Letterman farewell is Top 10 affair

It was a warm welcome for David Letterman's farewell Wednesday night, although four of five living presidents, seen on video as the show opened, expressed relief that "our long national nightmare is over."

His retirement, after 33 years in late night and 6,028 broadcasts, was a momentous event in TV that only a few hundred witnessed in person but millions more will watch as the end of an era.

"It's beginning to look like I'm not going to get theTonight Show," he joked as he began his opening monologue after sustained applause.

He addressed questions about his future plans: "When people ask, 'What are you going to do when you retire,' he said, 'My God, I'm going to be the new face ofScientology." And he promised bandleader Paul Shaffer he "will be debuting our Las Vegas act with white tigers."

Letterman was somewhat emotional, but not teary, in his last show. He screened a tribute from The Simpsons, with Maggie playing with blocks that spelled "Worldwide Pants," the name of his production company. And he showed a joke clip from Wheel of Fortune, in which the puzzle solution was, "Good riddance to David Letterman."

He played a fan-favorite remote segment from 1996, when he worked the drive-through at a Taco Bell, and a montage that showed him interacting with kids. And there was a clip of a day in the life of Letterman, echoing a similar Johnny Carsonfinale bit, that began with his early-morning arrival at the Ed Sullivan Theater.