Barbara Gaines (born June 1, 1956) is a former executive producer of the '' Late Show with David Letterman''. She held that position from May 2000 to the show's finale in 2015. She graduated in 1979 from

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

with a BA in educational television.Barbara Gaines bio
Archived fro
the original
July 6, 2008. She started on ''

The David Letterman Show ''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward. Back ...

'' as a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

in 1980 before being promoted to

production coordinator A production coordinator (officially called production office coordinator and abbreviated POC) is a unionized position in stagecraft under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and is governed in Los Angeles by Local 87 ...

and assistant producer. As a producer, she was nominated for the Emmy eleven times and won five consecutive awards for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program. She became one of the most popular staff members with audiences, appearing regularly on the show in segments such as "How's The Weather?", in which Letterman would call a random number in a phone book Gaines picked out and ask about the weather. She also worked on production for the Orange Bowl Parade; ''One of the Boys'', a comedy series starring Mickey Rooney,

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...

and

Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...

; and '' The $50,000 Pyramid''. Gaines made the 2008 Ten Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz list.

Personal

Gaines met her partner Aari Blake Ludvigsen in 1991. Their son, Simon Michael Ludvigsen Gaines, was born in 2006. In 2008, the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' reported that Gaines and Ludvigsen had married in San Francisco. Gaines belongs to

Congregation Beit Simchat Torah Congregation Beit Simchat Torah ("CBST") is a synagogue located in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1973, and is the world's largest LGBT synagogue. CBST serves Jews of all sexual orientations and gender identities, their families, ...

(CBST), the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Straight Synagogue in New York, and in 2010 did a video with the Strength Through Community project at CBST about her life and experiences.

References

External links

* Television producers from New York (state) American women television producers 20th-century American Jews Ithaca College alumni George W. Hewlett High School alumni People from The Five Towns, New York Emmy Award winners 1957 births Living people LGBT people from New York (state) LGBT Jews Late Show with David Letterman 21st-century American Jews {{US-tv-producer-stub