Bruce Willis Fills In For Letterman On 'Late Show'

Posted Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 7:50 AM Central

by Tim Briscoe

Bruce Willis hosted CBS' Late Show Wednesday night in place of David Letterman who was suffering from an eye infection. The noticeably and admittedly nervous Willis didn't get off easy.

Although he got away without doing an opening monologue, Bruce did take part in some comedy sketches that are a trademark of Letterman's shows. For instance, he helped cover the set's New York City skyline backdrop in plastic and duct tape.

He also showed a clip of theater-goers' comments upon leaving a screening of the upcoming Tears Of The Sun starring Willis. The comedy being that many of the patrons were actually Bruce in customer--including drag--telling us how great the movie was. He even got into Bruno mode by playing harmonica with the band during breaks to commercials.

The lineup of guests weren't easy either. Bruce did a good job of questioning newsman Dan Rather who had just returned from an interview with Saddam Hussein. Other guests included Carmen Electra and Grammy-winner John Mayer.

This will be the last of the celebrity guest hosts as CBS will air reruns of the show until Dave's return. Doctors expect Letterman to make a quick return from his illness.

Who knows? If this acting thing doesn't work out for him, perhaps a talk show gig is something Bruce can fall back on.