Colbert The Late Show Sign Sold For $102,100 And Now Sits On The Roof Of A West Hollywood Restaurant

When CBS cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and the final episode aired on May 21, ending an 11-year run for Colbert and 33 years of the franchise David Letterman started in 1993, one question was left unanswered: what happens to the sign?

The illuminated interior sign from the Ed Sullivan Theater, 12 feet long and nearly nine feet deep, had hung over Colbert's show for his entire tenure. It was not going into a warehouse.

In April, during a comedy bit called "Late Show Home Shopping" featuring Jon Stewart, Colbert auctioned the sign on air. "Buy this," he told viewers, "and, like me, you can have The Late Show hanging over your head for the rest of your life."

Jeff Douek, the owner of WeHo Bistro in West Hollywood, California, was the winning bidder at $102,100. He beat out 169 other bids.

His decision to enter the auction came specifically when he learned the proceeds would benefit World Central Kitchen, the humanitarian food charity.

He announced on Instagram June 29 that the sign had been installed on the restaurant's rooftop, alongside a banner that reads "Thank you Stephen Colbert for all the magic."

After two weeks on the roof it will be permanently mounted on the restaurant's interior wall, where fans can stop by and take photos.

Letterman, when told about the sign's new home, said it was the first piece of news about the end of The Late Show that had not made him want to drive his car into a lake.

Colbert's next project is a Lord of the Rings spinoff. The sign is in West Hollywood. The franchise is over.