That’s what friends are for! David Letterman bid farewell to his audience before wrapping his final Late Show With David Letterman on Wednesday, May 20. But before turning his back to the CBS show where he spent 22 years of his 33-year-long career, Letterman delivered his final Top 10 list and monologue with the help of some of his closest pals.
After joking “so it’s beginning to look like I’m not going to get The Tonight Show” and “I hope to become the face of Scientology” during his opening monologue, Steve Martin, Peyton Manning, Barbara Walters, and more of his A-list pals helped end his final show on a high note.
The list, which has become a nightly staple on the late-night show, was appropriately dedicated “Top 10 Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Dave.”
Watch the video above and read them below here:
10. Alec Baldwin: “Of all the talk shows, yours is the one most geographically convenient to my home.”
9. Barbara Walters: “Dave, did you know you wore the same cologne as Muammar Gaddafi.”
8. Steve Martin: “Your extensive plastic surgery was a necessity and a mistake.”
7. Jerry Seinfeld: “Dave, I have no idea of what I’ll do when you go off the air … you know I just thought of something. I’ll be fine.”
6. Jim Carrey: “Honestly, Dave, I’ve always found you to be a bit of an over-actor.”
5. Chris Rock: “I’m just glad your show is being given to another white guy.”
4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus: “Thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale.”
3. Peyton Manning: “Dave, you are to comedy what I am to comedy.”
2. Tina Fey: “Thanks for finally proving men can be funny.”
1. Bill Murray: “Dave, I’ll never have the money I owe you.”
“I think this is a pretty good list, considering it’s our last list,” Letterman said before the final Top 10 list was delivered. The talk show host clapped and applauded his pals, and before the break, made sure to hug each of them.
According to an eyewitness, Louis-Dreyfus’ joke surprised Seinfeld. After the funnywoman said her zinger, the camera panned to Seinfeld who shrugged and then laughed. Letterman seemed especially happy to see Manning. The now-retired host also had a laugh with Murray, telling him, “Saw you on TV last night. You alright?,” referring to Murray’s drunken MSNBC appearance.