After announcing an end to his 33-year reign as the host of 'The Late Show' last year, David Letterman revealed that age had plenty to do with his decision to leave.
"I'm 68. If I was 38, I’d probably still be wanting to do the show," Letterman said in an interview with The New York Times this week. "When Jay was on, I felt like Jay and I are contemporaries. Every time he would get a show at 11:30, he would succeed smartly. And so I thought, This is still viable — an older guy in a suit. And then he left, and I suddenly was surrounded by the Jimmys."
He was, of course, referring to late-night rivals, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, who are both in in their 40s and therefore decades younger than Letterman. Letterman will be replaced by Stephen Colbert, 50.
However, Letterman added that announcing his exit has helped him adopt a more laid-back approach, almost allowing him to come into his own even more. "I can’t do what Jimmy Fallon’s doing. I know I can’t do what Jimmy Kimmel is doing. There’s nothing left to be worried about," he said. Still, Letterman insists that "they didn’t push me out."
Letterman says he'll celebrate retirement by attending the Indianapolis 500 race in his native Indiana and spending the summer with his son, Harry. It'll be the first time, he says, his schedule hasn't dictated the family's summer.
Letterman will host his final episode on May 20th.
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