SO LONG, DAVE
Alec Baldwin, Jim Carrey, Tina Fey, the Foo Fighters, Steve Martin, Chris Rock and other greats send off the late-night giant in style,
Spoiler alert: David Letterman and Mad Men finale spoilers David Letterman is no Don Draper. Unlike the cryptic and disappointing ending of Mad Men, the late night host did not quietly fade away at some yoga retreat in his final show.
The only thing the Letterman finale had in common with Mad Men was that it was, as AMC had widely proclaimed, the End of An Era. And it does seem that Dave, like Draper, is happy at last.
Dave had promised that his 6,028th show would be unexpectedly “cheery.” And he delivered.
With the help of a few high-profile guests, among them Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Jim Carrey, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Tina Fey and the rock band Foo Fighters. Owing to the celebrations as he moves into official retirement, his final Late Show ran just 17 minutes.
It also included a celebrity Top 10 list: “Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Dave,” with contributions from Barbara Walters, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tina Fey, Peyton Manning and Bill Murray.
Former U.S. presidents, along with the current one, Barack Obama, gave videotaped tributes. His son Harry and wife Regina were in the audience, as well as CBS head honcho Les Moonves.
Wednesday’s farewell was the zenith of weeks of star-studded guest lists that included Tom Hanks on Monday and Bob Dylan on Tuesday.
Unlike Jay Leno’s exit last year, there were no tears from Letterman. That would have been uncharacteristic. The past few weeks we have seen the prickly host grin and bear it as he has been barraged with tributes from the famous and the powerful.
But he also seemed relaxed and even energized in recent weeks as he anticipated the end.
He traded a long kiss with Julia Roberts. George Clooney handcuffed himself to the host. He even said “I love you” to Oprah. And Adam Sandler sang him a lewd tribute song: “You paved the way for every late night show. Both Jimmy’s should get on their knees and blow.”
The new-found energy resonated with viewers and his ratings soared, topping Jimmy Fallon for the first time since Fallon took over at the Tonight Show.
Letterman, in the viral worlds of competitors Kimmel and Fallon, has become a nonentity to many millennials. Yet he was the one who revolutionized late-night talk shows when he was launched at NBC in 1982, at age 34, before moving to CBS when Jay Leno got the Tonight Show gig.
“He created a kind of originality and an irony and anarchy to late night that had never existed,” said Canadian comedian Martin Short, attending a fundraiser in Toronto Wednesday night.
Letterman is now 68 and after 33 years at the helm the longest serving such host in history. His rival, Leno, lasted 22 years.
His leaving sparks a major shift in late night with more than half a dozen hosts leaving or being replaced in recent years. Letterman will be replaced by the Colbert Report’s Stephen Colbert in September. Trevor Noah takes over for Jon Stewart on The Daily Show later this year. Larry Wilmore took over the slot vacated by Colbert earlier this year. Last year we had the departures of Leno and Craig Ferguson.
He will be remembered for everything from stupid pet tricks to the Top 10 list to making suits out of Velcro. But his self-mocking, sometimes acidic humour was the draw. Whether you were Paris Hilton or Cher (who called him an “a—hole”) it made for entertaining viewing.
But it was nice to see that Letterman still had that edge on Tuesday’s show, when chatting with perennial guest Regis Philbin.
“What am I going to do without you, Dave?” asked Regis.
“I don’t care,” Dave deadpanned. And we almost, kind of, believed him. With files from Star wire services