WATCH: David Letterman Announces Retirement From Late Show
NEW YORK (CBS13/AP) – David Letterman announced his impending retirement on Thursday night's show.
Mike Mills, The Late Show's bassist, tweeted the news just after 1 p.m.
Letterman made the announcement during the taping of Thursday's show.
DAVID LETTERMAN: Earlier today, the man who owns this network Leslie Moonves, he and I have had a relationship for years and years and years. And we've had this conversation in the past, and we agreed that we would work together on this circumstance and the timing of the circumstance. And I phoned him just before the program, and I said, "Leslie, it's been great, you've been great, the network has been great, but I'm retiring.
PAUL SHAFFER: This is really...this is truly...you actually did this?
LETTERMAN: Yes I did
SHAFFER: Well, do I have a minute to call my accountant, because I...
LETTERMAN: So I just want to reiterate my thanks for the support from the network, all of the people who have worked here, all of the people in the theater, all the people on this staff, everybody at home, thank you very much. What this means now, is that Paul and I can be married.
SHAFFER PLAYS WEDDING RECESSIONAL
LETTERMAN: We don't have the timing of this precisely down, it will be, I think at least a year or so, but sometime in the not-too-distant future, 2015, for the love of God, that Paul and I will be wrapping things up and taking a hike. Thank you, thanks to everybody.
Leslie Moonves, President and CEO of CBS Corporation, made the following statement on Letterman's retirement:
When Dave decided on a one-year extension for his most recent contract, we knew this day was getting closer, but that doesn't make the moment any less poignant for us. For 21 years, David Letterman has graced our Network's air in late night with wit, gravitas and brilliance unique in the history of our medium. During that time, Dave has given television audiences thousands of hours of comedic entertainment, the sharpest interviews in late night, and brilliant moments of candor and perspective around national events. He's also managed to keep many celebrities, politicians and executives on their toes – including me. There is only one David Letterman. His greatness will always be remembered here, and he will certainly sit among the pantheon of this business. On a personal note, it's been a privilege to get to know Dave and to enjoy a terrific relationship. It's going to be tough to say goodbye. Fortunately, we won't have to do that for another year or so. Until then, we look forward to celebrating Dave's remarkable show and incredible talents.
Letterman,67, has been hosting The Late Show on CBS since 1993. He said he'll be stepping down when his current contract expires.
Letterman was born in Indianapolis in 1947, and began his career as a local radio talk show host and TV weatherman there.
He got his television start on the national scale in 1978, on the CBS variety series "Mary," starring Mary Tyler Moore. Months later, he paid his first visit to "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" -- marking the first of 22 appearances. He also guest-hosted "Tonight" numerous times, CBS News recalled.
In 1980, Letterman started hosting the Emmy Award-winning morning comedy-variety program, "The David Letterman Show," which ran for three months on NBC. He followed that up with "Late Night with David Letterman," which premiered in February 1982 and ran for 11 years.
Letterman jumped to CBS in 1993 after NBC went with Jay Leno as the new host of the "Tonight Show." To accommodate the new late night program, CBS purchased and renovated the Ed Sullivan Theater, 1697 Broadway, where "The Ed Sullivan Show" was taped from 1948 until 1971 and which Letterman has used for his show for his entire CBS run.
In 2011, Letterman received the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at Comedy Central's first annual The Comedy Awards, CBS News recalled. Letterman has also won two American Comedy Awards as funniest male performer in a television series. He was honored as "Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host" at the 31st annual People's Choice Awards in 2005.
In total, Letterman's shows have received 108 Emmy nominations and eight wins. He also won a Peabody Award in 1992.
On the occasion of Letterman's 25th anniversary with "The Late Show" back in 2007, CBS News identified the following milestones:
• Aug. 30, 1993 – More than 23 million viewers tune in for the premiere of "The Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS. Guests include Bill Murray, who spraypainted "Dave" on Letterman's desk, and signer Billy Joel. News anchor Tom Brokaw and actor Paul Newman also make surprise appearances.
• March 31, 1994: Madonna makes a famous appearance on Letterman, which her uses of expletives made the most censored episode of any American network talk show in history;
• April 12, 1995: As CBS News put it, "Dave gets a birthday gift he'll never forget when drew Barrymore jumps on his desk and flashes her breasts to a stunned Letterman."
• Dec. 31, 1999: "The Late Show" rings in the year 2000 with a prime-time special, featuring "The King of Queens" star Kevin James, a performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and cameo appearances by Dick Clark and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
• Jan. 14, 2000: Letterman undergoes quintuple bypass heart surgery at New York Hospital. He returns on Feb. 21 and brings his doctors and nurses on stage to personally thank them. The following night Bill Cosby becomes the first person other than Letterman to host the "Late Show."
• Sept. 17, 2001: Letterman returns to the airwaves for the first time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in a show that featured Dan Rather and Regis Philbin. The Emmy Award-winning broadcast was hailed by the New York Daily News as "one of the purest, most honest and important moments in TV history" and a valuable service to the community, CBS News recalled.
• Nov. 4, 2003: Letterman proudly announces that "last night at 11:58, I became a father" to his first son, Harry Joseph Letterman – now 10.
• May 9, 2006: Britney Spears makes a surprise visit to the show and announces to Letterman that she's having her second child. "Don't worry, Dave," she says. "It's not yours."
The memorable broadcasts have continued in more recent years.
• Sept. 19, 2012: President Barack Obama appears on "The Late Show" in the midst of his reelection campaign, slamming rival Mitt Romney for the Republican candidate's remark about "47 percent of the people" being Obama supporters who are dependent on government and identify as victims.
• April 9, 2013: Lindsay Lohan tears up as she talks about her stint in rehab in an awkward interview with Letterman.
• Feb. 9, 2014: CBS airs Letterman's interview with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at the Ed Sullivan Theater – in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' American television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in the very same building.
Letterman said during his Thursday taping that he has done 4,014 shows for CBS so far.
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