22 years the host of ‘Late Show,’ David Letterman signs off for last time

World Today

In this Feb. 1, 1982 file photo, host David Letterman, right, and guest Bill Murray appear at the taping of the debut of “Late Night with David Letterman” in New York. Murray’s 44th and final appearance Tuesday, May 19, 2015, will mark the end of late-night television’s most unique and enduring host-guest relationships. (AP Photo/Nancy Kaye, File)

David Letterman was ushered into retirement Wednesday by four presidents declaring “our long national nightmare is over” and a succession of stars delivering a final Top Ten list of things they always wanted to say to the late-night host.

The taped intro of President Barack Obama and former presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush referenced President Gerald Ford’s declaration to the country when he took office following the 1974 resignation of Richard Nixon.

Letterman sidled up to Obama to say, “You’re just kidding, right?”

Letterman said goodbye after 33 years and 6,028 broadcasts of his late-night shows on CBS and NBC — 22 of those years he hosted CBS’ “Late Show.” The final “Late Show” broadcast ran long, some 17 minutes over its usual hour, and CBS planned to let the show air without cutting it.

Letterman joked in his monologue that he’s been on the air for so long that the hot show when he started was “Keeping Up with the Gabors.” He added that Stephen Hawking figured out that the 6,028 broadcasts included “about eight minutes of laughter.”

“You want to know what I’m going to do now that I’m retired?” he said. “By God, I hope to become the new face of Scientology.”

Letterman, whose wife Regina and son Harry were in the audience, was serenaded at the end by the band Foo Fighters. They sang, “Everlong,” the same song they played when he returned following heart surgery in February 2000.

Associated Press