in the 1980s, the show reached popularity with guests ranging from jimmy carter to orson welles to little richard. the show's impressive guest lineup was fodder for a running joke on nbc's "late night with david letterman", which taped simultaneously across the hall from wnbc's news studio in studio 6a, where letterman complained that "live at five" got better guests than he did. it was not unusual for letterman to venture out of his studio with a portable camera, and interview "live at five" staffers manning the doors, or guests coming and going, or even crashing, live and unannounced, the "live at five" set. the program continued to maintain an impressive guest lineup well into the 2000s, with everyone from broadway stars to nfl football players to politicians coming to studio 6b to be interviewed.