AceShowbiz -

Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy have bid adieu to "The View" audience. On Thursday, August 7, the departing co-hosts taped their final live episode of the show but moderator Whoopi Goldberg was noticeably absent.

McCarthy thanked "View" creator Barbara Walters, "dear friend" Shepherd and departing executive producer Bill Geddie. "I only took a little time but I definitely enjoyed every second of 'The View'," she said, before introducing a clip of her favorite moments on the show. She got emotional as audience began chanting her name after the video ended.

Shepherd said of McCarthy, "This is a job where you've got a lot of craziness going on and Jenny McCarthy always comes in with a smile and is one of the nicest people to work with in this business. ... So it's been so wonderful having you here for the first year."

Shepherd and McCarthy will still appear in Friday and Monday's episodes which were pre-taped. The Monday episode will be a special tribute to Shepherd, who has been on the show for 7 years, with Arsenio Hall as a guest co-host.

Goldberg didn't show up during the Thursday live taping as she and returning co-host Rosie O'Donnell reportedly did chemistry tests with several potential new co-hosts. The candidates include Lauren Sanchez (co-host on KTTV Fox-11's "Good Day LA"), October Gonzalez (wife of former NFL player Tony Gonzalez), Republican adviser Ana Navarro, CNN contributing legal analyst Sunny Hostin, conservative political commentator S.E. Cupp, Bloomberg Television's managing editor and news anchor Stephanie Ruhle, ESPN and ABC's host Sage Steele, ESPN's "Numbers Never Lie" co-host Jemele Hill, and MSNBC's Nicole Wallace.