Impact from Prince’s death on Thursday could be felt from coast to coast, and CBS’ late-night talk shows from each side of the country took time to honor the great artist yesterday.
At 11:35 p.m. ET, Stephen Colbert‘s “Late Show” dedicated quite a bit of time to remember the guitarist, singer and occasional actor. The CBS-owned talker even changed the color of its set to purple in Prince’s honor — “A small gesture of respect,” Colbert said.
Above, readers can watch the comedian and his bandleader, Jon Batiste, pay initial tribute to the rocker. Later, Colbert’s guests would get a turn to do the same; those videos are below.
Here is Tom Hanks talking about what Prince’s music meant to him:
Later, there was another homage from “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr. Watch that video here:
Many of the late-night shows on other networks were in reruns on Thursday, so those programs didn’t have original airtime in which they could react. Others may have filmed too early for the news of the 57-year-old’s death to be official.
James Corden belonged to the latter category, but he actually returned to his desk after shooting “The Late Late Show” just to honor Prince. His remembrance and seemingly off-the-cuff words were incredibly touching.
Watch that emotional farewell below.
Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel made some brief comments and wore a purple tie in tribute. Plus, the Cletones played several Prince hits, and producers played a bumper shot with photos of Prince throughout the years.