| Revision as of 04:50, 9 February 2008 view source122.107.159.16 (talk) →Partial list of film and TV appearances← Previous edit | Revision as of 06:04, 9 February 2008 view source 72.72.63.55 (talk) →CareerNext edit → | ||
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| While attending Harvard, O'Brien was ] with ], who later became drummer for the ] ]. O'Brien had previously bought himself a ], but had only recently given up playing it and instead concentrated on playing the guitar. He lent his drumkit to Krukowski, who he knew would get more use out of it. O'Brien's drum kit can be heard on many of ]'s early recordings. | While attending Harvard, O'Brien was ] with ], who later became drummer for the ] ]. O'Brien had previously bought himself a ], but had only recently given up playing it and instead concentrated on playing the guitar. He lent his drumkit to Krukowski, who he knew would get more use out of it. O'Brien's drum kit can be heard on many of ]'s early recordings. | ||
| == | |||
| == Career == | |||
| === Television writer === | |||
| O'Brien moved to ] after graduation to join the writing staff of ] '']''.<ref> from ]</ref> He spent two years with that show, and performed regularly with improvisational groups like ]. He also acted in corporate ]s to earn money during this period. | |||
| In January 1988, '']'''s executive producer ] hired O'Brien as a writer. During his 3 years on ''SNL'' he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers," the latter of which was first performed by ] and ].<ref name="speakerbio"> </ref> O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch "Nude Beach" with ], a sketch in which the word "]" was said or sung at least 42 times. | |||
| While on a writers' strike from ''Saturday Night Live'' following the 1987-1988 season, O'Brien put on an ] revue in ] with fellow ''SNL'' writers ] and Robert Smigel called '']''. While living in Chicago O'Brien briefly was roommates with ] and lived a few blocks away from ].<ref>Jeff Garlin interview on Late Night 7 September 2007</ref> | |||
| In ], O'Brien and his fellow ''SNL'' writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series. | |||
| O'Brien, like many ''SNL'' writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches, including a role as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the ''SNL'' "Five Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. | |||
| From ] - ], O'Brien was a writer and producer for '']'',<ref name="speakerbio" /> credited as writer or cowriter of four episodes<ref name="imdb" /> Of all the episodes he wrote, he considers "]" to be his favorite.<ref name="speakerbio" /> Years later, in his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000,<ref>, June 2000 article from '']''</ref> O'Brien credited ''The Simpsons'' with "saving" him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his hiring for that show.<ref name="commencement"> from ]</ref> As of ], O'Brien's office at ''The Simpsons'' was being used as storage.<ref>''The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season''. DVD commentarty for episode 9F10, "Marge vs. the Monorail"</ref> | |||
| === ''Late Night'' === | |||
| ]'' at NBC Burbank Studio 1]] | |||
| On ], ], ] suggested O'Brien try out to be ]'s successor as host of ''Late Night with David Letterman,'' with ] signed on to be his sidekick. O'Brien auditioned on the set of ''The Tonight Show'', where he interviewed ] and ].<ref name="Homer College">''The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season''. DVD commentarty for episode 1F02, "Homer Goes to College"</ref> O'Brien resigned his position on ''The Simpsons'', despite the fact that his contract had not expired.<ref name="Homer College">''The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season''. DVD commentarty for episode 1F02, "Homer Goes to College"</ref> | |||
| Premiering on ], '']'' received generally unfavorable critical reviews for the first 2 to 3 years after its debut. O'Brien himself, an almost total unknown among the general public before being named host, was seen by many as not being worthy of the program. NBC even poked fun at this perception in a radio ad which aired shortly before the show's debut and had O'Brien relaying an anecdote where someone recognized him on the street and said, "Look, honey, there's the guy who doesn't deserve his own show!" Another source of criticism was the fact that O'Brien himself appeared to be very nervous and awkward during the show's early days. As a self-deprecating nod to this, the original opening sequence for ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien'' was animated and featured a caricature of O'Brien who sweated and pulled at his collar nervously. | |||
| Conan's rise to Late Night is well documented in the 1994 book, "]", by ] television critic Bill Carter. | |||
| The show remained on multi-week renewal cycles while NBC decided its fate. By 1996-97, O'Brien's writing and comedic style was thought to have improved, and he began to develop a growing fan base, especially with high school and college students, as well as the respect of critics and his peers. O'Brien would later poke fun at the first three years of the show when on his 10th Anniversary Special, ] appeared to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he's actually been on the air for ten years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool...but you've only been funny for seven!" | |||
| Since then, O'Brien and the ''Late Night'' writing team have consistently been nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series, and finally won in 2007. In ], ], ], ], and ] he and the ''Late Night'' writing staff won the ] for Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series. | |||
| In ], he formed his own television production company, ], which has since shared in the production credits for ''Late Night''. | |||
| On the first episode after ], O'Brien went out of character and told a story of how he went to pray for the first time in eight years, the previous time was after he was announced as the host of Late Night. O'Brien was reported to have been shaken up and talked about a need to have faith. | |||
| After meeting Finnish actor/director ] on ], ], O'Brien discovered that he was popular in Finland, and began a long running joke that he resembles the first female President of ], ]. After joking about this for several months (which led to the reoccurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland" and his highly advantageous endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland and appeared on several television shows, and met President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special. | |||
