FINNISH DE SIÈCLE
End of a late-night era: 28 years of memorable Conan O'brien moments
In September 1993, as Conan O'brien sat down at the desk of NBC'S Late Night as David Letterman's replacement, North America had one question: Um, who is this guy?
That spectacularly coiffed host would go on to become a TV star — and this week, he concluded his nearly three-decade run in late-night TV with the final episode of TBS'S Conan. It has been 28 years of delightful weirdness, bizarre characters, trips to meet his Finnish doppelgänger, a “Walker, Texas Ranger” lever, a nationwide tour after his brief and dramatic stint on The Tonight Show and so much more.
O'brien, 58, will continue his popular podcast, and he already has a weekly show lined up for HBO Max. But as this marks the end of an iconic TV chapter, we asked some of O'brien's writers, staffers and funniest celebrity guests for their favourite memory from being on (or watching) his late-night shows over the years.
MATT O'BRIEN
Late Night, Tonight Show and current Conan head writer
I am not related to Conan, just happen to have the same last name. But, Conan likes to tell naive interns that I'm his cousin and he had to hire me because he owed our Uncle Frank a favour. He tells them I've never worked in comedy before and I used to sell lawn mowers door to door. They believe him.
MARTHA STEWART Entrepreneur
I always loved being on Conan's show and will miss doing it.
The show was excellent fun and always amusing. My favourite skit was when Conan and I rode my Friesian horses, with Conan wearing a wig. Maybe now he has time to grow his hair as long as the wig he wore!
PAUL RUDD Actor
The first time I did Conan's show, I want to say it was for Clueless. It was the first thing
I'd ever really done on television and he had only been on for a little while. I remember feeling self-conscious on the show, thinking, “Nobody knows who I am. Why would anybody care what I have to say about anything?” It's a bit of a hazy memory, but I remember telling some story and halfway through just bailing on it, just stopping. And I remember Conan laughing at the fact that I just gave up. I felt as if nothing was said between us, but there was an appreciation for just the absurd dance that we were both doing, as these guys talking about something that wasn't particularly interesting. There was something about his laughing at me bailing on it that made me feel comfortable.
TARJA HALONEN
Former president of Finland and Conan's `international twin' from one of his earliest remote segments
We laugh very much about those shows. They were really a surprise for me. I didn't know that they would do that. So it was a big laugh. I think that Conan's sense of humour — it's a little like (self-deprecating) British understatement, so we like it.
(My hair) is not that red — I mean, always in the TV and films, somehow they (try) to make me like Woody Woodpecker. The people who see me outside, they say, “Oh, you are not at all so red-haired.” But no, it's because of the light, the spotlight ... so when I met Conan, I was laughing, and said that, “Somebody would say that you are my son or my grandson.” Then I asked (do I look like) your mother's side or your father's side?” So he said, “Oh, my mother's side.” So that was very sweet.
BOB ODENKIRK
Actor and Late Night writer
At SNL, when I met him,
Conan was a whirling, hand-wringing, spitfire of comic riffs and nonsense. I figured normal people would be overwhelmed by this O'brien fella if they ever saw him in his normal, everyday, unhinged persona.
Cut to a few years later ... we were shooting hoops at Fairfax High School on a gnawingly hot L.A. day, Conan was a few days away from seeing a lineup of possible hosts for Late Night. Conan swears he wasn't thinking he could host. But he asked me, “Would you want to host?” Now, this was not a realistic thing, so I think he was asking, “What do you think of the challenge of that job?” And for me, the answer was “No” because I don't like talking to celebrities much. A week and a half later, after what sounds like an “OK” but uninspired evening of auditions, Conan did his impromptu test run of hosting. Gotta give it to Lorne (Michaels, SNL creator) for taking this crazy wild swing and supporting someone genuinely fresh. Conan impressed me with his indefatigable energy and commitment, despite all the negativity of the reviews and the general uncertainty of the audience that greeted the show those first few months. All these years later, he still has that energy, he loves the audience, and he's loony as a loony-bird, and it all worked out great. Lucky us!
KEVIN NEALON Comedian and actor
We have such a history together — during our interviews, we very seldom get to the actual questions that are prepared because we're kind of digging at each other and teasing each other about certain things. He would always stop in the dressing room beforehand and say hi, and say hi to my son and my wife. Then after the show, he would always invite me into the staff meeting to talk about how the show went. I would constantly keep steering the conversation toward my segment and how great that was. When he first got Late Night, I was at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and I would come down from the 17th floor where we did SNL.
And I would sit on the floor right in front of his desk, of course off-camera, and watch him do his show, which was a thrill. It was just fun to watch him evolve and find his footing and his style and take off.
AL ROKER
Today weather anchor and co-host
The interesting thing about my relationship with Conan is that — I believe this is true — I actually hold the record for most appearances on Conan O'brien. And it wasn't because I was a vivacious and humorous guest, or that I was just witty beyond belief — it was because I was there. At the time, I was not only doing the Today show, but I was also doing local news at WNBC, which was literally right across the hall.
So, whenever they had a guest drop out because of scheduling or weather delays or anything like that, I would get called. They would be like, “Oh, please, can you come?”
KRISTIN CHENOWETH Singer and actress
Besides the moments of my own where I've been lucky enough to be on his show and stand exactly the height of his waist, there was a very funny moment I witnessed that he had with Norm Macdonald. Norm proceeded to tell a joke, and let's just say the joke went on and on. He finally landed the plane, and this is from one of the funniest men ever, Norm Macdonald. And at the end, Conan goes, “Is that it?” And it got a huge laugh, and he said, “Was it worth it?” I don't know any comedian alive who hasn't had the Norm moment, the Conan moment and the audience moment. And that's the magic of Conan.