David Letterman on ‘The Late Show’ ending and CBS’ new owners

For an essay on the end of “The Late Show” on CBS, I spoke to its first host, David Letterman, who was cleareyed about the program’s cancellation. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation:

What was your first thought when you found out “The Late Show,” which you helped create and where you served as the first host, was canceled?

Disbelief. Then it seemed like a botched holdup. When we got the facts about the Ellison family [David Ellison, with backing from his father, Larry, bought CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global], I took great delight in referring to the principal as the Ellison Twins. I was later corrected and told it’s just one guy. I didn’t care and I still refer to him as twins. There’s also the old man, Larry. Is it in fact Larry?

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