Jimmy Kimmel tears up while bidding farewell to David Letterman

LOS ANGELES, May 20 (UPI) -- An emotional Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to the host that influenced his career, David Letterman, on Tuesday nights episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

After penning a touching tribute for the Late Show host on Time.com, where he compared how he watched the talk show with passion as a young boy to the "teens who run away from home to fight for ISIS," Kimmel still had to share his last thoughts, the night before Letterman's farewell show on Wednesday.

Kimmel's emotions got the best of him right from the beginning, "Oh, no," he said as he turned to look at his band leader Cleto Escobedo III. "When I was 15 years old ... All right. Let me start over."

He gathered himself and began once again.

Kimmel explained that he was a devoted viewer of the show and a fan of the host's originality amongst so many other talk shows. He would invite his friend over for viewing parties late at night, drew pictures of the host on his textbooks and even owned a Letterman varsity jacket.

"The reason I have this show is because the executives at ABC saw me when I was a guest on Dave's show" Kimmel said with his voice breaking, "and hired me to host this show. So I want to thank Dave and his writers and producers.

He ended the tribute with a vintage clip of Letterman that he said, "sums up how I feel this week almost supernaturally well."

Kimmel urged viewers not to watch his show and to watch Letterman's last episode, because a Jimmy Kimmel Live! re-run will air instead.

The final Late Show With David Letterman airs Wednesday at 11:35 p.m.