text: On October 1, 2009, Letterman revealed that he had been the target of an extortion attempt.
  On October 29, 2012, the show was taped without an audience due to Hurricane Sandy, which prompted the Late Show staff to send the audience home for safety reasons.
  On April 3, 2014, Letterman announced his retirement from the Late Show.
  On April 22, 2014, Stephen Colbert made his first appearance on the Late Show since being unveiled as Letterman's successor.
  On August 18, 2014, in his first new show since the death of Robin Williams, Letterman paid tribute to the comedian, whom he had known dating back to their days at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. "I had no idea that the man was in pain, that the man was suffering," Letterman said of Williams, who committed suicide. A montage of clips aired featuring Williams' multiple appearances on the Late Show, as well as an episode of Mork & Mindy in which Letterman was a guest star. The tribute was the week's most watched late night talk show video, receiving over 3.3 million views online.
  On December 18, 2014, singer Darlene Love performed “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” for the final time on the show after performing it every year since the show began.