David Letterman Shoots Down Retirement Talk: It's a Myth

David Letterman has made it clear he does not plan on retiring.

The 77-year-old Emmy winner, whose late-night hosting career spans over four decades, addressed the topic in an interview with GQ, saying he was "surprised" he was still hosting up to three shows a night for Netflix's "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction."

"Retirement is a myth. Retirement is nonsense. You won't retire. The human mechanism will not allow you to retire," Letterman told the outlet.

"But you know what I'm saying: As long as you are healthy, you still want to produce," he added. "And you will find ways to; once I stopped doing the show, it took me a couple of years to figure out that, Oh, this is a completely different rhythm. And without the rhythm that you're accustomed to, largely unsatisfying. So you got to find something that's important to you."

Letterman first hosted the "Late Night with David Letterman" on NBC in 1982. He departed the show in 2015 but returned as a guest in 2023 to what is now "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." He has hosted his Netflix talk show since 2018, with Season 5 debuting in June.

"I was doing some show for Netflix a couple of years ago, and the schedule was ridiculous," he recalled to GQ. "We were doing three shows a night, twice, and then three shows another night, twice. And it was just insane. And the stage manager came up to me between one of these production shows and she said, 'You're going to have to sit up straight. Look, I know you're exhausted, but can you just sit up straight? And I just thought, Well, maybe that's a sign."

Reflecting on his career, Letterman added: "I'm surprised that I'm still doing it at my age. On the other hand, I still get a kick out of what we're doing. So what does that mean? I don't know."

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