THEY DON’T CALL HIM LETTER-MAN FOR NOTHING

That old motto about “neither rain, nor sleet nor dark of night” apparently applies in spades to the No. 1 letter man working in the dark of night. While some late-night talk-show hosts will be sitting out the storm, David Letterman is set to return to his studio in New York tonight (Monday) and tomorrow to tape his show without an audience. Scheduled guests include singer/musician Paul Banks, performing “Young Again,” the single from his new CD, and actor Denzel Washington, promoting his upcoming movie, Flight. (The New York premiere of the movie that had been set for tonight has been canceled.) Late Show audience members have been told to stay home and stay safe. Hurricane Sandy has shut down taping of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert. They will presumably be replaced by reruns. Also canceled is Jimmy Kimmel’s show on ABC, which was to have aired from Brooklyn, his hometown. Ordinarily Kimmel’s show airs from Hollywood, which was experiencing utterly perfect weather, with temperatures around 80 degrees, a light breeze and crystal-clear skies. Unaffected, of course, are the other shows that ordinarily air from Hollywood, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC and Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS.