Despite a huge scandal swirling around him in 2009, David Letterman’s television ratings were not negatively impacted, as his audience rallied behind him. In case you are one of the few who didn’t hear what happened, Letterman announced on his Late Show With David Letterman, on October 1, 2009, that he was guilty of having affairs with more than one CBS staff member, after he was blackmailed by CBS producer Joe Halderman, for $2 million.

Letterman’s life was not always in such turmoil. He was born on April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Harry and Dorothy. His mother was the secretary for a church and his father was a florist. Sisters Gretchen and Janice rounded out the typical middle-class family.

After graduating from Ball State University in 1969, Letterman gravitated toward local television station WLWI, where he was a jack-of-all-trades and worked as a talk-show host, weatherman and also gave viewers the news.

Not being content in a local setting, Letterman moved to Los Angeles in 1975, and pursued stand-up-comedy, comedy writing, and also appeared on numerous game shows. The comedian made the big time when he landed on the Tonight Show, and was mentored by Johnny Carson, as well as filled in for him as a guest host. NBC liked what they saw and offered him a daytime gig, the David Letterman Show, and when that ended, he was promoted to late-night television hosting of the Late Night with David Letterman show. With his gap-toothed grin and odd-ball humor, Letterman kept audiences laughing, but it was not enough for NBC to put him in the coveted replacement spot, when Carson retired in 1992. Instead the job went to funny man Jay Leno. Thus began a network battle, as Letterman moved to CBS in the host position for The Late Show with David Letterman. It was also during this time that Letterman was not only a hilariously funny, albeit an abrasive host, but a became a business owner, when he began the production company, Worldwide Pants Inc., which produced such hits as Everybody Loves Raymond, Ed and The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder.

Letterman’s private life has been just that—private. Most people don’t realize that he married the same year that he graduated from college. His marriage to Michele Cook lasted nearly eight years, but ended in 1977. He then began an extremely long romance with Regina Lasko, which began in 1986, but did not marry her until March 19, 2009, more than five years after the birth of their son Harry Joseph Letterman.

The pencil-throwing funny man has been a late-night force to be reckoned with, and his self-deprecating humor has endeared him to fans everywhere, so hopefully his recent bout with extortion and humiliation will help him reset his course toward a brighter future.