David Letterman made a rare public appearance in Indianapolis on Tuesday to accept the city's highest tourism honor.

The Broad Ripple High School graduate and former host of "The Late Show" received the Bill McGowan Leadership Award, which celebrates an individual or organization that promotes Indianapolis in support of driving tourism and enhancing the city’s overall image.

And Letterman celebrated by tossing Long’s Bakery doughnuts into the crowd.

"We got another big one," he said, lobbing his fifth doughnut to stage-left. The crowd groaned loudly as it landed. “Sorry, sir."

Indianapolis' bicentennial

Before bringing Letterman to the stage, leaders with VisitIndy and the Madam Walker Legacy Center joined Mayor Joe Hogsett to ring in the city's 200th year.

Bicentennial celebrations are expected to kick off in June and will continue through May. Hogsett outlined a few of the planned projects: The Polis Center will update and digitize its Indianapolis encyclopedia and the Indiana Historical Society will put together a "Celebrate Indianapolis" exhibit, which "will tell the story of those who have helped shape our city." The Indianapolis Arts Council will also add murals to the city's public art landscape with its Indiana Legends series.

“Everything Indianapolis is, everything Indianapolis has become," Hogsett said, "is because of its people.”

Then, parodying Letterman's famous "Late Show" bit, VisitIndy CEO Leonard Hoops outlined the Top 10 Reasons to Celebrate Indy Tourism.

Those reasons included national media acclaim, expanded flight routes through Indianapolis International Airport and big conventions coming to and staying in the city – the American Dental Association and American Society of Association Executives have committed for 2026.

But the No. 1 reason?

“David freakin’ Letterman is in the house," Hoops said.

‘Being from Indianapolis has always been great’

Sitting opposite each other in a setting that mirrored Letterman's Netflix talk show, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction," VisitIndy's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Chris Gahl picked Letterman's brain on everything from the decor in Kanye West's home to his first Indianapolis 500 memories.

“I’ve led a very lucky life,” Letterman said. “Being from Indianapolis has always been great, always something to be proud of. And the fact that I’m in here now is nothing I ever thought would be possible.”

He reminisced on his roots, growing up in an "idyllic" Broad Ripple, riding his bike from dusk 'til dawn.

“When I left Indianapolis in ‘75, I knew the city east-west, north-south. It was part of me; it’s part of your DNA, part of your internal guidance system,” Letterman said. But now, when he returns home: “Invariably, I get lost.”

Indianapolis changes nearly every time he visits, he said, and has thrived in an era when other comparable Midwestern cities have struggled.

“This city has done nothing but — to my eye, in a very positive way — blossomed," he said.

Gahl paused the conversation to show a video message from Peyton Manning, last year’s McGowan Award winner, who teased Letterman for the bushy, white beard that’s become his post-retirement signature.

When Letterman left late night in 2015, Manning was one of the handful of celebrities to appear on his final episode. Two years later, when it came time to unveil a statue of Manning outside Lucas Oil Stadium, Letterman spoke at the dedication.

“That’s the kind of guy you wish you were,” Letterman said of Manning. “You talk about leadership, there’s a man who every day of his adult life, was a leader. … He’s such a sweet fellow.”

Letterman's definition of 'Hoosier Hospitality'

Speaking of sweet, when Gahl asked him to define "Hoosier Hospitality," Letterman said it's "the way people are supposed to be."

"It’s a manifestation of the golden rule: Treat people the way you would like to be treated," he said. "I got used to a level of behavior here in Indiana that I try to carry with me throughout my life."

Peyton Manning:Sends Letterman message as he receives top tourism award

But Hoosiers also keep him humble.

Once, on a road trip through Southern Indiana with several friends, Letterman stopped at a restaurant in a small town called Magnet, which overlooks the Ohio River. Letterman opened the door for a man who was leaving the establishment as he walked in.

"'Oh my God,'" he remembered the man saying. "'I've been changing the channel on you for 20 years.'"

Dave shares a few thoughts

On the definition of leadership: “I’m not sure that in my life, I routinely manifest leadership. And I think, perhaps, on those occasions that I have, it was by accident. But, I know it when I see it, and it’s behavior, and it’s strength of courage."

On calling South Broad Ripple "SoBro": “Don’t give your area of town a cute nickname. You live where you live and be proud of it. Forget the nickname.”

On late-night cravings — Shapiro's Delicatessen versus St. Elmo Steakhouse: "I love them both ... but when I was a kid, we would go out and end our evenings with White Castle."

On his first Indy 500 memory: His uncle would take him to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the Sunday of the first weekend of qualifications. “Just the raucous sound of those four-cylinder engines booming off the aluminum structure of the grandstands,” he said, “it gets into you. You don't forget it, and that's why you keep coming back.”

And one more thing on his mind: With a 16-year-old son, Letterman said he’s concerned about what the world will be, moving forward: “If you’re drawing breath on this planet, now or at any time in the future — we’re the same. And you can’t forget that. To overlook that is perhaps the greatest mistake of humanity."

Call IndyStar reporter Holly V. Hays at 317-444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.