David Letterman's Late Show Finale to Feature Jay Leno? Find Out What the Series' Executive Producer Said

The two had been talk show rivals for more than 20 years before the latter left The Tonight Show for the second time in 2014

By Corinne Heller May 20, 2015 8:20 PMTags
Jay Leno, David Letterman John P. Filo/CBS, Paul Drinkwater/NBC

Will David Letterman's longtime rival, Jay Leno, appear on his final episode of The Late Show With David Letterman? Don't hold your breath.

Executive Producer Rob Burnett told CNNMoney in an interview posted on Tuesday that he was invited but expressed doubt that he would make an appearance. He made his comments amid much fan speculation of such a reunion, as well as recent questioning on the air by Howard Stern, who is not a fan of Leno.

"Um, I don't think so, I don't think so," he said. "We invited Jay and all I heard was that he was in Chuckles in Boulder, Colorado for three weeks. It must be a long gig. I don't know. I would've loved to have Jay on the show. I think we all would have loved that, one last time...It didn't come to pass. That's Jay's call. No hard feelings."

Leno, 65, has not commented. Letterman, 68, remained ambiguous when pressed about it by Stern on The Late Show last week and also revealed that Leno had invited him to appear on Leno's final Tonight Show episode last year but that he declined the "lovely offer" because he thought it should concentrate on the host.

Leno, like Letterman, began his entertainment career as a standup comedian and continues to perform at various clubs across the country. There is no Chuckles comedy club in Colorado and the former talk show host has no scheduled shows in the state or anywhere else this week. He is scheduled to perform in the Los Angeles area this weekend and later has shows in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Las Vegas.

Leno has made several TV appearances since leaving The Tonight Show last year after more than 22 years. He appeared on the revamped series with new host Jimmy Fallon, on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers, the final episode of CBS' The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson and the debut episode of its successor program, The Late Late Show With James Corden.

Burnett called the relationship between Leno and Letterman "fascinating." The two met in the '70s in Los Angeles when they were standup comedians. In 1982, Letterman began to host Late Night, which followed The Tonight Show, then hosted by Johnny Carson. Both he and Leno had guest hosted The Tonight Show when he was away.

In 1992, Leno made his debut as the new permanent host of the program. That was the last year he appeared as Letterman's guest.

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Letterman left NBC and in 1993 began hosting The Late Show, a new series on CBS, igniting a ratings battle that would rage for more than two decades.

Their feud spurred a book titled The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night" and a 1996 TV film adaptation of it. In 2010, Letterman and Leno made a rare joint appearance, with Oprah Winfrey, in a Super Bowl commercial for The Late Show.

Leno left The Tonight Show in 2009 to host a new talk show and later resumed his job after seven months. Conan O'Brien, who had succeeded him, then left NBC to host his own TBS talk show, ConanLeno bid farewell to The Tonight Show a second time in February 2014.

Letterman's final Late Show airs on Wednesday, more than 21 years since its debut. On Tuesday, he received a hilarious send-off from frequent guest and friend Bill Murray, one of several top celebrities who have appeared on the program during his last week. Stephen Colbert will take over as the new host of The Late Show in September.

Letterman had occasionally discussed and joked about his retirement plans for more than a decade before he announced in April 2014, about two months after Leno departed The Tonight Show, that he would retire from The Late Show.

Burnett told CNNMoney that Letterman's final episode will not have any sit-down guests but will have "many, many surprises."

"I think no matter what he does, it'll have an emotional impact," he said.