Wednesday night was David Letterman’s signoff as host of The Late Show, wrapping up almost 35 years as a talk show host. At the end of the show, last bastions of rock & roll Foo Fighters played their classic “Everlong” under a montage of Letterman’s TV career, from the opening credits of his 11 year run as host of NBC’s Late Night through to recent moments on CBS’ Late Show.
The highlight reel was gold for any longtime fans of Letterman: Chris Elliott’s various characters on Late Night; Andy Kaufman’s legendary fight with wrestler Jerry Lawler; A-plus-listers Dave welcomed on stage during his tenure at the Ed Sullivan Theatre; things exploding and/or being dropped off of buildings; Stupid Pet Tricks; and the late great Calvert Deforest, perhaps better known as Larry “Bud” Melman.
Wednesday was the true end of an era with Letterman retiring and this clip reel measured out the size of the large shoes—maybe pants would be a better metaphor—that Stephen Colbert is filling.