| O'Brien ad libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on ], ], after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate web-cam site. NBC opted to purchase the website ] for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that someone might register the domain name and post content with which NBC would not wish to be associated, or that people would get upset and sue NBC when they found out the website is fictional.<ref name="nytmanatee">, a December 2006 ] article</ref> NBC now owns the rights to for 10 years, as per Conan O'Brien. According to O'Brien, it was decided that, since NBC owned the name, they might as well create the website. ''Late Night'' has since developed an actual website, which now has received millions of hits, reaching 4 million page views in four days. People send in "horny manatee" artwork, poems, and other content. According to the Alexa website ranking system, Hornymanatee.com has had over 10 million web hits. | |||
| ], ] in February 2006.]] | |||
| A popular recurring bit on the show is ], a series of animated episodes in which comedian ] and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness." As Gaffigan introduces each new episode, O'Brien protests the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak and incontinent. | |||
| ], '']'' had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers.<ref name="nymag">, a ] October 2005 article</ref> | |||
| In ], O'Brien was named as Jay Leno's replacement when he leaves the "Tonight Show" in ]. Leno stated on the show that he wanted to avoid a repeat of the controversy and hard feelings that resulted when he was chosen by NBC to host the Tonight Show over ]. | |||
| In ], Conan O'Brien staged a mock fight against ]'s ] and ] over taking credit on giving ]'s campaign a "bump." This fight crossed over all three television shows. | |||
| === Other work === | |||
| O'Brien and ] wrote the television pilot, '']'', starring ]. The pilot aired on NBC in 1991, but was not picked up as a series. | |||
| O'Brien appears as a character in the 1999 film, '']'', voiced by ]. O'Brien later appeared in ] in the episode "]". In ], he voiced himself in a short South Park scene as part of the opening of the 2006 ]. | |||
| O'Brien is an avid ] and music listener. When ] and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as a musical guest, O'Brien joined the 17 piece band along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests ] & ] and played ] and contributed backup vocals for the song, "]". | |||
| In ], O'Brien appeared in ] music video, "]". The band had previously been a week-long musical guest on ''Late Night'' when they were promoting their 2003 album, '']''. | |||
| He has appeared on another late-night talk show, '']'' (''SGC2C''), in Episode 77: ''Fire Ant'', in which he and Space Ghost argue about a number of topics, including whether or not anyone actually watches ''SGC2C''. ] later quips, "Well, that's very stupid, and you won't make it in television," an obvious parody of early reviews of O'Brien's show. A short time later, Space Ghost leaves the interview in order to follow a fire ant that bit him. As Space Ghost is crawling out of the studio, O'Brien gripes that "For all these people know, my show is a cop show on Fox or something!" Space Ghost replies, "Isn't it?" | |||
| O'Brien made an appearance on the ] Star Wars Special on ], ] as the voice of the bounty hunter ]. In a parody of Late Night, Zuckuss hosts a talk show called "Late Night with Zuckuss. O'Brien's "]" segment was even spoofed when Zuckuss did a "fake interview" with ]. He also appeared in Season one on the show in two roles. First as a pizza delievery man who is not aware of his customer's sexy advances; and as a wrestling announcer with historical figures as pro wrestlers. | |||
| Conan was a guest star on the hit TV show, "]", in which he played himself. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan", Conan has the character ] on his show, despite having been assaulted in a previous attempt to have him on his show. | |||
| On ], ], NBC announced a new adventure/comedy series entitled '']''. O'Brien was executive producer and also co-wrote the pilot. The show starred O'Brien's former sidekick ]. After several episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled. | |||
| O'Brien also hosted the ] on ], ], to critical acclaim.<ref name="starledger">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.nj.com/tv/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1156744051272770.xml&coll=1&thispage=2 | |||
| |title=A sorry sight | |||
| |work=New Jersey Star-Ledger | |||
| |first=Alan | |||
| |last=Sepinwall | |||
| |date=] | |||
| |accessdate=2006-09-03}}</ref><ref name="variety>"A valiant, near-heroic effort by Conan O'Brien..." | |||
| {{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117931393?categoryid=1264&cs=1 | |||
| |title=The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards | |||
| |work=Daily Variety | |||
| |first=Josef | |||
| |last=Adalian | |||
| |date=] | |||
| |accessdate=2006-09-03}}</ref> He had previously hosted the Primetime Emmys in 2002, and Co-Hosted in 2003. | |||
| == Personal life == | == Personal life == | ||
Revision as of 06:04, 9 February 2008
| Conan O'Brien | |
|---|---|
 O'Brien in New York, November 2007. | |
| Birth name | Conan Christopher O'Brien |
| Born | (1963-04-18) April 18, 1963 (age 61) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Medium | theatre, television, stand-up |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1985 - present |
| Genres | Improvisational comedy, Sketch comedy, Physical comedy, Surreal humor |
| Subjects | self-deprecation, pop culture |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Ann Powel (2002-present) (2 children) |
| Notable works and roles | Writer for The Simpsons (1992-1993) Host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien |
| Website | NBC.com/Late Night with Conan O'Brien |
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an Emmy Award-winning American television host and TV writer, best known as host of NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Background
Conan Christopher O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth (née Reardon), an attorney, and Thomas Francis O'Brien, a professor of medicine and physician.
