1. May 14, 1987: Tonight Show
2. July 28, 1987: Late Night
3. July 29, 1987 Late Night Cold Open
4. August 21, 1987: return appearance on Late Night

Crispin Glover did the NBC talk shows to promote "River's Edge." His first spot was on The Tonight Show on May 14, 1987, and, while visibly nervous, he seemed somewhat sane, and Johnny played along.

Then his appearance on Late Night happened. Dave's show on July 28 was an hour-long disaster: The opening act tested new sound effects, all of which bombed. Next was the Top Ten list, which wasn't ready. Then Myrtle Young, the Potato Chip lady. Then an awkward interview with Ally Sheedy, promoting her film "Maid to Order." Then an attempted call to James "The Drifter" Baggett, but Dave got an airport by mistake. The Top Ten still wasn't ready.

By this point Dave was already on edge from the screw-ups and odd guests. Then came Glover. From a 1992 broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" in which movie director Trent Harris explained how his new feature film, "Rubin and Ed," came to be:

"[Glover] said, 'Come on over to my place. I've got something I want to show you.' So I go over to the place he lives in Hollywood. It's a big tower with an elevator in it, so I pushed the elevator button, and I'm waiting in the lobby and the doors open up, and this creature steps out of the elevator in striped bellbottoms, platform shoes, strange hair, double-knit tight polyester shirt, thick glasses, and then he started to giggle, and I realized that it was Crispin and he said, 'Wouldn't it be funny to do a film about this character. Wouldn't he be a great character to write a movie about?' And I said, 'No.' I mean, it's a frightening image to see Rubin Farr for the first time. But then this -- he was invited to go on the David Letterman show, and he said, 'Wouldn't it be interesting if I went on as Rubin Farr?' And I said, 'No.'"

But Glover went ahead and appeared on "Late Night" as Rubin Farr, the character he'd later play in Harris's film. And what was Harris's first reaction to seeing Glover on with Dave? "I literally had to get in the closet. I started to watch the thing, and then I found myself standing up on the couch going, 'No, no, no,' and then I got in the closet and closed the door, hoping that somehow it would stop."

(Quotes here come from LATE SHOW NEWS #164, August 5, 1997.)

Dave was not amused. After all that had preceded Glover's appearance that night, his mood had already darkened, and Glover's character was first met with bemusement but then disdain, the kick the final straw.

After Glover's segment, Dave discussed the mess with Paul, asked again for the Top Ten (still not ready), and called James again, this time successfully. By the end of the show, Dave thanked his guests, Glover's name conspicuously absent.

The next night, Dave, Paul, and Biff exorcised the event in a Cold Open.

Three weeks later, on August 21, Glover made a return appearance. It went considerably better.

Fun fact: July 28, 1987, was exactly five years after the Kaufman/Lawler appearance.