Indiana native David Letterman will host his final “Late Show” on CBS tonight beginning at 11:35 p.m. (EDT). He’s retiring after hosting the show for 22 years.

Letterman began his television career as a weather man and anchor on WLWI (now WTHR) in Indianapolis after graduating from Ball State University in 1969. He moved on to comedy writing and stand-up in the 1970s.

(WTHR archives)

“David is a very good vestige of all those Midwestern values rooted in Indianapolis. He’s a down to earth guy,” said friend and Ball State classmate Tom Cochrun. “He has never taken himself too seriously. He worked hard and he’s just an Indiana boy who made good and I think we ought to be proud of him.”

NBC gave Letterman his own morning comedy show in 1980, “The David Letterman Show,” but it was short-lived. He moved to a different time slot, debuting “Late Night with David Letterman” in 1982 which followed “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

When Johnny Carson retired in 1992, many believed Letterman would become the host of “The Tonight Show,” but NBC gave the job to Jay Leno instead. Letterman moved to CBS to host his own late-night show called “The Late Show with David Letterman” opposite “The Tonight Show.”

Many consider Letterman a television and comedy pioneer, with his droll humor and ironic delivery. As a writer, producer and performer he has received 52 Emmy Award nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and ten Primetime Emmys since 1981. He’s won four American Comedy Awards and became the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards.

Letterman was also a 2012 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, at which Chairman David M. Rubenstein said that he was “one of the most influential personalities in the history of television, entertaining an entire generation of late-night viewers with his unconventional wit and charm.”

At 68, Letterman feels it’s time to take a break but he’s still torn about the decision.

“God, it’s been 6,000 shows! I used to have these conversations with Regina (his wife): ‘How much longer can I do this? How much longer do I WANT to do this?’” said Letterman. “But it was so much fun. I’m really, really torn. I know why I shouldn’t be doing it anymore, but these these last few months have been so easy.”

He doesn’t know yet what he will do in his retirement, beyond spending more family time with his wife and their 11 year old son, Harry. He has other projects to keep him busy, too, including his production company Worldwide Pants Incorporated, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and The Letterman Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming.

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Sources: WISH TV, WTHR, Wikipedia