Two years and counting! David Letterman continues to show off his 'retirement beard' while out with a female pal as his second anniversary of leaving The Late Show approaches
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He retired from his notorious Late Show in May 2015 and opted to try out a new look.
And David Letterman, 70, was still showing off his bushy white beard on Tuesday afternoon, proving that his facial hair is here to stay.
Looking jovial, the veteran chat show host wore a black windbreaker, skinny jeans, shades and a flat cap for his outing out, which saw him grabbing a cup of coffee with his longtime assistant Mary Barclay.
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Two years and counting! David Letterman continued to show off his 'retirement beard' while out with a female pal as his second anniversary of leaving The Late Show approaches
As he was: He has previo usly told The Hollywood Reporter that he'd become 'sick and tired' of shaving every day for television so had decided long ago that as soon as he retired, he would grow a beard
The unidentified brunette woman left a Starbucks with the TV star and strolled down the New York street, each sipping on a take out cup.
After his 33-year stint as host of The Late Show, Letterman shocked fans who have watched his nightly show for years when he appeared with a big, bushy beard during a 30 second video tribute on Charles Osgood's final Sunday Morning show, in 2015.
The facial hair - a big break from the former host's clean shaven appearance on The Late Show - sparked a flurry of tweets comparing it to everything from Santa Claus to Moses.
He has previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he'd become 'sick and tired' of shaving every day for television so had decided long ago that as soon as he retired, he would grow a beard.
Santa? David Letterman was still showing off his bushy white beard on Tuesday afternoon, proving that his facial hair is here to stay
'I just thought, "The first thing I will do when I am not on TV is stop shaving". My wife hates it. My son hates it. Everybody hates it. But it's interesting.'
He went on to elaborate: 'I've kind of developed a real creepy look with it that I'm sort of enjoying. And the more people implore me to shave, the stronger my resolve is to not shave.'
'I know, it's not a good-looking beard. But I don't even care. I just don't care. And it's kind of fun — well, I won't say that it's fun to walk around irritating people, I think I've proved that on TV — but it's sort of amusing to se e the reactions.'
And he has kept his word, given that it's almost two years to the day that he signed off for the final time on The Late Show.
Caffeine fix: Looking jovial, the veteran chat show host wore a black windbreaker, skinny jeans, shades and a flat cap for his outing out, which saw him grabbing a cup of coffee with a pal
When he first unveiled his new look some viewers took to Twitter to joke about Letterman's changing appearance since he retired.
NBC News foreign correspondent Katy Tur joked that he has 'entered the civil war re-enactment stage of retirement' in a tweet.
While others joked on Twitter 'Oh my god it's Santa' and 'David Letterman looking like Moses with that beard'.
The veteran host - who is worth an estimated $400 million - said he has not looked back since passing the Late Show baton on to its current incumbent, Stephen Colbert.
Although ratings struggled at first when Colbert took over, they have since picked up.
President Barack Obama makes an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City in September 2012
This month, the chat show vet has been the topic of much backchat, following the publication of new book Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night by Jason Zinoman.
According to the book, despite the comedian's warm on-screen personality and sparkling wit, those who worked with him say they knew a different man: A glowering, insecure figure whose fiery temper scared away many of those close to him.
His time on Late Night and the Lat e Show were punctuated with angry outbursts, crude behavior towards female guests and hours-long self-loathing sessions, the book suggests.
Zinoman writes that the comedy megastar was miserable almost from the very beginning of his time on the talk show circuit.