Letterman bids farewell to late-night TV
The man who, for years, gave TV viewers Stupid Pet Tricks served them up a simple, human one instead: a definitive goodbye.
David Letterman brought 33 years of late-night antics to a close late Wednesday afternoon, recording his last broadcast of CBS' “The Late Show”. In the final show, the host acted as if he was emceeing just one more program, based on a screening of the first two segments made for reporters Wednesday night.
Despite his cool demeanor, Letterman brought with him outsize surprises, including an introduction featuring US President Barack Obama and former presidents George W Bush, Bill Clinton and George HW Bush in videotaped segments. “Our long national nightmare is over,” each president said.
And Letterman served up the usual mix of tomfoolery and self- deprecating humor. “I'll be honest with you,” he said in his last monologue. “It's beginning to look like I'm not going to get the 'Tonight Show',” an obvious reference to the decision made by NBC in the early 1990s to award that program to Jay Leno, rather than Letterman.
Letterman has hosted “Late Show” since its 1993 inception, and before that pioneered the concept of a looser, less formal talk show with “Late Night”, which he launched in 1982. He has been a pivotal figure in TV's wee-hours schedule for more than 30 years. During that time, Letterman took the genre away from the rigid formula followed by many talk shows and instead developed an early reputation for irreverence.
Luminaries Barbara Walters, Steve Martin, Peyton Manning, Steve Martin, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Murray were among those who took part in a final Top Ten list centered on things the celebrities always wanted to say to the host. The taping, which ran well over an hour, also featured clips from past shows.
The Foo Fighters played “Everlong” and the CBS Orchestra, led by Paul Shaffer, enjoyed time in the spotlight during a break. Letterman described to the audience how important the Foo Fighters song was to his recovery from heart surgery in 2000.
Letterman spent a good amount of time thanking his “Late Show” writers, producers, crew – and his family: wife Regina and son Harry were in the audience watching the event. But he finished the program as if it were any other, telling the audience, “And now, for the last time on a television programme: Thank you and good night.”
Source: Variety
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