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Less Than a Year After Retirement, David Letterman Sports Bearded, Bald Look

When David Letterman left the “Late Show” in May 2015 after some three decades at the desk, he let his hair down. Literally.

The 68-year-old first began sporting a white beard but his smile, eyes and hair were all the same as audiences knew for years. But now, he’s barely recognizable as the gap-toothed jester who spent 33 years smirking at guests on national TV.

New photos of Letterman jogging on the Caribbean island of St. Barts show a bald, heavily bearded guy. More than one commenter has noted his sudden resemblance to a certain red-suited Christmas icon.

Letterman, 68, has kept mostly a low profile since retiring. He made a cameo at the Indy 500, attended Michael J. Fox’s benefit to fight Parkinson’s disease in New York in November and then showed up a few weeks later for an onstage chat at his alma mater, Ball State.

Once active on Twitter, he hasn’t tweeted since last July, when he made a surprise appearance at a San Antonio, Texas, show by fellow comedians Martin Short and Steve Martin.

He has appeared in public before with his silver, increasingly bushy beard. But the chrome dome is a more recent look.

Judging by the new photos, retirement may be agreeing with the notoriously cranky host, though. As many noted on Twitter, he looks happy.

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