David Letterman brings his late-night chaos to Montreal's Just For Laughs

David Letterman brought his trademark loose, rambling energy to Montreal's Just For Laughs on Tuesday, July 21, marking his first public appearance in the city since he presented the winner's trophy at the Grand Prix in 1993.

The 79-year-old hosted the evening at the Wilfrid-Pelletier Hall much like an episode of his defunct Late Show, but looser and more improvised. He opened with a monologue that had him laughing at his own jokes—a familiar Letterman touch—before pivoting to a French-language test with Heather Newell, a linguistics professor at UQAM's department. He scored a self-assessed 65 percent, though he was the first to admit he'd actually tanked it.

The most distinctly Canadian moment came when Paul Shaffer, his longtime World's Most Dangerous Band director, took the stage with baryton-basse Alexandre Sylvestre to perform Canada's national anthem as a gift for the host, whom Shaffer described as his "best Canadian friend." Letterman took a moment to riff on U.S. President obsessing over Ontario wildfire smoke—one of the night's few explicit political jabs in an otherwise apolitical celebration of Canada.

The event had been announced just three weeks prior, making it an unexpected addition to this year's festival lineup. For longtime Letterman fans and Montreal comedy audiences alike, it delivered exactly what the host promised in his opening bit: a smooth landing in Moose Jaw.