The past couple of weeks have been pretty amazing for fans of The Late Show with David Letterman, as his impending retirement has offered all of his final guests the chance to pay tribute to the late night stalwart in ways that are both touching – such as Ray Romano’s photo session – and hilarious – such as Adam Sandler’s goodbye song. And now we know for sure what celebrities will be appearing on Letterman’s final episodes, and it includes the man who served as Letterman’s very first guest: Bill Murray.
But before that…
Tonight, Oprah Winfrey will make her third in-person guest appearance on Late Show, following spots in 2005 and 2013. (She also took part in a phone call for an episode in 2014.) Winfrey was also on Letterman’s previous NBC show Late Night. The second guest for this episode will be Saturday Night Live vet Norm MacDonald, who will make his twelfth appearance on Late Show, having last been seen in March. I can’t wait to see how these two choose to honor the host.
On Monday, May 18, Tom Hanks will stop by Late Show with David Letterman for a whopping 27th guest appearance, to go with his four spots on Late Night. These guys should have teamed up for a talk show years ago. The musical guest that night will be Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who has performed on the show five times previously. Fingers crossed he plays a version of “Better Man” that takes shots at Jay Leno.
For the penultimate episode on Tuesday, Bill Murray will indeed return to Late Show for the 22nd time, bringing the show full circle, as he was the first guest when Letterman made his CBS debut back in 1993. He was also on Late Night nearly a dozen times, making him one of Letterman’s most frequent guests. And making a rare appearance on the late-night scene will be the legendary Bob Dylan for his second Late Show performance. He was also a part of Letterman’s first Late Show season.
Oddly, no guests have been announced for Letterman’s final episode on Wednesday, May 20. Should we expect to see the revered host taking an hour to personally reflect on his 33-year late night career, the same way Johnny Carson did when he left The Tonight Show? Or should we expect a smorgasbord of people stopping by to surprise Letterman during his farewell?
Don’t expect to see a new episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that night, as the host has already stated he would be airing a repeat to honor Letterman’s last show. Fellow late night host Conan O’Brien said on Charlie Rose that he doesn’t expect anyone to watch Conan that night, so he might just show up naked. Will you guys be watching the final Late Show with David Letterman?
