David Letterman dismisses retirement plans; launches new TV venture

David Letterman isn’t ready to step away from the spotlight anytime soon. In an interview with GQ published on Wednesday, December 11, the 77-year-old former talk show host made it clear he has no intention of slowing down his career. “I’m surprised that I’m still doing it at my age,” Letterman admitted, while revealing his latest project — the Letterman TV FAST.
Letterman’s illustrious late-night career began with Late Night with David Letterman on NBC in 1982, before transitioning to The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS in 1993. After 33 years as a late-night host, he stepped down from The Late Show in May 2015.
However, during his GQ interview, when asked if he identified as “semi-retired, not retired at all, or retired,” Letterman was quick to refute the idea of retirement altogether. “Retirement is a myth. Retirement is nonsense. You won’t retire. The human mechanism will not allow you to retire,” he stated.
Acknowledging that people do retire eventually, Letterman elaborated on his perspective, emphasizing the importance of staying active and creative. “As long as you are healthy, you still want to produce. And you will find ways to,” he said. “Once I stopped doing the show, it took me a couple of years to figure out that, oh, this is a completely different rhythm.”
With his latest venture on Samsung TV Plus, Letterman continues to prove that creativity and ambition don’t have an expiration date.