The king of late-night American television, David Letterman, broadcasts his final show tonight, ending a 33-year run of unpredictable, caustic comedy that set him apart from his peers.
The longest-serving night-time talk-show host on US TV – with more than 6,000 shows to his name – Letterman, 68, has been honoured with tributes from the media and celebrities.
Last week, his Late Show farewell parade of A-list guests included Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Adam Sandler, Al Pacino and Bill Clinton. Tom Hanks and the musician Eddie Vedder appeared on Monday; followed by Bill Murray and Bob Dylan last night before the grand finale tonight.
“I’m naked and afraid,” Letterman told CBS on Sunday, half serious, half joking. “Any enormous uprooting change in my life has petrified me.” But once through the other side “the reward has been unimaginable”.
Letterman's Late Show, which is broadcast at 11.35pm every weeknight, is a blend of comedy, news monologue, celebrity interviews and oddball humour.
He has been nominated for 67 Emmy Awards and was nominated every year from 1984 to 2009, winning 12.
In January 2000, he underwent a quintuple heart bypass. Five weeks later, he was back on air – with his doctors as his Late Show guests.
There was controversy along the way. In 2009, he admitted to affairs with female staffers and apologised on air, alongside his wife and his team.
Over the years, he lost viewers to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC, audience figures dropping steadily from 7.1million in 1993 to 2.8 million in 2009, when Leno quit. Today a new generation at ease with social media – never embraced by Letterman – dominates the airwaves: Jimmy Fallon, 40, who replaced Leno; Jimmy Kimmel, 47, on ABC and Seth Myers, 41, on NBC.
Letterman will be replaced from September 8 by Stephen Colbert, 51, who until last December hosted Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.
"They didn't push me out," Letterman told The New York Times. "I'm 68. If I was 38, I'd probably still be wanting to do the show."
Married to long-time companion Regina and the father of 11-year-old Harry, Letterman says he has nothing lined up for his retirement.
“For the first time since Harry’s been alive, our summer schedule will not be dictated by me. It will be entirely dictated by what my son wants to do,” he said.
