10 Things You Didn't Know About Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

8. Vince McMahon Tried To Get Bobby Jailed To Score Free Publicity For The WWF

In 1988, Bobby was invited to be a guest on the 6th Anniversary of Letterman special on NBC. Prior to the appearance, Vince McMahon told him that he had cleared it with the network executives for Bobby to do whatever he wanted and encouraged him to "act the fool". Thus, when it came to showtime, Bobby followed his boss's orders and went completely off script, making fun of Letterman's failed marriage, insulting the audience, and placing a Bobby Heenan figure on Letterman's desk before walking off the set and heading backstage. Reaching the green room, Heenan was immediately confronted by producers, who couldn't believe what he had done. When Bobby protested that McMahon gave him permission, the producers informed him that they had no idea what he was talking about, and ordered him to go back out, sit in the audience and do nothing. Taking his seat, Bobby found himself joined by an NBC security guard, who immediately opened his jacket to reveal a gun in a holster, subtly warning Heenan to behave himself. They re-recorded Bobby's appearance, and this time he simply waved to the crowd before sitting back down. In Bobby's autobiography, he revealed Vince McMahon's true intentions - "I later found out what Vince wanted to do. He wanted to get me locked up in jail so that it would have made all the papers. Free publicity for the WWF." As the old saying goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity, and having a WWF heel all over the front pages of the national press for disrupting live television was the exact kind of publicity that McMahon thrived on. Even if it meant sending one of his biggest stars to the slammer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IcTmCXGkSU