Last night, frequent guest and friend Howard Stern appeared, along with comedy icon Don Rickles. On Tuesday, May 12, Letterman will welcome President Bill Clinton, and comedian Adam Sandler. Julia Roberts, another frequent late night guest (and Letterman smoocher) will be the top-billed guest, and Letterman will also sit down with his long-time late night partner in crime, and Late Show music director, Paul Shaffer. That night will also see Ryan Adams as the musical guest.
Related: Respect: Jimmy Kimmel won’t go live for Letterman’s final bow
Closing out the last two days of the week will be George Clooney on Thursday, May 14, and Oprah Winfrey and Norm Macdonald on Friday, May 15. The presence of Oprah is a big deal, as years ago, Letterman famously started an Oprah log where he penned entries on air documenting his attempts to get invited on her show. They typically read something like “Oprah did not call today … again.” The two had a long-running feud which seems to have fizzled out. Tom Waits will perform as the musical guest that Thursday.
There’s no word yet on who will appear on the Monday, May 18 and Tuesday, May 19 shows. Some are speculating the appearance of long-time rival Jay Leno, so the two can officially bury the hatchet on air. One thing’s for sure: we can expect to see lots of guests and plenty more reminiscing over those last three shows.
Meanwhile, all of the aforementioned guests will reportedly appear on the final episode, too, along with others like Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, and Robert Downey Jr.
Stephen Colbert will officially take over Late Night, starting in September. He has big shoes to fill, indeed.
