By Henry Wong
On February 1, 1982, Late Night with David Letterman successfully premiered on CBS. Now, 30 some years and over 4,200 episodes later, old fans and new gathered around their televisions one last time to watch Letterman’s last show on Wednesday, May 20 as he retires from his legendary role on late night television.
The final guest on the show was Bill Murray. He is a poignant choice as he was Letterman’s first guest on the Late Show with David Letterman and now he will be his last. Murray has been a guest on both Late Night and the Late Show with David Letterman over 43 times.
It was announced back in April of 2014 that Letterman would be leaving the show and Stephen Colbert will be taking his place. Colbert is best known for his show The Colbert Report which has been airing since 2005.
One of Colbert’s comedic influences was David Letterman, so it is a great opportunity for him to follow in Letterman’s footsteps. With a new host, the show will definitely have a different twist but viewers will surely enjoy their new host just the same on CBS. Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon, who replaced Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, are sure to put a younger comedic flair to late night television.