Letterman’s decision to quit Late Show means end of a TV era
Talk show host's shock announcement that he is 'wrapping things up' after 32 years will see credits roll on one of TV's greatest pioneers
David Letterman's departure from his celebrated late-night show will close the book on an era reaching back almost to the birth of television.
During the taping of Thursday's edition of , he startled his audience with the news that he will step down next year when his current contract with CBS expires.
He said he expected his exit would be in "at least a year or so, but sometime in the not too distant future - 2015, for the love of God, (band leader) Paul (Shaffer) and I will be wrapping things up".
David Letterman has graced our network’s air with wit, gravitas and brilliance
What he'll be wrapping up is three decades on the air - the longest tenure of any late-night talk show host in US television history - since he launched at NBC in 1982.
More than that, he'll be ending a lineage of late-night hosts who pioneered talk and humour - Johnny Carson and, before him, Jack Paar and Steve Allen.
Ironically, they were all on NBC, the network that denied Letterman the crown he sought. After he lost out to Jay Leno, he pitched his tent at CBS as Leno's rival.
Referring to CBS chairman Leslie Moonves, Letterman told viewers: "I phoned him just before the programme and I said, 'Leslie, it's been great … but I'm retiring.'"
Letterman also thanked the staff and the viewers and joked: "What this means now is that Paul and I can be married."
