It's been a long time coming, but the great David Letterman has announced he plans to retire sometime next year, after 33 years in late night television. He made the announcement tonight on his show to his studio audience, which promptly gave him a standing ovation, as the inimitable late night host's stepping down will mark the end of an era, the last with ties to Johnny Carson's Tonight Show influence. Dave was a disciple of Carson, who remained his idol forever, but he himself was the defining comic voice of a new generation and an influence on every single current voice in late night, from Jon Stewart to Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon. He remained the best at what he did (and still does, at least until 2015), and the only talk show host who can conduct a decent interview, in my opinion, with everyone from celebrities to politicians. His years on NBC with his original Late Night show from 1982 to 1993 were inspired, weird, freshly original comedic anarchy that really didn't have much to do with Johnny Carson's traditional style and were an invention all his own, one that will likely never be repeated. Here's his retirement announcement, airing tonight:
Of course now, the questions will swirl over who will take over the show, with the most popular names at the moment being Stephen Colbert, Craig Ferguson and even Conan O'Brien (who would really be poetic justice, once again taking over from Dave in his return to network tv, but it seems unlikely to happen at the moment). It'd be nice if CBS were to at least consider a woman, but seeing as the most likely choice there is someone like Chelsea Handler (ugh) I'd honestly take almost anyone else. I'd actually love to see how Colbert would handle a late night show where he'd have to be himself and not his character- something tells me he'd be great in that slot.
