switch today and get the no mistake guarantee. comcast business. built for business. >> the follow is a cnn special report. >> i happen to be the most powerful man in american broadcasting. >> there really was no preparation. it was spontaneous. >> carson was the best show. dave created the anti-show. >> david letterman! >> rif more memories of the letterman show than of my own life from that time. >> before kimmel, conan --

>> i'm the champ. >> -- seth or fallon, there was dave. the king of quips. >> hi and welcome to the [ expletive ] show. >> stupid pet tricks. and outrageous pranks. >> it is hard to say what his influence is not. >> but behind the scenes, it wasn't all laughs. >> he was devastated. he was devastated. >> nbc has no use for you people. wash up and get out. >> oh, hello. this is blackmail. >> a late night legend signs off. >> what this means now is that paul and i can be married. >> a cnn special report, david letterman says good night. >> i still have to do things like answer viewer mail letters. >> viewer mail. >> what is the deal with the sneakers? we decided that this letter should be answered in person.

>> david letterman's trademark bit. it was 1986 and steve o'donnell was a writer for dave's show. >> if we got a letter that was provocative enough, we would seek them out. >> i think this is the house right here. >> just one example of how dave changed the game. >> let me see if colleen is home. let me just ring the bell here. it doesn't appear that anyone is home. >> five years into it run on nbc, dave letterman was clever and unconventional. >> can you show us around the place. show us your sister's stuff. >> the brother showed up and showed us the girl's room. >> let's take a look at her footwear. a lot of high healed shoes. >> and he took us to where she was working in the mall. >> are you colleen boyle? >> oh, my god. >> and that was a kind of model for spontaneous gorilla tv making. >> at the time that was electric.

>> conan o'brien could barely believe it. >> it wasn't something you saw. the idea of johnny carson going into someone's house. >> did you mow her lawn? >> i think he did. yeah. the idea that he had walked out of the tv and went into someone's room and going through her stuff had a huge impact on me. >> a huge impact on all the shows that would come after him. not bad for a boy next door from indianapolis, indiana. his dad harry was a florist and his mom dorothy a church secretary. his mother later wrote a cookbook filled with photos of dave with his two sisters. an all-american family who loved a good laugh and watching television. >> our household was full of arthur godfrey productions.

[ ip discernible ]. and i can just remember being fascinated by -- when they would open the television part of the simulcast and there was something about the microphone and the earphones and the equipment that i found fascinating. >> dave was a good ball player but at broad ripple high school, not a great student. >> i can remember doing so poorly my mom was very upset about it and she said we're going to try to get you into a trade school. i was not able to keep up. and then one semester i took a public speaking course and when i realized this might be my life line. i might be able to do something. >> at ball state university he turned it into his major. >> he decided to be a speech major. >> author bill carter has covered the tv industry for more than 25 years. >> he wasn't a student or anything. he joined the radio station. then he comes out of college, he becomes a local weather man and goofy weather man. >> the higher ups have removed the border between indiana and

ohio making it one giant state. personally, i'm against it. >> when a tropical storm became a hurricane, i would wish her well. they didn't like that because later on it would go on to destroy millions and millions of dollars worth of property. >> dave wasn't suited for news, he was headed for economy. >> so he married his girlfriend. michelle cook and headed out to hollywood. >> she was a steady, supportive girl, apparently. totally supportive of him, his dreams at that point. but he behaved badly right away because the young girls were so smitten with him. >> as dave began building an audience on l.a. stand up circuit, his marriage fell apart. >> i just got back from reno. a cheap condominium. everybody got in the water in the jacuzzi and we had to take turns going -- >> in 1975, dave talked about the struggles of stand up. >> so you go into a comedy store

and you do real well. and you get done and you're pretty excited for about five or ten minutes and you think, wait a minute, i just made 80 drunk people laugh. >> what was new about his voice? >> he was ironic i think is the main thing. he had a sort of detachment. he was very cool and verbal. >> by 1978 he hit the big time. >> here's johnny! >> a guest spot with his long time idle. >> if your dog is constipated, why screw up a good thing, huh? >> he was the biggest star on television. and i was just a -- a kid who had kind of followed the beacon of his light coming out of burbank. and to be on his show was endlessly nerve-racking. >> there was a fire in laurel canyon and i lost like an entire set of dishes. well you know how paper burns. >> just like that. >> but johnny carson fell hard for dave. >> there's always a former

