After today, The TV Column will be busy for a few days with the networks' recently announced fall schedules (and the shows that got the ax), so let's address this week's big retirement news while we have time.
An era will end with David Letterman's final appearance as the host of a late-night program. The last Late Show With David Letterman airs at 10:35 p.m. Wednesday on CBS. You might want to record it for posterity.
Letterman's guest list has been packed in his final weeks. Bill Clinton appeared for the 10th time Tuesday. Other guests last week included Howard Stern, Don Rickles, Adam Sandler, Julia Roberts, Norm MacDonald, George Clooney, Tom Waits and Oprah Winfrey.
The final three outings should prove equally eventful, so you may want to tune in each night.
Letterman has been hosting Late Show since 1993. Before that he was the host of NBC's Late Night With David Letterman, which launched in 1982. That makes the 68-year-old Letterman the longest running late night host in the history of television -- 33 years.
Johnny Carson? The undisputed master of late night hosted The Tonight Show on NBC for 30 years (1962-92).
Jay Leno? He replaced Carson in 1992, much to the frustration of Letterman, who bailed to CBS. Leno worked The Tonight Show until September 2009. After a seven-month, ill-advised, weeknight prime-time stint, Leno returned to The Tonight Show in March 2010 and lasted until Feb. 6, 2014. That's 21 years total for the 65-year-old.
Conan O'Brien? He took over Late Night from Letterman in 1993, hosted The Tonight Show while Leno was gone, and has been the host of Conan on TBS since 2010. O'Brien has 11 years to go to tie Letterman. He could make it; he's only 52.
I well recall the void Carson left when he retired. He was part of America's nightly routine and never seriously challenged for three decades.
Among those attempting (on the networks and in syndication) to do what Johnny did best were Les Crane, Joey Bishop, Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, David Frost, Geraldo Rivera, Alan Thicke, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, Ross Shafer, Pat Sajak, Arsenio Hall, Rick Dees and Dennis Miller.
Most lasted only a year or two.
My father never missed a night with Carson the last 23 years of his life. I'm certain Letterman's departure will leave a similar empty feeling in millions of his fans.
With his self-deprecating style and off-beat, edgy and unpredictable sense of humor, Letterman appealed initially to the late-night college crowd. They stuck with him as they and he got older and more mainstream.
The college audience has found new heroes in the younger, hipper Jimmys -- Fallon (age 40) and Kimmel (age 47) -- and in 41-year-old Seth Meyers, who replaced Fallon as host of NBC's Late Night.
Changing times: Today's audience is increasingly watching their late night entertainment the next day and online.
Out of his regard for Letterman, Kimmel has announced he won't be airing a new edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC Wednesday night.
"I have too much respect for Dave to do anything that would distract viewers from watching his final show," Kimmel said in The New York Times. "Plus, I'll probably be crying all day, which makes it hard to work."
Lost in all the hoopla is the fact that the end of Letterman also means the end of a regular TV gig for veteran bandleader Paul Shaffer.
The 65-year-old Shaffer told The Associated Press, "Of course, I had the old mixed feelings, sadness, etcetera. Now I have come around to just being absolutely thankful for such a wonderful run, such a long run, working for a guy who has been nothing but encouraging to me."
Shaffer said that after Letterman had his quintuple heart bypass surgery a decade ago, Letterman stopped rehearsing regularly, and "The show got way more fun at that point, way more spontaneous."
He said, "I feel like I've had a lot of fun. How can you keep having all the fun? Eventually, you've got to let others have some fun."
As far as the Late Show is concerned, it will be time to let 50-year-old Stephen Colbert have the fun come Sept. 8. The former host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report has a five-year contract and some big shoes to fill.
FINALES
Mad Men ends its seven-season run at 9 p.m. today on AMC. Here are the others signing off, some forever.
Today: Fox -- The Simpsons, 7 p.m.; Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 7:30 p.m.; Family Guy, 8 p.m.; Bob's Burgers, 8:30 p.m.
PBS -- Call the Midwife, 7 p.m.
Monday: CBS -- 2 Broke Girls, 7 p.m.; Mike & Molly, 7:30 p.m.; Stalker, 8 p.m. (series finale); NCIS: Los Angeles, 9 p.m.
NBC -- The Night Shift, 9 p.m.
Fox -- The Following (series finale), 7 p.m. (two hours).
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 05/17/2015