Talk show fans remember Thomas from his holiday visits on "Late Show with David Letterman" where he and the host would try and knock a meatball off the top of a Christmas tree by throwing footballs.During that annual visit, Thomas would always tell what became known as "The Lone Ranger" story in which he had a bizarre encounter with actor Clayton Moore, who played the masked cowboy in the classic western series. Thomas' "Late Night" Christmas tradition started in 1998 and ended in 2014, shortly before Letterman retired.