house. nobody owns an original house out here. formerly owned by doris's cousin. >> i think squeeky frome lived in my old house. >> they can really banter. he became a pro ta shay, which was hard to do with johnny. >> i have a feeling after a shot on this show tonight, you're going to be working a lot outside of the comedy store. >> and after a few appearances he went from a guest -- to guest host and became a network favorite. >> it's "the david letterman show" live. >> and nbc execs were so submiten, in 1980 dave got his own morning show. director hal gurnee. >> there was no room to do musical acts and it was like a sitcom, people came in through a door. >> our very own staff member, rich hall, with a gardening hint will be here. >> it was wildly inappropriate for his style. >> when we return, a devastating blow for david letterman.

>> mr. letterman was sure we were doomed, like it was the end of everything. the technology changes, the design evolves, the engineering advances.

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have this stuff? >> and this was one of the few people who was watching. >> everything about it was arresting. >> an electronic wizard. >> conan o'brien, then in high school. >> and it is hard to explain that to people today. this guy was 180 degrees different from anything you had seen in that kind of format. >> would you like a tissue? the whole thing felt wrong/perfect. >> maybe perfect for conunanimoucon unanimoconnan, but not a fit for the time slot. after four months he was canceled. he thought his career was over. >> he was about as devastated as you could be. i think he remained for his career consumed with self-doubt. >> but nbc brass had other plans for dave. >> david letterman! >> dave letterman, come on, everybody up. >> in 1982, dave landed late

night, airing at 12:30 a.m., right after his hero, johnny carson. >> i love what you've done with the rec room. it's very nice. >> a dream job in a time slot so late, he really could do anything i wanted on air. >> right over there is the "today" show. >> this prime time program was my idea and i'm not wearing pants! >> it was a completely unique talk show. infused with dave's sarcasm. >> america's favorite summertime past time, destruction by gravity. >> and whacky stunts. >> throwing stuff at buildings. i just remember my friends and i watching that and thinking this was the greatest thing ever. >> the turkey is a flightless bird. i don't think so. >> brand new territory for a talk show. dave throw, he smashed the fourth wall, turning to his own team for inspiration. >> biff, what do you do with the

jacket when i'm done with it? >> i just add it to the big ball of sports coats. >> do you have any questions? >> paul, good question, how exactly do you get out of there? >> there really was no preparation. it was spontaneous. >> we're just going to bust him. >> i love paul. he always has the perfect reaction. and i love the rhythm they have together. >> here he is again, folks. what's his name? no, it's paul. >> band leader and side kick, paul shaffer. >> you're giving me the one name treatment now? >> what's that? >> just paul? >> the first shows, i didn't have anything to say. so i inserted myself and just one day started talking. and dave got a kick out of it. >> you know, paul, i used to do weather on tv. >> you did? that's funny, because i used to be a swimsuit model. >> he said, yeah, hey, that was great. after the show, he said, do more of that.

>> i watched johnny carson, and you are no johnny carson. >> sometimes we had a bigger audience than the tonight show. >> and then he started a routine with you where he would talk to you during the show. >> hal? hal? >> hilarious and innovative. everyone was along for the ride. there was guest cam and monkey cam. >> they had a 360 degree show once where the show slowly, over the course of the hour, rotated. that was ridiculous. >> we have achieved 180 degrees. >> they did the show on a plane. and i felt almost like it was somehow for me, like the heavens had opened up. >> letterman fan boy, jimmy kimmel. >> there is a picture i have seen from your 18th birthday. what was the cake?

