Conan O'Brien says goodbye ... for now

Conan O'Brien says goodbye ... for now : "Conan O'Brien celebrated his final 'Late Night' episode with best-of clips and a touching sendoff that praised future rival David Letterman and thanked his ongoing lead-in Jay Leno.

'He's probably one of the most brilliant broadcasters certainly of the last century, and this century, and for all time,' O'Brien said of Letterman, whom he'll face in the fall when O'Brien takes over as 'Tonight Show' host. 'I have a terrific amount of respect for him and what he did -- he set the bar absurdly high for everybody in my generation who does this.'

O'Brien appeared to get choked up as he thanked his crew and writers, as well as NBC executives (clips below).

'Lorne Michaels single-handedly made my career in television,' O'Brien said. 'I don't know what I did. I must have saved his life at some point. He certainly saved mine.'"