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.