>> late night with david letterman. my mom made the cake. my mom had a letterman letterman jacket made for me. i played no sports. i had a letterman jacket i wore to school every day. my license plate says l8night. it seemed like such a waste of network television time. i loved it. they started a new kind of humor. >> get off the elevator.. i'm serious. and here is one of the smaller offices right there. >> carson had some rules that we weren't supposed to break. so the request was that dave shouldn't talk to an announcer and dave shouldn't do an opening monologue. i just remember thinking, that's it? that's all the things we're not to do? well, that leaves everything. >> writer merill markoe was the

brains behind much of late night. she and dave were involved professionally and romantically for a decade. >> everything that i found in the phone book that made any kind of a claim, i would go and ask them about it. like if they said just bulbs, i would go, and what else do you have? >> then she would send dave there to harass them. >> besides bulbs, what do you have here? >> nothing. >> what can you get in here? >> what can you get in here? only shades. >> markoe developed many of dave's segments. >> really, i think i'm ground zero for dog videos. >> i just hope they don't let him drive after this. >> that led to stupt pet tricks. >> play dead. >> stupid human tricks. and view eer mail. >> letter number one. >> my dream job was to work for david letterman. >> in 1985, conan o'brien tried

to get a job as a writer on the show. >> it was between me and one other guy from oklahoma. turned out to be a mass murderer, but a very prolific matt mass murderer. and they went with the other guy and i was crushed. >> i had a busy dozen years. craziest job i ever had. >> steve o'donnell, though, not a mass murderer, got one of those costed writing gigs. >> there's the exhilaration of being a cult, like a college-dorm-type show. but it wasn't necessarily clear that it would go on for a long, long time. >> o'donnell and the team came up with most of dave's crazy get-ups. >> we have 3,400 al ka sellser tablets on this fine piece of clothing. >> we had suits that were come up with by steve alan. >> i got the suit on here and when i come out, i'll pass among you folks. just snack your brains out. >> and crafted dave's classic

top ten lists. >> so i'm the first one, top ten words that almost rhyme with peas. >> and the number one word that almost rhymes with peas, according to our poll, is meats. >> yes, that was supposed to be absurd. >> two, one, ignition. >> off the charts absurd, but arguably dave's funniest materials were his remotes, pranks outside the studio. >> i just want to ask you a couple of questions. what do you do for a living? >> i'm a mailman. >> get into the fountain. >> get into it? >> get into it. if you get fired, i'll get you a job. just get in. come on. >> nobody knew he was. because he was this guy on at 12:30 at night. and i do remember where a lady went, wait a second, i know you. >> that's right, i'm chevy chase. nice to meet you. >> we need authorization to drop

off a fruit basket? >> and he began to knock his own network. >> this will be fun, isn't it? to drop off a fruit basket, we need paperwork. >> when he did the famous thing when he brings a gift basket when ge took over -- >> i'm going to ask you to turn the cameras off, please. >> did you feel like you were disobeying the bosses, especially when ge bought nbz? >> absolute lie. that was an important agreement. we were all on the same side. just they took it personally. >> i think he hurt his own future that way. here is dave, who wants to skooes succeed johnny carson more than anything. >> dave, don't move body into driveway. >> here's the people who are going to make the decision, and you are alien ating them? >> you bet it's a ge. >> david letterman! >> but the audience loved it.

after a year on the air, he was everywhere. late night, once a cult it became must-see tv. but dave never relaxed. >> having been canceled once, he felt another cancelation was imminent. he just felt like there was an ax over his head. he was waiting for it to drop. >> ahead, the ax drops. the war for late-night. this is good, mom. "good"? (chuckles) it's delicious! and this new kibble blend is so healthy. thank you. no, nancy, thank you. kibbles 'n bits. because every bit matters. kibbles 'n bits. the 88th southern parallel. we had traveled for over 850 miles. my men driven nearly mad from starvation and frostbite. today we make history. >>bienvenidos! welcome to the south pole! if you're dora the explorer, you explore.

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here is biff. can i speak to you for a second? it's tingling. it's tingling. do you know what that means? it's working. that's what that means. >> david lettersman could seemingly find humor anywhere. >> oh, god. >> what was there? >> and by the late '80s, all the cool kids wanted to hang with dave. including fellow comic jay leno, who had come up with letterman doing standup in the '70s. >> leno was a dream guest. whatever else was going on in some week or month, we would go, well, we've got leno next thursday. it led to jay getting the job as the permanent substitute host for johnny because he was so good with dave. >> here's jay leno!

