Dave Letterman Comes Out of Retirement for Paul Shaffer

Suzy Byrne
·Editor, Yahoo Entertainment
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Paul Shaffer and David Letterman together again on Oct. 20 (Getty Images)

Hey, Dave’s back — and he’s with Paul!

For the first time since his retirement, David Letterman returned to the stage and it was all to support an old friend. Sporting a burly beard, the former Late Show host, who signed off the air in May, appeared at the 7th Annual Little Kids Rock Benefit at Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom in New York City on Tuesday to help honor Paul Shaffer.

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(Getty Images)

Shaffer was given the “Big Man of the Year” award by the nonprofit, which revitalizes music education in public schools. Letterman, who wore a suit and tie along with that crazy beard, said a few words about his former band leader, and it was just nice to see the old gang back together again.

The award Shaffer received was started for the late Clarence Clemmons and is given to someone who embodies the spirit of giving back to kids. Steve Miller and Graham Nash were also honored at the event.

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(Getty Images)

We haven’t seen or heard too much from Letterman since he passed the baton to Stephen Colbert. Now and then he’s photographed in New York City — that Cast Away beard is hard to miss. In July, he released a special top 10 list to poke fun at Donald Trump’s presidential ambitions.

Letterman seems to have politics on the brain. Later this week he will be headlining a fundraiser for Democratic Representative Tammy Duckworth, who is running to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. Maybe he’ll bring ole Biff Henderson as his plus-one to that and we can keep this Late Show reunion tour going.