David Letterman Tells Jimmy Kimmel What He Misses Most About Late-Night TV

During a special episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live in Brooklyn, the former host of The Late Show talks about if he misses his old gig

By Elyse Dupre Oct 18, 2017 1:02 PMTags

It's been about two years since David Letterman signed off from The Late Show and passed on his hosting duties to Stephen Colbert. In a recent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jimmy Kimmel asked the late-night legend if he missed his old gig.

"Some parts—no I don't," Letterman said after a bit of hesitation. "I miss wearing makeup."

Letterman said he's become a changed man since he retired in 2015—and he wasn't just referring to his bearded appearance.

"I am a bit of a different person," he told Kimmel, who is hosting his show in Brooklyn this week. "I mean, thank God because the great struggle in life is to be better each and every day. If you take a look around the horizon of humanity—my God, is there anything we can do big or small to make the life of just one person a little bit better? And that's no small accomplishment."

Still, the former CBS host admitted that people comment on his facial hair.

"I look like a Civil War statue," he said.

Even though Letterman was a late-night host for about three decades (first at Late Night and then at The Late Show), he said that he didn't watch himself on TV.

"I'm not going to watch this show tonight," he told Kimmel. "Not because of you, because of me."

He also wasn't the only familiar face to return to the late-night stage. His former band leader Paul Shaffer played with Jimmy Kimmel Live's band. When Letterman asked Shaffer how his old band probably feels seeing him playing with a new group, the musician responded: "Absolutely pissed."

This isn't the first time Letterman has talked about his decision to step away from The Late Show. When asked if he'd ever return to TV on Norm Macdonald's podcast earlier this year, Letter replied: "I've done it for 30 years. I don't want to do it anymore."

Watch the video to see his interview with Kimmel.

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