The king of America's special brand of late-night television, David Letterman, broadcasts his final show on Wednesday, closing the door on a pioneering, 33-year-long career that inspired a generation of comedians.
Not only is he the longest-serving night time US talk show host, but his unique style of caustic and at times grumpy humor set him apart even if rivals pulled in more viewers. He announced his retirement in 2014 and as the clock as ticked down, there has been an avalanche of tributes to his extraordinary career from emotional celebrities and stacks of columns written in the press.
Wednesday's episode of the Late Show with David Letterman will be the broadcaster's 6,028th television show of his career when it airs at 11:35 pm from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. Other than featuring rock giants Foo Fighters, whom the 68-year-old has described as his favorite band, CBS television has kept the lid on the rest of the show, promising only many surprises. Hollywood comedy giants Steve Martin and Jim Carrey were among those reportedly spotted heading into the theater earlier Wednesday.
Bill Murray and Bob Dylan were guests Tuesday, Tom Hanks on Monday, while Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Al Pacino and Bill Clinton featured last week. Critics have praised Letterman for combining innovative and odd-ball antics with traditional interviews, and for inspiring some of most the talented comics working today in Britain and the United States. "I'm naked and afraid," Letterman told CBS Sunday. "Any enormous uprooting change in my life has petrified me," he said. But once through the other side "the reward has been unimaginable," he added. Letterman got his first comedy show on NBC in 1982, before defecting to CBS in 1993 to host the Late Show after the biggest career disappointment of his career -- losing out to Jay Leno as host of the Tonight show. But initially, his ratings eclipsed Leno's on NBC. Then Leno landed an interview with British actor Hugh Grant in 1995, just after he was caught with a prostitute, and Letterman's ratings never caught up.
The king of America's special brand of late-night television, David Letterman, broadcasts his final show on Wednesday, closing the door on a pioneering, 33-year-long career that inspired a generation of comedians. Not only is he the longest-serving night time US talk show host, but his unique style of caustic and at times grumpy humor set him apart even if rivals pulled in more viewers. He announced his retirement in 2014 and as the clock as ticked down, there has been an avalanche of tributes to his extraordinary career from emotional celebrities and stacks of columns written in the press. Wednesday's episode of the Late Show with David Letterman will be the broadcaster's 6,028th television show of his career when it airs at 11:35 pm from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.
