David Letterman: Here's what will happen on his final night
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
David Letterman鈥檚 last episode of the 鈥淟ate Show鈥� airs on CBS on May 20, bringing his 22-year run to a close.
Letterman debuted on the network in 1993 after over a decade hosting the NBC show 鈥淟ate Night.鈥� He also served as a weatherman and had a morning show, 鈥淭he David Letterman Show,鈥� also on NBC.聽
His last several episodes have included several notable guests, with Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, and President Barack Obama, among others, all making appearances. Singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam performed on the show recently and Bob Dylan performed the song 鈥淭he Night We Call It a Day鈥� on the May 19 episode.聽
So what will tonight鈥檚 final episode hold? According to , the band the Foo Fighters will perform on the program. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl recalled performing on the show in 2000 after Letterman underwent surgery.
鈥淲hen he came back, he requested the Foo Fighters be the first band to perform for his first week back because he wanted to hear the song 鈥楨verlong,鈥�" Grohl聽said in an interview with the . "Ever since that day, we've been in love. I don't know how many times we've played that show, but every time we do and I stand in the Ed Sullivan Theater, I never take that for granted.鈥�
In addition, clips of Letterman鈥檚 famous monologues, sketches, and interviews will most likely be included, as the official for the episode says there will be 鈥渕emorable highlights鈥� during the show.
What else will happen during the final night? writer Chris Chase predicts that former NBC 鈥淭onight Show鈥� host Jay Leno will participate in the show in some way. According to the , when Leno took over 鈥淭onight鈥� rather than Letterman, Letterman was 鈥渄evastated,鈥� but in 2010, the two appeared in a Super Bowl commercial with Oprah Winfrey.聽
However, 鈥淟ate Show鈥� producer Rob Burnett told , 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think so鈥� when asked whether Leno will pop in. 鈥淲e invited Jay 鈥� it didn鈥檛 come to pass.鈥�
Fellow late night hosts Conan O鈥橞rien, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel all recently paid tribute to Letterman, mentioning how Letterman changed the late-night talk show format as well as what audience members expected of a late-night program. 鈥淚 think this show, what late night has become, is a result of him playing with the genre and experimenting and exploring, and I, like every kid who grew up watching him, will miss him,鈥� Fallon said during his show, while said during his program, 鈥淚 learn[ed] how to do everything from Dave.鈥�
Meanwhile, O鈥橞rien called Letterman 鈥渁 comedic revolution鈥� when writing for . 鈥淟ike every comedian of my era, I watched Dave鈥檚 subversive, untamed morning show with delightful incredulity鈥� Dave didn鈥檛 belong, and he had no interest in belonging. He amused himself, skewered clueless celebrity guests, and did strange, ironic comedic bits that no one had seen on television before. Everything about that show was surreal and off-kilter 鈥� Not one single writer/performer in the last 35 years has had Dave鈥檚 seismic impact on comedy.鈥�
