Ball State to re-create “The David Letterman Experience” with Letterman’s actual set

Ever since he retired in May of this year, there’s been a large David Letterman-shaped hole in our hearts and TV screens. Sure, Stephen Colbert’s taken over the job, to impressive results. But that doesn’t mean we can’t occasionally pine for simpler days, when a celebrity guest would appear on The Late Show and promptly get insulted right to their face. It seems Letterman’s alma mater feels the same way, because it’s taking steps to correct this state of affairs. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the former talk-show host is donating memorabilia from his TV career to Ball State University, to create what the school is calling “The David Letterman Experience.”

Before Letterman spoke to a sold-out crowd at his old university, Ball State president Paul Ferguson announced that the guy who once strapped a camera to a monkey wearing roller skates would be donating his talk-show set, props, Emmy awards, and other items to the new exhibit. Presumably, “other items” will include a smug sense of superiority and the ability to make anyone who enters the exhibit feel like they’re being laughed at in some way. No word yet on just when “The David Letterman Experience” will open, but it’s hoped it won’t be before Jay Leno can create an extremely watered-down (yet inexplicably more popular) version of the same experience.