Silke Jasso
Comedian and long time “Late Show” host David Letterman’s mother passed away Tuesday night, according to reports.
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Dorothy Mengering, who appeared several times on Letterman’s program, passed away at age 95.
Ron Brackett of the Tampa Bay Times first reported the news on Twitter. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Mengering’s daughter Gretchen works at the Florida newspaper.
https://twitter.com/rontimes/status/851957797222838273
https://twitter.com/rontimes/status/851961751776227328
The Hollywood Reporter notes that her first time on screen was in 1994 at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, “when she offered to bring ice skater Nancy Kerrigan hot chocolate and asked Hillary Clinton if the first lady could get the speed limit adjusted in Connecticut.”
She told the New York Times, “After Lillehammer, I couldn’t believe how it all took off. I think it’s about the idea of mom and of a family. People are eager for families to be like they used to be. Even though there are lots of working moms and single-parent families now, you can still be a family in spite of the size and form it takes.”
Mengering had a stroke in 2015. Letterman said at the time, “She had a stroke a couple of weeks ago, but she’s fine. She’s 94, for heaven’s sake. If I had a stroke, I’d be hospitalized for the rest of my life. My mom has one, and she’s fine.”
Letterman’s father, Harry Letterman died in 1973. His mother then married Hans Paul Mengering, who died in 2013.
Corrections: David Letterman was the host of “Late Show.” An earlier version of this story said he was the “Late Night” show host. Additionally, the original story misstated the details surrounding the death of Letterman’s father. Harry Letterman died in 1973, it was his stepfather, Hans Paul Mengering, who passed away in 2013.
