Letterman retiring in 2015
Posted April 3, 2014 6:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Comedian and veteran late-night television host David Letterman will retire as star of The Late Show on CBS in 2015, when his latest contract expires, he said during the taping of his show in New York on Thursday, the network announced.
Letterman, 66, began hosting the show on CBS in August 1993, after leaving the rival NBC network, where he had hosted the Late Night with David Letterman show for many years.
News of Letterman’s plans to retire came nearly two months after Jay Leno bid farewell as host of NBC’s The Tonight Show, a job Leno assumed in 1992 in a highly publicized succession of Johnny Carson that led to Letterman’s defection from NBC.
Outside the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway where the show is taped, fans were waiting to enter as the news broke about Letterman’s decision.
“That’s the reason I’m emotional. I love David Letterman. For me, it’s a family tradition. My mother used to watch; my father the same thing. I’m emotional,” said an emotional Ivan Rodriguez, waiting with his daughter who gave him tickets to the show for his birthday.
“If I want to, if I pass away I’m happy. I’m telling you the truth. You don’t know, that guy is very special. I watched all his shows since I was a little kid and now I’m passing it to her and I hope she has a tradition. For me, it’s fantastic.”
Most fans were surprised to hear the news.
“I’ve been watching it for most of my adult life and I didn’t realize it was coming to an end. It makes it even more special that we’re here, in fact,” said Brad Crusberg, from Washington, DC, who was in the city for work.
“It’s sad. It’s like a passage of a part of Americana, you know,” summed up Charlotte Wagster.
“Somebody else asked me who would replace him and I said he’s irreplaceable. I mean there’s nobody that could fill David Letterman’s shoes, you know.”
