Letterman Tributes Light Up Twitter During Final 'Late Show'
David Letterman warms up the crowd before the final taping of the Late Show. (Photo: Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS)
A slew of stars including Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, and Tina Fey turned out for the final Late Show With David Letterman on Wednesday, helping usher the 68-year-old funnyman into retirement after 33 years on late-night television.
And it seemed virtually all of those who couldn’t attend the taping at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York paid tribute online, with many using the hashtag #ThanksDave.
TV won’t be the same without Dave. pic.twitter.com/9q5NHTf3b5
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama)
#ThanksDave—for two decades of laughs, insights, and, yes, even pantsuit jokes. @Letterman, you’re a legend. -H pic.twitter.com/Cz9TDwTxAw
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton)
Gonna miss this man something awful. #DAVE pic.twitter.com/PtPHVrbJGS
— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman)
Thank you, thank you, thank you @Letterman for being my TV father. You started & are now ending an era. #DavidLetterman #WrestlingShoes
— Joel McHale (@joelmchale)
Tonight is @letterman’s final Late Show. We love each other so much. I will miss him so. But look out – I’ll find him!! #ThanksDave
— Betty White (@BettyMWhite)
Watching David Letterman as a teenager in Indiana changed my entire outlook on life. #thanksdave pic.twitter.com/7khgT2GiaM
— Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan)
Tonight is David @Letterman’s final show. What a wonderful, inspiring, hilarious, groundbreaking, amazing ride. #ThanksDave
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow)
My brother and I would stay up late to watch Letterman every night. Singing songs (and the top 10!) on his show was an honor. Thanks Dave!!
— josh groban (@joshgroban)
.@Letterman you were like a father growing up. I even had bath time interviews with an imaginary YOU involving shampoo bottles and our…
— sia (@Sia)
.@Letterman …SPARKLING personalities. Thank you for the laughs dad. I mean Dave. https://t.co/HDLmNKqwR6 #ThanksDave
— sia (@Sia)
.@Letterman’s final show starts in 15 minutes! East Coast, I hope you’re watching. I know I am. #ThanksDave
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow)
Thank you Mr. Letterman for decades of laughs & inspiration (and for saying “hi” in the hall once). —David Wain, “Late Night” intern (1990)
— David Wain (@davidwain)
Don’t forget @Letterman tonight #ThanksDave
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel)
It’s absolutely absurd to thank David Letterman for all he’s done in a tweet. But that’s the world we live in now. #ThanksDave
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien)
O'Brien, who was Letterman’s successor on NBC’s Late Night, encouraged viewers of his TBS late-night show to turn the channel.
UPDATE - @ConanOBrien and @pattonoswalt tell viewers to switch to @Letterman: http://t.co/6xUCT7UnVb pic.twitter.com/h5LFO2NOta
— Mediaite (@Mediaite)
ATTN #CONAN Viewers: Please switch over to David @Letterman’s last show on @CBS NOW. #ThanksDave
— Team Coco (@TeamCoco)
Even those who were part of the taping took to Twitter to pay Letterman tribute one last time.
Congratulations to David Letterman, who I now believe is beginning his third career in show business.
— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo)
View of crowd outside @Letterman from dressing room window #LettermanFinale #ThanksDave pic.twitter.com/JEPHk9irIL
— Anton Fig (@TheAntonFig)
Final time on this stage…#ThanksDave @Letterman pic.twitter.com/p3B30iTFW8
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters)
Just said goodbye to @Letterman. I hate to see him go, but we had a lot of good years together. #ThanksDave pic.twitter.com/RwlODouvi6
— Regis Philbin (@regis)
Letterman himself even made a reference to Twitter during his last show.
“You know what I’m going to devote the rest of my life to?” he asked in a backstage clip aired on the Late Show Wednesday. “Social media.”
