In last Late Show, Colbert pulled out the stops

 In the last Late Show, Colbert pulled out the stops and turned off the lights. After a 33-year run and 11 years with Stephen Colbert at the helm, CBS’s The Late Show played the Ed Sullivan Theatre in NYC a final time last night. In his opening, Colbert expressed gratitude for the 1,800 episodes he hosted, saying, “We call it the joy machine, because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine. But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn’t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears.” A stream of notable figures appeared, including Bryan Cranston, Jon Stewart, Tig Notaro, Ryan Reynolds, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Colbert’s final guest was not Pope Leo, but Paul McCartney, who made his American TV debut with the Beatles at the same theatre in 1964. McCartney ended the show by singing “Hello, Goodbye” with Colbert and former Late Show band leader Jon Batiste contributing backup vocals, before McCartney and Colbert turned off the lights together.