As a former assistant to David Letterman, Stephanie Birkitt had been the subject of national attention before. The 34-year-old New Hampshire native taped more than 200 segments for The Late Show from 1996 to 2008 including interviews with Survivor castoffs and reports from the Winter Olympics. But when Letterman announced on his show on Oct. 1 that he'd been the victim of an $2 million extortion attempt, Birkitt found herself in a different and much less flattering spotlight. According to Letterman, Birkitt's ex-boyfriend, a CBS News producer named Robert (Joe) Halderman, tried to blackmail him by writing a screenplay, based partly on a diary of Birkitt's, about the wealthy and now married talk-show host's habit of seducing female staffers. Since the alleged plot was revealed, Halderman has pleaded not guilty he claims it was an aggressive business deal gone awry and the media have yet to hear a peep out of Birkitt, who may be trying to stay out of the limelight for good.
The Top 10 Everything of 2009
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Facebook Stories
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Ideas
- Top 10 Heroes
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Pariahs
- Top 10 Pictures of the Year
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Untruths
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
TIME charts the highs and lows of the past year in 50 wide-ranging lists