tag along with you, I'll be glorified in retrospect," Letterman segued, "and this is irrespective of party or political ideology. If the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives."

Letterman was, of course, alluding to President Donald Trump, whom Kimmel has been feuding with for the better part of the year. Trump has repeatedly called for the late-night host to be fired amid Kimmel's commitment to speaking out against the president's controversial policies.

"Thank God for you, thank God for others, *SNL* and everybody else...," Letterman said. "I think it's the way things need to be in a democracy that's seemingly this crippled."

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