David Letterman’s Mother, Dorothy Mengering, Dies At 95

Dorothy Mengering, mother of former late night talk show host David Letterman, died on Tuesday at 95 years old. Mengering appeared on her son’s show, The Late Show with David Letterman, during several recurring segments including “Guess Mom’s Pies” every Thanksgiving.

Mengering lived her entire life in Indiana. In 1942, she married Harry Letterman, the late night hosts father. After he died in 1973, Mengering married Hans P. Mengering, who died in 2013.

Mengering’s fame came when she first appeared on television in 1986 alongside her son. The aforementioned “Guess Mom’s Pies” was a segment in which Letterman would guess what kind of pie his mother had made. Often times the pies were not the most traditional. She also came onto the show on Mother’s Day.

Mengering, donned in a heavy coat, also covered the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway for The Late Show. She would go on to cover the next two winter games for The Late Show.

In 1996, she wrote the cookbook Home Cookin’ With Dave’s Mom, in which she wrote out the recipes for many of pies that appeared on “Guess Mom’s Pies.”

Letterman retired from The Late Show in 2015 and has since joined the climate change documentary show Years of Living Dangerously. Today is his birthday.