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| April 1999 Birdcalling makes student famous
"Yeah, I was on Letterman." What better pick-up line could a college freshman wish for? But if that doesn't work on the girls, Zach Dorman can always try the bird-calling routine that landed him on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in the first place. The bird call is that of a long-eared owl, a smallish bird that lives in the woods of the eastern United States. To mimic the owl's distinctive sound, the 19-year-old pounds on his chest while emitting a series of short yips, then blows into his fist to create a hooting noise. What female -- feathered or otherwise -- could resist? It all started with an annual birdcalling contest held at Piedmont High School in the San Francisco Bay area. In its 32 years, the contest had earned plenty of publicity for its wacky format of birdcalls built into skits. "It's just kind of a bizarre thing," Dorman said. "I just said, 'What the heck, I'll go make a fool of myself and have some fun.'" Dorman, then a senior at Piedmont, entered the contest. He didn't place, but his silly skit about the ghost of Jimmy Hoffa being pecked to death by a long-eared owl caught Letterman's attention. Dorman got the call from the Letterman people last July while he was living and working in Lake Tahoe for the summer. Within days, the stunned high school graduate was on his way to New York -- where he was joined by three other Piedmont classmates -- for a taping of the "Late Show." "They flew me out and picked me up in a limo at JFK and put me in an awesome hotel in Manhattan," Dorman said. The next day was a whirlwind of rehearsals and preparations for that evening's show, whose other guests would include actor George Clooney. Dorman got the star treatment, right down to the makeup session, which he described as "really, really strange. "I'm this normal high school kid about to go to college," he said. "I'm not a star." Before he knew it, Dorman and his three classmates were on stage with the gap-toothed comedian and an audience of a hundred or so people. "Once I got on stage I felt pretty comfortable," he said. "I thought, 'When's the next time I'll be able to do this?' So I figured I should take advantage of it and have some fun." Letterman took advantage of Dorman's good nature to tease him a bit, then asked him where he planned to go to college. Dorman replied "The University of Montana," to which Letterman responded with a remark about Big Sky Country. "After the show we were famous throughout New York City," Dorman said. "We were in Times Square and people would come up to us and say, 'Oh my God, you were on Letterman.'" Two days later, he flew to Montana for UM's orientation. "I was walking through the Salt Lake Airport and had people coming up to me and recognizing me." Despite Dorman's brush with fame, however, he's not planning on a career in showbiz. An outdoor enthusiast, he hopes to spend his life teaching others about the values and skills that nature has to offer. To that end, he's majoring in recreation management at UM, and spends all his spare time in the mountains. "I'm in love with it -- the school, the classes I've taken and the relaxed atmosphere in Missoula, which is such a contrast with bustling California," he said. Dorman enjoys rock climbing, skiing and paddling in the forests and rivers around Missoula. "The University of Montana just provided that playground for me, just having the wilderness in your backyard," he said. "It's definitely the place for me." Like other celebrities who retreat to Montana, Dorman can't entirely escape his adoring fans. "Every couple of weeks I'll get someone coming up to me, especially since they did the rerun recently," he said. "I didn't think the fame would go on this long." |
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