David Letterman and Stephen Colbert are seeing off The Late Show in style after chucking pieces of the set off the Ed Sullivan Theater.
The Final Hurrah
The iconic late-night staple launched in 1993 with Letterman at the helm for 22 years until Colbert took over. However, the long-running program will go off the air next week after being cancelled by CBS.
With a few days to go, the two hosts got together on Thursday for a special episode where they ended up on the roof of the studio.
Earlier in the episode, the duo made sure that the furniture on set was “owned by CBS.”
With that taken care of, they went to the top of the Ed Sullivan Theater. There was only one thing left to do.
Letterman teased, “I thought maybe tonight’s occasion would be a little sad, being the end of your run here, but this brings true joy to my heart.”
“We are up here for the wanton destruction of CBS property.”
Throwing Chairs Off the Roof
Colbert revealed that on one of his first days, he was told to never “throw anything off the roof.”
He quipped, “This is a true story.”
“When I first got this gig, one of the first things they told me before we even moved into the offices is that I would not be allowed to throw anything off of the roof of the Ed Sullivan building, because evidently there was a problem with a previous tenant.”
“I never did it, but we’re at the end here, so all bets are off.”
The pair took the two chairs for the guests and Colbert’s seat from behind his desk. Then, they chucked them onto CBS’s eye logo on the ground below.
They weren’t done there, adding watermelons and cake into the mix before one final shot.
Letterman’s Thoughts
Letterman said, “I’d like to say to the audience before we go, well, not necessarily to the audience, but to the folks at CBS: In the words of the great Ed Murrow, good night and good luck motherf****r.”
The TV icon hasn’t held back in criticizing CBS over their decision to cancel The Late Show. Last year they blamed on “financial” concerns “against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
At the time, the network added, “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
However, Letterman recently branded CBS chiefs as “lying weasels.”
He ranted to the New York Times, “He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, ‘Oh no, there’s not going to be any trouble with that guy.”
“‘We’re going to take care of the show. We’re just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry.'”