>> you know, we could get in a two shot here. we could send the crew home. >> movie stars wanted in with dave, too, but they got no special treatment. turn the pig on. >> please welcome cher. >> he was suspicious of celebrities. famously, when cher went on, he's not being the friendly or the greatest, you're the best, you're fantastic, you're cher. he's prodding. >> why finally after nearly 4 1/2 years did you decide to come on? >> i thought i would never want to do this show with you. >> now, why? why? because you thought i was a -- >> an ass. >> and it was like this electric moment. no one called carson an [ expletive ]. first of all, if you did, you would disappear from the face of the earth. >> dave was on a role. then. >> 992, a shocking announcement. carson was stepping down. >> i bed you a very heartfelt good night. >> to many, dave, after a deckade of smash hit shows,

seemed the heir apparent and joked with johnny about it months before. >> would i like to have this show? oh, sure, yes. >> that's honest. >> i'd like to be looking at new apollsry now. >> dave was all ready to inherent his hero's chair and his time slot. >> that is what he was working for all those careers, to do the "tonight show." >> but unbeknownsted to dave and the rest of the world, nbc executives had another comedian in mind. >> when did it become clear that dave that he was not going to get this dream job? >> they came to new york to talk to him. we love you. we want to keep you where you are. and he just says, that's unacceptable and i want out of my contract and walks out of the room. >> making it even worse, the comic nbc favored was jay leno. dave had helped boost his success.

>> did you ever tell a little white lie and it gets you into trouble? >> bilg bill carter wrote a best-selling book about the battle for late night and said nbc execs had doubts about letterman. >> they said aye he's so experimental. can you do the tonight show format? and jay would do anything. they asked, times ten and said we'll give leno tonight and keep dave. >> but dave would have none of us and public jostling for the tonight show went on for months. >> we were on at 12:30 and we did okay. we did pretty well. i guess it was just this odd dynamic, nbc and myself, jay leno and myself. you had like a -- an ongoing soap opera. the policy of it, the politics, the little guy, the one guy didn't get the job, the other guy did. >> ultimately, leno got the gig. >> now why would someone claim to be -- >> dave was crushed. >> he was devastated. he was devastated. there's a lot of people who say

jay was this wild comic and decided to become a mainstream comic. and jay calculated properly, if you think about a late show at 1 11:30, dave wanted to win. dave didn't play the game and jay got the show. >> you're lovely. >> enjoy yourself. i'll be right back. >> dave's relationship with nbc became fractured. but all the other networks came acourting. >> we went to los angeles. i had these meetings with these people. what made the real difference is they would bring in plates of fresh fruit. and it was first-rate produce. >> and that impressed you? >> not me, but i think it impressed every other bonehead that came in. >> ultimately, he gets the most powerful agent in hollywood to represent him. >> and that is where if he doesn't play at 11:30, there is a penalty and that is how they got around that. >> cbs said, well, we're going to make you the signature star of the network. you're going to be the guy for us.

>> coming up, dave rolls the dice? >> he was worried about going to a new venue. the cbs thing was kind of a gamble. >> i checked this now with the cbs attorneys and legally i can continue to call myself dave.

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this morning, i wake up and next to me in bed is the head of a peacock. so i don't know. broadway's ed sullivan theater. >> it's a marvelous, wonderful edifice and we couldn't be happier to be here. >> august 1993. >> the thing that spooked dave more than anything else was the double balcony. and it was enormous. >> ladies and gentlemen, we have a wonderful program tonight, bull murray, billy joel. >> dave's first night on a new network. >> welcome to broughtway, baby! >> in a new time slot. when the dust of the late night war settled, jay leno had the tonight show and dave had a multi-million dollar deal with cbs. it was a risky move. >> cbs did not have anything in their history of late night. so letterman comes on. his first couple of months on the air was absolute can't-miss television.

