David Letterman: Oprah, Jimmy Kimmel and Other Hosts Pay Tribute to the Late Night Host

— -- After decades on air, David Letterman will end his run as the host of "The Late Show" tonight.

Fans may be devastated, but perhaps nobody is more affected than Letterman's peers: Other talk show hosts.

"I watched the show every night, I never missed it. And little did I know that many years and many pounds later, that watching the show was a great education for me," Jimmy Kimmel said during last night's episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "Watching 'Late Night,' not only did I learn how to do everything from Dave, the reason I have this show is because the executives at ABC saw me when I was a guest on Dave's show and hired me to host this show."

Kimmel, 47, previously said that as a tribute to Letterman, a rerun of his show will air tonight. On last night's episode, he encouraged his viewers to tune in to this evening's "Late Show" instead.

"If you're a young person who doesn't understand what all the fuss is about, Dave is the best and you should see him," he added, his voice cracking.

Kimmel wasn't the only host to speak out about Letterman's legacy. Ellen DeGeneres, who hosts her own eponymous show, marveled at the career that the "Late Show" host has enjoyed.

"It was an inspiration and it was a goal to be on 'The David Letterman Show,'" she said. "I was lucky enough to be on there many times. And I love you David. We’ll miss you a lot."

Letterman may be retiring, but the show will stay on the air: Stephen Colbert will take over hosting duties later this year.

For more Kimmel and DeGeneres, as well as commentary from Oprah Winfrey, Conan O'Brien and Larry Wilmore, see below.

Jimmy Kimmel

Ellen DeGeneres

Conan O'Brien

“He had such a huge impact for all the comedians of my generation. The show was so different from everything I had seen on television before," the "Conan" host told Vulture. "It was very intimidating to meet him for the first time. I believe it was 1993. I’ve met a lot of celebrities, but every now and then you meet someone who’s had a real impact on the culture, and that’s a different experience. There’s a couple of people who fall into that category where you meet them and it’s like meeting a Beatle. They really altered the molecular structure of the society in some way. I’ve always had a great respect for his work."

Larry Wilmore

“His first season, I couldn’t believe that Letterman had a show," marveled the "Nightly Show" host to Vulture. "I knew what he was beforehand, and everything from that first season was just magical for me.”

Oprah Winfrey