Rick “Shecky” Scheckman, who for more than 30 years came up with oddball footage for David Letterman’s late-night programs while also finding his way on camera for wacky comedy bits, has died. He was 67.
Rick Scheckman’s cause of death: How did Rick Scheckman die?
Scheckman had “multiple health issues” and died early Friday morning at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, his friend Leonard Maltin told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Queens native was an avid film collector who had acquired obscure footage from decades and decades of celluloid that could be repurposed for commercials, TV shows, and the like.
Scheckman joined Late Night With David Letterman in March 1982, a month after the show debuted on NBC. The writers called on Scheckman so often, he was given a full-time job as a film coordinator.
If 20 minutes before tape time, the writers suddenly came up with a bit that required film of a monkey washing a cat, Shecky knew where to find it,” writer Mark Evanier wrote on his blog.
