Is the grey-haired lady from Indianapolis that David Letterman often talks to really his mom?
—Gail McMillen, Portageville, Mo.
Yes, that is indeed Letterman's mom, Dorothy Mengering, who makes her annual Thanksgiving night appearance from her Indiana kitchen, as well as other televised tidbits throughout the year. She's a Presbyterian church secretary who remarried after Letterman's father, Harry Joe Letterman, died of a heart attack in 1973. She says that David, the middle child between two sisters, has always had a wonderful sense of humor, following in the footsteps of his father.