Stephen Colbert received a heartfelt farewell from Jon Stewart ahead of the late-night show’s final episode on Thursday.
During Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show, the 63-year-old comedian and artist shared advice he once received from former Late Show host David Letterman after The Jon Stewart Show was cancelled in 1995.
The Daily Show star recalled, “He said, ‘Don’t confuse cancellation with failure.’ I thought that was profound.”
“But then he said, ‘But in this case it is also a failure.’”
Elsewhere in the show, Stewart surprised Colbert with special gifts and joked about not having musical or poetic talent.
He said, “Everybody has been coming up with a bit. They sang you a song, they wrote you a poem. I am not talented, so I’m not doing any of that.
”And also, why do that? An ephemeral wind of nothing that blows away like humbug. You deserve something tangible. Something you’ve earned.”
Stewart gushed, “You deserve a gift that benefits the sacrifice and work that you have put into this show, and that can show you the life you can lead and the life that I am leading now that I’m not really in show business.”
When Stewart said, “boys, bring it out,” two stagehands brought out two luxury recliners for the pair.
Stewart joked, “You’re going to enjoy watching Matlock in this m*****f*****! Let me tell you something.”
However, the surprises did not end there. Stewart then introduced Andra Day, who performed her song Rise Up for Colbert.
The Late Show will wrap on Thursday, 10 months after Colbert confirmed that CBS had decided to axe the long-running show
