late show

Rapper Jay-Z is one of the ten most successful recording artists of the past decade. But on the new 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), he discussed his very humble upbringing.

Jay-Z (real name: Shawn Carter) was born in the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, NY, and he went through some tough times. Shawn was abandoned by his father when he was 12. Without a man in the house, he had to find a way to support himself -- which led to some very questionable decisions.

David Letterman asked about life in the projects: "What was that like for a kid?" Jay-Z said sometimes there were "great days ... fun and ice cream." "But then, some days it would turn super-violent." Asked about the source of the violence, Jay-Z said it was caused by "little guys with big guns."

On the new 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), 'Harry Potter' star Emma Watson showed up to discuss life in college, and her career. The young actress is appearing in the last 'Harry Potter' film (which is divided into two parts), but a lot of other changes are also happening for her.

While talking to David Letterman, Emma revealed the reason for her drastic hair change (she's hacked off her long brown locks, choosing instead a short bob). Now that the fantasy film series is ending, Ms. Watson is at a bit of a loose end (unlike her hair).

Emma told Letterman that the end of the 'Potter' fantasy series felt like a break-up, and what many girls do during a break-up is change their hairstyle. "It was sad," she said.

Cher is a legendary singer, actress and long-time advocate for gay rights. She had one child with former husband Sonny Bono -- daughter Chastity Sun Bono, who was named after Cher's first dramatic film role in the 1969 flop 'Chastity,' where she played a bisexual.

Daughter Chastity came out as a lesbian many years ago, and following a sex-change operation, she changed her name to Chaz Salvatore Bono. Cher fully supports Chaz, who was legally declared a man this past May. But on 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), she and David Letterman puzzled through how to refer to her child.

Actor Russell Crowe is a tough guy. He fights, he drinks -- and he smokes cigarettes. On 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), Crowe said that he started smoking at age ten. Whoa. The 46-year-old estimates he's smoked 18,000 cigarettes a year ever since then. 18,000 times 36 years is -- well ... we won't do the math for you, but it's a lot.

Now, Russell's trying to quit. He told David Letterman he kicked the habit five months ago, for the sake of his son. Dave was intrigued. "How did you stop?" he said, as the audience began to applaud. The actor held up his finger in warning. "You've clapped way too early," he told the crowd. Uh-oh.

On the 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), David Letterman and guest Harrison Ford started with a debate about flying high. Then they ended up in a debate over their relative heights.

Ford began telling the host about a recent blimp ride that he had taken with his family. The actor is a well-known aviator; he flies airplanes and helicopters. (He once rescued a stranded hiker from the air, and also crash-landed a helicopter.)

But when Dave expressed interest in Harrison's blimp flight, the actor growled this in response: "[Blimps are] really boring." Okay, we can see how floating in a huge balloon might be less fun than messing around in a helicopter.

Edison Peña was trapped underground for 69 days. He was one of 33 miners caught in the Chilean mine collapse. But he's free now, and he's talking advantage of his freedom. And if you were stuck in an enclosed space with 32 other men for two months, you might want to stretch your legs a little. ... Maybe even do a little dancing.

Peña appeared on the 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), where he talked to David Letterman with the aid of an interpreter. Letterman asked Edison about surviving the mine collapse. Dave mentioned the use of music; he had heard that the miners sang as a group to keep their spirits up.

In response to this, Peña said he preferred to sing alone. But then, the miner showed that he wasn't so shy about performing -- even though he was in front of a huge audience.

This has been a historical week for Jon Stewart. First, around 200,000 people showed up for his Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on the National Mall this weekend, and now comes news that his 'Daily Show' has topped usual late-night stalwarts 'The Tonight Show' and the 'Late Show' for the first time ever.

According to Deadline, Nielsen ratings show that Stewart bested Jay Leno and David Letterman in the coveted 18-49 demographic for the month of October -- the first time any series other than 'The Tonight Show' or 'Late Show' has ever topped the list.

Tina Fey hasn't been paying attention to politics lately. In fact, David Letterman had to tell her about the 2010 election, and what the Republicans have been up to: "Last night, they sent America 'a message,'" he said with a rueful grin.

Ms. Fey is so out of the political "loop" that she can't recall how to do her famous "Sarah Palin" impression. But she gave it a shot on 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS). At Dave's request, she did her version of Sarah Palin -- after pointing out that Palin is going to be hard to live with, following the recent Republican success.

Here is Tina doing "Sarah" -- and commenting on the 2010 GOP comeback, partially led by Palin's "mama grizzly" Tea Party candidates: "All her 'mama grizzlies' are winnin' and they're ... goin' ta Washington, and they're gonna flip your pic-a-nik table, Dave! ... You're gonna hafta tie your food to a tree!"

