Stars: They’re just like us! ... except after working a shift, they can go home and polish their awards.
On July 24, David Letterman appeared in a video posted by supermarket chain Hy-Vee working a shift at one of its stores in Des Moines, Iowa. In the three-minute video, the host of “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” revisits his roots, restocking canned goods, bagging groceries and frankly, cutting it up with everyone he speaks to, as only an iconic comedian could.
“I spent a considerable amount of my life in a grocery store in Indianapolis,” Letterman says in the video. “It was the last of the singular, independent owned grocery stores, and I loved it. And if I can give something back to the marketing community, I would like to do that, but I don’t have all day, of course.”
It’s true: In the 1960s, Letterman worked at Atlas Supermarket, a locally owned independent grocer in Indianapolis that went out of business in 2002 after 55 years in business. While he was a teen, Letterman started out stocking grocery shelves while he attended high school.
According to the video’s caption, the Emmy-winning host worked his shift at Hy-Vee while in town for the Hy-Vee Indycar Race Weekend, an event featuring auto racing and other events, including performances by Zac Brown Band and Carrie Underwood.
Letterman is one of the owners of RLL Racing — in fact, he’s the first “L” in its name — and he’s also part-owner of Hy-Vee’s No. 45 car, which ended up finishing 19th in the race.
Letterman shows himself to still be a true goofball, joking around with Hy-Vee employees while donning a branded apron and, later, straightening canned goods before spotting a slightly open can of Campbell’s soup. He then does something Hy-Vee employees are likely discouraged from doing.
“Whoa, minestrone. That’s good,” Letterman says before fully opening the can and taking a chug. He offers the can to another employee, who obliges and takes a sip himself. “You want some? Go crazy.”
Letterman then does the following instantly fireable activities for a grocery worker in rapid succession: announcing on the store’s intercom that “today and today only” celery was “absolutely free,” eating spilled nuts directly off of the floor and getting on the intercom again to make speeding race car noises.
At the end of his shift, Letterman asks how he did — but actually doesn’t want to know the manager’s true assessment.
“Well, you don’t need to be honest with me. I’m 100, please don’t be honest,” says Letterman, who is actually 76, by the way. At the end of the video, the staff applauds his undoubtedly stellar performance. You know, more people should clap at the end of the workday — not just when an Emmy winner stops by.
Shockingly, this is not the first time this month that a star has been spotted off the red carpet and in uniform working a shift at a food establishment. On July 20, social media posts began popping up showing singer Lana Del Rey at several spots around Florence, Alabama, including at a Waffle House, where the chanteuse served coffee and met with fans young and old, for a reason no one is quite sure of yet.Here’s hoping this is the start of a new trend: Megawatt stars shining a light on the everyday jobs of their fans.
