--- description: The late night TV host David Letterman took the stage for the last time Wednesday night, with a show that kicked off with tributes from four U.S. Presidents title: David Letterman Late Show Finale: Watch Presidents Bid Farewell image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a99e76366b0a81/6987ee55524fc02116df08df/rtx1bjdl.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Presidents Bid Farewell to David Letterman  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. May 21, 2015 11:50 AM CUT  U.S. President Barack Obama tapes an appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on May 4, 2015 U.S. President Barack Obama tapes an appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on May 4, 2015Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. May 21, 2015 11:50 AM CUT The late night TV host David Letterman took the stage for the last time Wednesday night, with a show that kicked off with tributes from four U.S. Presidents. Footage of former President Gerald Ford opened the show, informing the viewers, “Our long national nightmare is over.” They were then echoed by George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and President Obama. “Letterman is retiring,” Obama added, before Letterman appeared next to him: “You’re just kidding, right?” he asked. Watch the presidential sendoff below. David Letterman Late Show Finale: Watch Presidents Bid Farewell ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3892131/david-letterman-late-show-finale-obama-presidents/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3892131/david-letterman-late-show-finale-obama-presidents/"},"headline":"Watch Presidents Bid Farewell to David Letterman","datePublished":"2015-05-21T11:50:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:31:27.763Z","description":"“Letterman is retiring.....You’re just kidding, right?”","url":"https://time.com/3892131/david-letterman-late-show-finale-obama-presidents/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a99e76366b0a81/6987ee55524fc02116df08df/rtx1bjdl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Naina Bajekal","jobTitle":"Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a99e76366b0a81/6987ee55524fc02116df08df/rtx1bjdl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Obama tapes an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York","caption":"Obama tapes an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York","creditText":"Jonathan Ernst—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3892131/david-letterman-late-show-finale-obama-presidents/","name":"Watch Presidents Bid Farewell to David Letterman"}}]}] ```