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Paul McCartney Caps off Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Journey With Special Performance of “Hello Goodbye”
Last July, CBS shocked viewers when the network announced the cancellation of The Late Show, hosted by Stephen Colbert. Although Colbert gained a sizable following throughout his 11 seasons on the show, the network decided it was time to end it. While fans criticized the move, Colbert left the famed Ed Sullivan Theater in New York for the last time. And when needing a friend at his side to turn the lights off, the host called on none other than Paul McCartney.
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Before Colbert took over The Late Show, David Letterman hosted the series since it was launched in 1993. With the show lasting over three decades, Thursday night was nothing short of a celebration that featured appearances by Paul Rudd, Bryan Cranston, Ryan Reynolds, and even Pope Leo XIV.
A Catholic himself, Colbert was stunned when he got the chance to interview the Pope. But sadly, the chance never came. With fans never really seeing the pope, the host joked, “The Pope, who was definitely my guest tonight, has cancelled. We already sent the other stars away. This is terrible. Who’s going to be my last guest now?” It wasn’t long before McCartney walked out.
Paul McCartney’s Historic Connection To Stephen Colbert
Although a special moment for Colbert, it was a full-circle moment for McCartney. The Late Show was held in the Ed Sullivan Theater. It was in that same building in February 1964 that the Beatles made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. That performance took Beatlemania to an international level.
With the night holding so much meaning for both men, the finale became more than just the end of a show. For Colbert, sharing his final moments on stage with one of his heroes was the perfect ending. And for McCartney, returning to the same theater where Beatlemania exploded in America over 60 years ago made the moment personal.
Joining forces with McCartney, Elvis Costello, Jon Batiste, and Louis Cato, Colbert thanked the crowd one last time as they covered “Hello Goodbye”. “We were lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years. You can’t take this for granted.”
Needing some help from McCartney, the two switched the lights off, turning the famed theater into a snow globe full of memories, music, and television history.
(Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
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