Bill Murray sloppily fell out of an actual cake Tuesday as he appeared as the final scheduled guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman" – adding to his memorable appearances on the show.
Covered in icing and cake pieces, Murray gave Letterman a bear hug that was just the beginning of his unusual farewell. Murray was Letterman's first guest on NBC's "Late Night" in 1982 and the talk show host's first show on CBS's "Late Night" in 1993,
reported the Indianapolis Star.
"He makes his way through the crowd, offering the audience, Paul Shaffer, and other members of the CBS Orchestra a mid-show snack,"
wrote Jonathon Dornbush of Entertainment Weekly. "But Murray was really on the show for some serious business. He wants Letterman to stick around, but it's not his place to tell Letterman what to do. So instead, he had the 'American people' do it for him, bringing together Letterman fans in about the most Bill Murray way one might expect."
Murray and Letterman shared a shot of vodka before Murray continued his campaign to convince Letterman to stay, walking outside the Ed Sullivan Theater singing "more Worldwide Pants" to the tune of "Give Peace a Chance," said
CNN Money. Worldwide Pants is the name of Letterman's production company.
James Poniewozik of
Time magazine wrote that having "Late Night" could not have ended any other way than having Murray on as Letterman's final guest.
"Murray is not just a fitting last guest because he was Letterman's first. He's inextricably bound to Letterman because in many ways they've had the same career," Poniewozik wrote. "When they first emerged nationally, Murray on 'Saturday Night Live' and Letterman in late night, they developed reputations as master smartasses. They were entertainers part of whose acts riffed on the shtick of entertaining …"
CBS hasn't revealed who will appear on Wednesday's final show, but Foo Fighters will appear as the show's final musical guest,
said Rolling Stone magazine.