Stephen Colbert ended his nine-year run as the host of The Colbert Report last night, retiring the character by literally killing the Grim Reaper (the show’s final guest). But, before the show came to a close, Colbert led a star-studded performance of Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again,” with just about every celebrity you can imagine.
The sing-a-long started with co-Comedy Central personality Jon Stewart, who escorted Colbert to a piano played by Randy Newman. Once Newman got going, the celebrities started pouring in. Among them: Bryan Cranston, Willie Nelson, Tom Brokaw, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Mandy Patinkin, Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, Keith Olbermann (wearing a hot pink suit), Big Bird from Sesame Street, Ric Ocasek dancing with Katie Couric, Michael Stipe singing with James Franco and Cookie Monster, Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Barry Manilow, Patrick Stewart, George Lucas, Bob Costas, New Jersey Senator Corey Booker and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.
There were additional videos looped into the footage, including the Pussy Riot, Bill Clinton, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, and J.J. Abrams. A final clip shows Colbert on the roof of the studios, greeted by Santa Claus, a vape-smoking Abraham Lincoln, and none other than Alex Trebek. Colbert hops hopefully into Santa’s sled, and the rest is history.
Watch the clip below: