David Letterman signs off from 'Late Show'

The ceremony honoured the host's long career on television and was attended by several Hollywood celebrities

David Letterman took a final bow on CBS' "Late Show" in a glittering ceremony attended by several Hollywood celebrities.

It was an emotional send-off, but was still filled with laughs and managed to honour the host's long career on television, reported Ace Showbiz.

The episode opened with footage of former President Gerald R Ford saying, "Our long national nightmare is over." Other US Presidents including George H W Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush and President Obama also appeared in a taped segment celebrating Letterman's retirement.

Letterman was welcomed with a standing ovation in the studio. He jokingly said in his monologue, "It's beginning to look like I'm not going to get the 'Tonight' show."

He screened a tribute from "The Simpsons" and played a fan-favourite remote segment from 1996, in which he worked the drive-through at a Taco Bell.

Foo Fighters performed "Everlong", the same song that Letterman requested when he returned to the "Late Show" after heart-bypass surgery in 2000.

The A-list guests included Alec Baldwin, Barbara Walters, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Peyton Manning, Tina Fey and Bill Murray who delivered the final Top 10 list, which was about "Top 10 things I've always wanted to say to Dave".