>> it's a joke, okay. >> it is me, you jerk. >> come on. >> every single night, he just killed it, killed it, killed it. >> what is wrong with you? >> ladies and gentlemen, this is not a promo. this is the actual show. >> dave amped up his monologue and had more a-list guests. >> would you like me to do a dance for you? >> such as drew barrymore, would gave dave an unforgettable birthday present. >> oh, my god. >> we had madonna on. one of my favorite reaction shots. and madonna, for some reason, thought it would be funny if she used the "f" word over and over again. it got tiresome. >> actually, i got something to make a point. >> all right, good.

>> because you were always [ bleep ] with me on the show. >> and in the middle of all the "f" words, there was an elderly woman and her husband sitting in the audience. i had a shot of her and it was a big, big laugh. >> turn the volume down immediately. she can't be stopped. there is something wrong with her. >> nonstop laughs. but writer steve o'donnell says dave never thought he was good enough. >> i think it could be painful of people close to him. i have saved dozens of little notes on the show. he would underline stand by show. >> even as he worried about his success on late night, dave paid it forward, just as carson had done for him. >> i'll give it a shot. we should maybe put him away. >> conan o'brien was a virtual unknown when he replaced dave on nbc's late night. >> i was being pummelled to death on television every night. >> hey, hey, hey.

i had only been on the air a couple of months and dave came on as a guest. that was a huge deal. when i first got this job, i came here to 30 rock -- >> how did you get this job, by the way? >> so always indebted to him for that. >> care for a free taco? >> dave delivered every where he went and for a couple of years he was golden. going head to head with his old pal at nbc at 11:30 and winning. >> from the nbc studios in burbank -- >> that is until a shocking celebrity scandal in 1995. >> question number one. >> a gigantic get when leno landed hugh grant after the actor's arrest for soliciting a prostitute. >> what the hell were you thinking? >> that epic interview, plus nbc's monster prime time hits and leno's own fine tuning of the show took a toll on

letterman's late show. >> it really hurt letterman and it became an extremely difficult struggle for him to count all that momentum at nbc. >> if you want to influence a congressman, you have to send him a full beer can. that's not -- >> jay leno went on to win the ratings wars for 15 years. gradually, dave made peace with it. >> he is more comfortable as the hipper, slightly skewed show with the slightly skewed attitude than being at number one. >> it doesn't matter what the ratings are. it really doesn't matter. the fact of the matter is, dave is the best there ever was. dave started something. >> in 2000, dave showed a much softer side after emergency heart bypass surgery and five weeks off the air, he returned, giving a touching tribute to the hospital staff who helped him. >> these men and women right here saved my life. >> and when dave shows his human

side, it's a real treat. you're like, oh, what is going on here? who is this person we didn't know? >> the episode earned an emmy nomination. a year later, days after september 11th, dave couldn't hold back his emotions. >> we're told they were zealots fueled by fervor. >> i was in the room with him. he was pacing and trying to figure out what he would say. >> if you live to be a thousand years old will that make any sense to you? will that make any god damn sense. >> dave was the first late night host back on air. >> he made it okay to start laughing again. >> fatherhood also changed him. in 2003 he and his girlfriend regina lasko had a son, harry, named after dave's late father. >> it has been sweet to see the big moments in his life, from the heart surgery to the birth of his son. then i think as he's gotten older, we got to know him a little bit. >> your life doesn't really

begin in the important ways until you've had a child. >> when we come back, a cheating scandal turns dave's world upside down. >> i had a little story that i would like to tell you and the home viewers as well. do you feel like a story?

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thank you very much for being on the program again. you know it's been three years since the last time you were on the show. and i will just say right off the top here, you look different than what i remember of you. >> the late show, january 2009. >> joaquin phoenix was acting crazy. >> what do you -- what do you have them on? >> what? >> what do you gas them up with? >> it was like watching a surgeon, a really good surgeon. it wasn't even watching a surgeon. it was watching a maestro. >> what can you tell us about your days with the unibomber. >> he told you without specifically telling you that he thought that person was a nut. for me, when i see somebody on the show, i have a pretty good idea of whether he's going to like them or not. and it really influences me. if he likes them, i like them. and if he doesn't like them, they're idiots. >> and joaquin, i'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight.

