--- description: David Letterman "can't wait" for retirement, the Late Show host revealed during a Tuesday interview title: David Letterman 'Can't Wait' for Retirement image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a928b098c845aec/69877c4d06f2c12b1f333a51/david-letterman.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 # Here's Why David Letterman 'Can't Wait' for Retirement  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 3:16 PM CUT  Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Urban Meyer talks about leading his team to the College Football Playoff National Championship when he visits the LATE SHOW with David Letterman on Jan. 16, 2015. Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Urban Meyer talks about leading his team to the College Football Playoff National Championship when he visits the LATE SHOW with David Letterman on Jan. 16, 2015.Jeffrey R. Staab—CBS/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 3:16 PM CUT David Letterman “can’t wait” for retirement, the _Late Show_ host revealed during a Tuesday interview with Regis Philbin, but not out of exhaustion from 33 years on the job. Really, he said, it’s the exhaustion of explaining what comes next. The gap-toothed late night mainstay will host the _Late Show_ for the last time on May 20, after which former Comedy Central funnyman Stephen Colbert will settle into the host’s chair. [**Read more:** James Poniewozik on David Letterman and late night’s ‘greatest run’](http://time.com/49019/david-letterman-late-show-legacy/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3685660/david-letterman-retirement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3685660/david-letterman-retirement/"},"headline":"Here's Why David Letterman 'Can't Wait' for Retirement","datePublished":"2015-01-28T15:16:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:56:17.823Z","description":"Even if he has \"no idea\" what he'll do after he steps down from the \"Late Show\" on May 20","url":"https://time.com/3685660/david-letterman-retirement/","keywords":["Television","David Letterman","late show"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a928b098c845aec/69877c4d06f2c12b1f333a51/david-letterman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a928b098c845aec/69877c4d06f2c12b1f333a51/david-letterman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Urban Meyer talks about leading his team to the College Football Playoff National Championship when he visits the LATE SHOW with David Letterman on Jan. 16, 2015.","caption":"Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Urban Meyer talks about leading his team to the College Football Playoff National Championship when he visits the LATE SHOW with David Letterman on Jan. 16, 2015.","creditText":"Jeffrey R. Staab—CBS/Getty Images","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/3685660/david-letterman-retirement/","name":"Here's Why David Letterman 'Can't Wait' for Retirement"}}]}] ```