David Letterman announces his retirement

[VIDEO] I never thought I'd see the day when David Letterman would retire from his program. Perhaps that day was coming as Letterman is a senior citizen already and spent a long time in the public eye with 12 years as host of NBC's Late Night show and then 20 years as host of CBS' Late Show. Without a doubt he has had a good run.

Over the years I have considered myself a Letterman fan starting with his Late Night show. In the case of Late Night with David Letterman it was safe to say I was not in the target audience of his show. I was too young, but that show made me laugh in more ways than one when I did get a chance to see the show.

When Letterman left NBC for his CBS show I followed him and consistently found him more interesting than Tonight Show host Jay Leno. There are some bits from the Late Show I still find myself reciting and remembering today even though he no longer does those bits.

Even better if you look on YouTube you will find nothing but Letterman clips from his TV programs over the years. The funniest ones involve his Late Show announcer Alan Kalter who is treated terribly. Kalter is either a pervert or a temperamental guy who goes off at the slightest provocation. Sometimes for humorous effect Kalter is assaulted, but kudos because any bits involving Alan is often very hilarious!

Now it's time to figure out who shall succeed Letterman on Late Show. Could it be Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson? My personal idea would be to bring Conan O'Brien back from basic cable to broadcast TV. Well at least no one from CBS would likely read this so my idea may not see the light of day. Still Conan could be as likely a successor as Ferguson.

Anyway, the future without Letterman on TV will be here before I know it. The late night landscape has changed over the years and will continue to change. We saw it with Jimmy Fallon hosting Tonight and we'll surely see it with the future evolution of the Late Show.