>> more than 25 years in the bis and dave still nailed it. and when jay leno left the "tonight show" a few months later -- >> we have just two more shows left to do. >> dave crushed his competition for the first time in more than a decade. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "the tonight show" with conan o'brien. >> there was much drama with conan o'brien getting "the tonight show" and then wresting it back from him. they both laughed about it, both denies by a screaming leno. >> he's getting a live feed in a satellite truck right now. he's watching every second. >> it is like here are two guys. very successful, nobody should feel bad for them, but they've both kind of been through the same hellish experience because of this other guy.

>> it was just -- it was one of those nice -- it was a nice moment that comes along every now and then where everything lines up. >> how about your relationship with jay, because you knew jay before he demand he get his show back. >> i was assured none of this would come up tonight! >> dave was leading the late night pack when a joke about sarah palin's daughter fell flat. >> one awkward moment for sarah palin, during the yankees game during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by alex rodriguez. >> dave had messed up and targeted the wrong daughter. >> he took shots at the daughter. i think a lot of people think that's over the line. >> i told a bad joke, i told a joke that was beyond flawed. >> but that joke was nothing compared to what came next that year. >> i have a story i would like to tell you and the home viewers, as well. >> the 62-year-old host confessed to a cheating scandal soon after he and long time

girlfriend regina tied the knot. >> it was kind of an open secret that he had had some relationships with women that work on the show. >> and people on the show were aware of that. i don't think they were aware of this one. >> dave's shocking confession drew applause. >> i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to that is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who work on this show. >> dave's confession came after an extortion attempt by a cbs producer who demanded millions to keep hushed dave's affairs with staffers. >> and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would. perhaps it would. especially for the women. >> the fact that he had an affair, that's conventional. but then the guy winds up trying to blackmail him and i think

it's very, very letterman that instead of just paying this guy off to keep it quiet, he said, no, i'm not doing that. and he went right to the cops. >> i just want to thank the people at the special prosecution bureau and the manhattan district attorney's office. >> and this is a guy who hates humiliation, hates it. >> the cbs producer pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny and spent four months in jail. a week after the scandal, dave apologized to his wife on air. my wife, regina, she has been horribly hurt by my behavior. and when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it is your responsibility, you try to fix it. so let me tell you, folks, i got my work cut out for me. dave called this the lowest point in his life. the couple did reconcile and they are still together. >> talk about electric television. it's just television like nothing else you've ever seen. >> his ratings went up. >> his ratings went up for that.

but, you know, his ratings have never recovered much from the early days because he's always been playing from behind. and at some point, i think he stopped feeling like he could win. coming up, dave, say it ain't so. >> so i was goofing around with my son, harry, and i said, harry, what if i retire? why would you retire? this is good, mom. "good"? (chuckles) it's delicious! and this new kibble blend is so healthy. thank you. no, nancy, thank you. kibbles 'n bits. because every bit matters. ...to put in dr. scholl's active series insoles. kibbles 'n bits. they help reduce wear and tear on my legs,

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♪ and i'll never desert you ♪ ♪ i'll stand by you yeaaaah! yeah. so that's our loyalty program. you're automatically enrolled, and the longer you stay, the more rewards you get. great! oh! ♪ i'll stand by you ♪ won't let nobody hurt you ♪ isn't there a simpler way to explain the loyalty program? yes. standing by you from day one. now, that's progressive.

dave and pop star lady gaga. >> hello, new york! >> nice to see you. >> there was no stopping me. so my mom was really supportive. and, you know, i've been doing this for a long time and i have a lot of rejection. >> when i got fired at nbc, my mom brought me here to cbs. >> that was 23 years ago. >> is it weird that it's lasted this long? it's 2015. >> i think it's weird in the sense that he felt it was going to be canceled all the time. i heard about that endlessly. and i would like to go back to that version of him and just go, you! what's wrong with you?! you're going to be on for the rest of your life. >> here's johnny! >> or at least longer than his idol, johnny carson. >> i bid you a very heartfelt good night.

