Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
Though talk show goodbyes usually hit their stride in the final six weeks, recent guests visiting The Late Show with Stephen Colbert seem to be getting a jump on the action.
One episode after Jimmy Fallon serenaded Colbert with a rendition of My Way, actor John Lithgow delivered a tribute of his own.
Lithgow appeared on The Late Show Monday night to promote his new Broadway play Giant, but before wrapping his interview he shared a poem he wrote for Colbert. Titled “The Mighty Colbert,” the piece doubled as both tribute and elegy for the host whose show will end its run May 21.
“The time has arrived for us all to prepare / for the doleful departure of Stephen Colbert,” Lithgow began, imagining the “gaping black hole” late night will face without him.
The actor went on to praise Colbert’s two decades in satirical television—from The Colbert Report to his ten years hosting The Late Show—while singling out the host’s nightly monologues as his “sublime masterworks.”
But Lithgow’s poem also took a pointed turn as he addressed the circumstances surrounding the show’s cancellation.
“So why is he canceled? Why trash all that pleasure? Why yank off the air this beloved national treasure?”
Lithgow then delivered the poem’s sharpest line:
“Stephen’s tale is a lesson for all who come after. Beware of a boss with thin skin and no laughter.”
The moment drew a big reaction from the audience—and a grateful hug from Colbert.
Lithgow is a longtime friend of the show, having appeared as a guest on The Late Show ten times and delivering his killer Rudy Guiliani impression in a series of memorable bits for the show. He also made multiple appearances on The Colbert Report.
Watch Lithgow recite his poem in full below:
