Stephanie Birkitt

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Stephanie Birkitt (born January 7, 1975)^{[citation needed]} is an assistant^[1] to David Letterman on Late Show with David Letterman. Although Birkitt was usually treated as a character named "Vicki", earlier appearances by Birkitt often featured Letterman referring to her by various other nicknames such as Smitty, Kitty, Monty, Gunter, and Dutch. Her comedic style on the show has a dadaist bent.^{[citation needed]}

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[edit] Career working for Letterman and CBS

Birkitt started as an intern on the show during spring 1996.^[2] After graduation, she worked as a page for CBS News, 48 Hours, and the Late Show, eventually becoming an associate producer on segments for correspondent Erin Moriarty.^[2] Deciding she wasn't "much of a news hound," she applied for a job as a Letterman office worker, helping to handle his charities and his Indy car racing team.^[2]

Working with Letterman in this capacity led to her first appearances on Late Show, in which Letterman would call her in her office during the show. These phone calls eventually led to longer bits on the show. Said Birkitt, "He started talking to me more, and we developed a rapport." ^[3]

Birkitt appeared during the CBS Mailbag segment numerous times donning costumes that sometimes related to a specific ongoing festival or event. She was given a number of on-air names, including "Monty, " "Vicki," and "Dutch." She interviewed Survivor castoffs, asking them "Did you see or touch any monkeys?" much to the feigned displeasure of Letterman. In 2002, she was named #21 in USA Today's "Pop Candy's 100 People of the Year!" list. ^[4]

Birkitt described her relationship with Letterman in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2004. In the article, titled "Letterman Aide is Dave's Main Tease," Birkitt stated, "[Letterman is] just playful. We play catch sometimes in the office, and we all go to screenings together. We eat food together, we sit around and watch TV together and goof on people. And he teases me in real life, too, but I give it back a lot more in real life."^[5]

As herself, she gave on-air reports from the sites of the Winter Olympics in 2002 and in 2006.

In addition to her appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, Birkitt co-hosts The Tony Mendez Show on the Late Show website.

[edit] Alleged David Letterman affair

In October 2009, David Letterman announced on-air that he had been the victim of an extortion attempt, in which an alleged blackmailer — since identified by police as CBS television producer Joe Halderman — threatened to reveal that Letterman had engaged in sexual affairs with multiple female employees. Letterman said that the allegation was true, but did not reveal the names or any identifying information of the female employees. Soon afterward, the extortionist was identified by media as a former boyfriend of Birkitt, and anonymous sources alleged that Birkitt and Letterman had had a sexual relationship.

Birkitt reportedly was not aware of, nor involved in, the blackmail attempt, ^[6]^[7]^[8] although CBS News reported that copies of her diary and emails between her and Letterman were the basis of the blackmail package.^[9]

[edit] Personal life

Birkitt was born in Plymouth, New Hampshire — her mother is an assistant principal and her father is a dentist.^[2] She graduated from Wake Forest University in 1997^[10], where she majored in history and minored in communications. As of 2006, her younger brother Johnny is a field producer on ABC's Dancing With The Stars.

She attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and in February 2009 passed the Connecticut bar exam.^{[citation needed]} She has also passed the New York State bar exam.^[11] The blog "Above the Law" claims that Letterman loaned Birkitt the money to pay for her law school tuition.