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David Letterman has become the face of late-night in the modern era and has hosted his own show for over 30 years now. However, before becoming commonplace in television history, he had to win over audiences, a feat that was realized when he was nominated for an Emmy in 1984.

Although he had received Daytime Emmy awards for his short-lived morning comedy show, Letterman had not received any Primetime Emmy nominations or awards since being granted his own late-night show in 1982.

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At the '84 Emmys, that all changed when Late Night with David Letterman was nominated for four awards, three of which were in the same category, Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program.

The show went on to win the Outstanding Writing award for Show #312, and Letterman had a humorous response prepared for the media when he was teased in the pressroom about what had differentiated that show from the others.

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"[Show] #291, we had some trouble with the color, so that automatically was discounted and...there was a poison gas leak in the studio for two of those, so it's just a simple matter of elimination," he jokes in the featured flashback.

The clever comedian, who is known to be self-effacing when it comes to his accomplishments and milestones, puts all jokes aside and displays appreciation for the award when talking about it.

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"I'm very excited about tonight and I think, just from the way that everybody has got that blank, glazed look on their faces, we're all very excited," the then-37-year-old comedian says. "I must say, we were very flattered and, in my case, I was very surprised."

That year was the beginning of a 25-year span that included 10 Emmys and over 50 Emmy nominations for Letterman and his late-night team.