Robert Downey Jr. is a former Hollywood "bad boy." The actor was known for his hard-partying ways, but now, Downey is clean and sober -- and he stays out of trouble. But there's always someone ready to fill the "bad boy" vacuum. Recently, that person seems to be Charlie Sheen.

This Friday, the cops came to Sheen's hotel room, after the actor allegedly went on a drunken coke-fueled rampage. Sheen also allegedly had a naked hooker locked in his room's closet. This is a big scandal for the 'Two and Half Men' star. So on 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), David Letterman turned to his expert on drugs, booze and scandals -- Mr. Downey himself.

Apparently, Downey and Sheen went to the same high school, but Robert said they "didn't really hang out." Though he added this: "It sounds like we could have really partied."

Will Ferrell is a man of many talents. But singing is not one of those talents. Still, on the 'Late Show' (11:35PM ET on CBS), Mr. Ferrell does his best. He belts out an incredible ballad -- and he does it all for a friend.

Who is Will doing his performance for? Why, singer Celine Dion, of course! As you may have heard, Celine recently gave birth to twins. Unfortunately, this meant she could no longer sing at her live Las Vegas show. Luckily, Ferrell is here to pick up the slack.

Will tells David Letterman that he and Celine have been best friends for years. They met in Quebec, while sitting on a bus, while Will was in Canada during his college semester abroad. ... It's a fascinating tale that never suffers from the fact that it's completely untrue.

Singer Taylor Swift is a world traveler these days. And she's taking pains not to be an "ugly American" while touring in support of her new album. Recently, Swift traveled to countries like Italy, France and Japan. But as the singer told David Letterman on 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM on CBS), when she's in a foreign land, she makes an effort to speak the local lingo.

Swift's efforts went so far as to include mastering enough Japanese to talk during an entire 90-minute concert. Dave couldn't believe Taylor knew that much Japanese: "No you don't!" But the young woman was blasé about the whole thing. "You just memorize some of it ... you figure out what it means."

When Letterman asked for examples, Taylor favored him with such phrases as "Nippon saikou," "Tanoshii, ne Osaka?" and "Kawaii!"* Pretty impressive!

"Sexting" is trendy and controversial. Sending sexually explicit photos and messages over the phone has gotten some celebrities into trouble. And David Letterman isn't a fan -- he doesn't get the whole "sexting" thing. Luckily, Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared on 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS) and helped Dave out.

Combs and Letterman discussed the recent Brett Favre scandal, in which Favre was accused of sending photos of his private parts to Jenn Sterger, a sports reporter and model. Dave was confused, so Sean smoothly explained how to go about "sexting" someone. "I'm the perfect spokesman," he said. "I'm a sex-texter myself."

"I like 'oldies,'" says Hilary Swank. "'60s, '70s ... I like that era." But how deep is her love for classic songs? We'll find out on the new 'Late Show' (11:35PM ET on CBS). Host David Letterman boasts of Swank's musical knowledge, and Swank confirms her encyclopedic memory for the hits of the past. Which is a potentially bad call on her part, because now she's fallen into Dave's trap.

Letterman and sidekick Paul Shaffer test Swank's know-how in a 'Late Night' version of 'Name That Tune.' But after the contest is announced, the actress look nervous -- and starts to jokingly bite her fingernails. Will she pass the test?

Hilary only has "two chords" to identify hits by artists such as Rod Stewart and Earth, Wind & Fire. Test yourself by watching along with the video -- can you name the title of the song before Ms. Swank does?

Is there something odd about the picture to your right? There's a shirtless dude, a bunch of cops, and ... some adorable smiling children. That's weird. But the photo starts to make more sense, once you realize it involves professional daredevil Johnny Knoxville.

Johnny is the star of 'Jackass,' a raunchy series featuring absurdly dangerous stunts. On the 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), Knoxville discussed a lifetime of crazy antics -- including the time that he was busted by the cops while babysitting.

First, Knoxville mentioned some of the terrible injuries that he's suffered during his 'Jackass' career. The worst one involved being hit in the groin by a motorcycle. Knoxville was quick to assure David Letterman that everything was still okay with his, um, groin area. "I just had a nine-month-old boy," he said, "so 'it' still works."

The presidency of George W. Bush is still a contentious topic in America. He left office with one of the lowest approval ratings of any U.S. leader. Arguments still flare up over Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina, and the invasion of Iraq. And some people kind of think that Bush was just plain ... dumb. David Letterman is apparently one of these people.

On 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS), Dave talks with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr. Blair was one of the few foreign leaders who supported the American war on Iraq -- and he paid the price for it. Blair was forced to leave office a few years later, based mainly on his support for Bush.

While talking with one of President Bush's greatest supporters, Letterman essentially posed this central question: "Is Bush dumb?"