Posted in: CBS, TV | Tagged: colbert, The Late Show

The Late Show Finale: Legendary Late-Night Intro; Colbert Comments

Here are Stephen Colbert's opening comments to The Late Show audience ahead of the final show, and a legendary late-night finale intro.

With late-night icon Stephen Colbert taking his final bow tonight, we're beginning to get some highlights from the final edition of CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Here's a look at what Colbert had to say to the audience and viewers early on, before a great compilation of late-night's finest does their part to introduce the final run.

"I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other," Colbert shared during his opening remarks to the audience and others watching to kick off the show. Later, he turns his attention to the viewers. "On night one of 'The Colbert Report,' I said, 'Anyone can read the news to you. I promise to feel the news at you.' And I realized pretty soon in this job that our job over here was different. We were here to feel the news with you. And I don't know about you, but I sure have felt it. And I just want to let all y'all know in here and out there how important you've been to what we have done. The energy that you've given us. We sincerely need that to have done the best possible show we could have for you for the last 11 years. You've given it to us. We've given it all right back to you. What would you call that, Lewis?" Colbert shared, with Lewis defining it as a reciprocal emotional relationship. "That's exactly right," Colbert continued. "Because we love doing this show for you, but what we really, really love is doing this show with you. Now, I'll say to you what I've said to every audience for the last 11 years, and I have meant it every time. Have a good show. Thanks for being here, and let's do it, y'all."

In addition, Colbert's team put together a fun introduction to the late-night talk show's final run that included a whole lot of famous faces from late-night history – including Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, Samantha Bee, Arsenio Hall, Johnny Carson, Chelsea Handler, Andy Cohen, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, Dick Cavett, Trevor Noah, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Robin Thede, Conan O'Brien, Jack Benny, Steve Allen and Jack Parr.

The Late Show: A Look Back at Stephen Colbert's Final Week

Here's a look back at Colbert's stellar final week, with the week kicking off with The Worst Of The Late Show, a special episode that shines a light on comedy bits that were too stupid, too messy, and too outrageous to make it onto the show over the past eleven seasons. Colbert rolled out graphics, field pieces, and character sketches that should never have been televised in any form (though we will defend the honor of that Michael Keaton/pigeon idea), culminating in the "worst" musical number in the late-night show's history.

From there, Colbert was honored by fellow late-night bud Jon Stewart, who presented Colbert with a very cool present (after the two spent some quality time ripping into Trump, CBS, and Paramount Skydance), had a chance for a one-on-one with Stephen Spielberg (Disclosure Day), and joined in on a special performance by David Byrne.

And on the eve of Colbert's finale show, the late-night host subjected himself to a special guest-filled edition of "The Colbert Questionert," with John Dickerson, Mark Hamill, Jim Gaffigan, Jeff Daniels, Tiffany Haddish, Evie Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Ben Stiller, Aubrey Plaza, James Taylor, and Robert De Niro on tap to run Colbert through his questions. Following that, Bruce Springsteen entered the scene with a performance of "Streets of Minneapolis":

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