>> in 2013, david letterman became the longest running late-night host in show business history. >> my name is david letterman. the one fixed point in the ever-changing late-night sky. >> this is dave. >> he's had more than 18,000 guests. >> howard stern. many of them, regulars. >> no! >> a little thing right in there. yeah! >> julia roberts! >> you know, there was a time, dave, when i asked you on a date. >> wait a minute, turn off the cameras! clear the audience. turn off the cameras! >> jerry seinfeld. >> i'm not going to mexico. why would i? their food is already here. >> after more than 30 years

on air for letterman, his younger rivals are grabbing those coveted viewers. ♪ i want to rock right now >> you know, he's not surprising anybody at this point by being david letterman. we all know what david letterman is. yet he's still doing things you absolutely have to see. >> it's too damned hot! there you go! >> late-night observer bill carter has been seeing signs that dave has been winding down. >> he really hasn't done any of the bits he used to do. he doesn't really -- he doesn't even go to rehearsal. there are people who say he probably should have left when he was closer to the peak. but i think it's really been very hard for him. >> when this show stops being fun, i will retire ten years later. >> then, last april, letterman made a shocking reveal about a

phone call he had with cbs honcho, les moonves. >> i said, leslie, you've been great. the network has been great. >> there was no indication, he said, can you just come with me, and took me into a little alcove, and he said, i've told the guys that -- >> i'm retiring. >> this is really -- >> yep! >> this is -- this is -- you actually did this? >> yes, i did. >> wow. well, do i have a minute to call my accountant? because -- wow. and the next thing i know, i was on stage. ♪ east coast girls are hip and thinking, what did i just hear? but that's -- you know, it was as fast as that. >> there's the bird. look at that! look at that animal right there. >> that is beautiful, yeah. >> dave says his epiphany came after bird watching with his son, harry, and then going to do his show. >> so i get home that night and i'm talking to my wife, regina,

and she said, well, how was work? and i said, oh, well, we think we identified the bird. she says, that's great. who was on the show? i said, i don't remember. so that's when i started thinking in terms of, how long does a guy want to do a tv show? >> in 2012, david admitted to battling depression with medication and even with meditation. he had a steady dose of fatherhood seems to be the most powerful elixir. >> so i was goofing around with harry and i said, harry, what if i retire? then i would be able to spend more time with the family. and harry looked at me and said, which part of the family? >> oh, boy, here we go. ♪ there simply is no better man ♪ ♪ than good old david letterman ♪ >> thank you for everything.

>> thank you. >> dave's celebrity friends, however, have been less understanding. >> you know, i've had this number prepared for some time, to be honest, dave, i wrote it for your funeral. >> believe me, you're going to have nothing to do pretty soon. >> i know. >> this whole quitting idea is the stupidest thing i have ever heard. horrible, horrible! >> and you are still an [ bleep ]. >> well, i was thinking you and me, we can play some dominos together. >> dominos! >> even president obama gave dave a heartfelt sendoff. >> i think dave will have the same kind of legacy that -- that richard pryor and george carlin. i think that he's up there with those guys. >> you look at all the other shows, and you see david letterman's influence. >> how are you? >> i love his set. we should do our show -- >> yeah. >> dave not being on television just doesn't feel right to me.

then let's follow it up by people pointing out to me that i'm the old guy now. >> you're the oldest? the you're the one that's been on the longest? >> i went from, who the hell is he, to, is he still here? >> can you envision yourself 20 years from now doing your late-night show? >> what the hell am i going to do with myself every day at 4:00 p.m.? >> what about dave? what is he going to do? >> dave loves to get laughs. >> would you boys like a table or do you want to sit at the bar? so i wouldn't count him out -- you know, i wouldn't put him on the porch. >> i know dave would be the very last person to say he was better than johnny, but dave is better than johnny. >> okay. thank you very much, peter. and arnold, seriously, thank you very much. i'm sorry about the chair. they were supposed to fix it yesterday. >> i do not envy whoever they try to put in that chair.

hope you enjoyed it. good night, everybody! ♪ isis strengthens its grip in ramadi as thousand flee for their lives. can the city be wrestled away from the terror group. >> airbags in your car may be more dangerous than the crash they're to protect you from. >> why would this man pay $350,000 to kill an endangered animal? his answer may surprise and anger you. >> there are so many people. >> hello, i'm rosemary church. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. this is "cnn newsroom."