Lettermanâs Final Show Complicated By NY Mayor de Blasioâs Eric Garner NYPD Comments
Controversy continues to surround embattled New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whoÂ lost the respect and support of many NYPD officers in the wake of the Eric Garner incident. The Mayor is reportedly scheduled to present Letterman with a lifetime âKey To The City of New YorkâÂ during The Late ShowâsÂ May 20 final taping. Trouble is, members of the NYPD are refusing to provide the extra security neededÂ for Broadwayâs legendaryÂ Ed Sullivan Theater, the showâs home since 1993. âWe turn away dozensÂ of security volunteers when sports stars and celebrities show up,â saysÂ theater manager Lloyd Schuller. âBut this is the first time anything like this happened. The sign-up sheet is blank.â Schuller, whose brother is an NYPD officer, told National Report âde Blasioâs really split the ranks right down the middle and itâs causing a fewÂ headaches.â UnnamedÂ sources leaked the final showâs scheduled guest list: Barack Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner, media giant Oprah Winfrey, actor-comedian Pauly Shore, and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno.Â Lenoâs appearance underscores the laying aside of longstanding tensionsÂ between the two late night rivals, famously lampoonedÂ in a 2010 Super Bowl commercial featuring the pairÂ â with Oprah Winfrey sitting between them. Winfrey and Letterman also endedÂ a years-long feud which began in 1989 with Winfreyâs uncomfortableÂ appearance on Lettermanâs NBC show. 2014 turned out to be the year of late night host exits, asÂ both Steven ColbertÂ (The Colbert Report)Â and Craig FergusonÂ (The Late Late Show)Â ended their respective dutiesÂ on December 19, with Lettermanâs exit the most highly anticipated in terms of viewership. Guest stars are liningÂ up to pre-tape farewell segments, with fans hoping for the return of veteran actor Abe Vigoda â now 93 â repeating his long-standing gag of wandering ontoÂ the set unannounced, cashing in onÂ theÂ urban legendÂ that heâs been dead for years. Alternate plans for outsideÂ security are in placeÂ in the event fences between the Mayor and the police departmentÂ arenât mended by spring. âNo matter what happens with de Blasio,â said Schuller, âthe showâs gonna be a smash, no matter what. Itâs the hottest ticket in town even if the Mayor turns out to be a âno show.'â