As a child, O'Brien struggled with a stammer, which he overcame after much hard work and help from the Sylvan Learning Center branch in Brookline. In middle school, Conan was made fun of due to his highly animated hair. His nickname was Conick (Conan and Cowlick put together). He later served as managing editor of his school newspaper and interned for Rep. Barney Frank.
After graduating from the Brookline High School as valedictorian, O'Brien entered Harvard University and lived in Holworthy Hall during his freshman year . In his three upper-class years, O'Brien lived in Mather House. Throughout his college career, he was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. During his sophomore and junior years, O'Brien served as the Lampoon's president, making him the second person ever to serve as president twice, and the first person to have done it in 85 years. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1985 with a B.A. in History and Literature.
While attending Harvard, O'Brien was roommates with Damon Krukowski, who later became drummer for the indie band Galaxie 500. O'Brien had previously bought himself a drumkit, but had only recently given up playing it and instead concentrated on playing the guitar. He lent his drumkit to Krukowski, who he knew would get more use out of it. O'Brien's drum kit can be heard on many of Galaxie 500's early recordings.
==
Personal life
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On January 12, 2002, O'Brien married former advertising copywriter Elizabeth Ann 'Liza' Powel (b. November 12 1970) of Seattle, Washington. O'Brien met Powel, an ad executive, in 2000, when she helped create a comedic TV ad for the show in Houston, TX. The couple dated for nearly a year and a half. Officiating at the wedding was O'Brien's long-time friend, Father Paul B. O' Brien, with whom he founded Labels Are For Jars an anti-hunger organization based in Lawrence, MA. O'Brien has stated on air that he is Irish Catholic.
O'Brien and Powel have a daughter, Neve, born October 14, 2003 and a son, Beckett, born November 9, 2005, both born in New York City.
Politically, O'Brien supports the Democratic party, having donated $1000 to the Senate campaigns of Christopher Dodd in 1997 and 2004.
In December of 2007 a man was arrested for impersonating O'Brien outside a Philadelphia night club owned by Charles Barkley. The man was said to have been charging for autographs and pictures. He was later released on bail.
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw later described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War."
Recently, O'Brien purchased a $10.5 million dollar mansion in Los Angeles, California. The reason for this is that he will be moving there in 2009 from New York City, New York to work at his new job, at The Tonight Show.
Subject of stalking
It was reported that since September 2006 that O'Brien had allegedly been stalked by the Rev. David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, had been sending O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker" and coming in contact with O'Brien's parents. Ajemian sent a letter to O'Brien, frustrated that he had been denied a spot in the Late Night audience. He stated in his letter to O'Brien that he flew to New York, "in the dimming hope that you might finally acknowledge me." He also stated in another letter that, "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans??? You owe me big time pal." Ajemian also seemed to have made a death threat to O'Brien in another letter; saying, "Remember Frank Costello once dodged a bullet in your building and so can you." Ajemian then tried to forcefully enter a taping of Late Night, but was caught and arrested. He was previously warned by the NBC security team to stay away from the studio. After a psychological evaluation, he was deemed fit to stand trial. He has since been bailed out of jail. He was then reported missing by his father around 3:15 PM EST on November 10, 2007. He was found and is currently undergoing evaluation at a hospital.
Comedy and mannerisms
On Late Night, O'Brien has become known for his more active and spontaneous hosting style. His stage habits include but are not limited to mime, self-deprecation, dramatic expressions, various impressions and use of awkward pauses or responses, and moving his hair and scalp back and forth. He frequently makes fun of the audience. He commonly makes light of his own appearance including his hairstyle, his pale skin and he jokes about his height (he stands 6'4" or 193cm) .
One of his trademarks is to perform the "string dance." He also does impressions of celebrities; among the most common are Arnold Schwarzenegger (where he bites off a piece of sausage) and Donald Trump. His Donald impression often includes the phrase, "You're Fired."
Partial list of film and TV appearances
- Guest appearance on The Jon Stewart Show 1993
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien 1993 - Current
- Saturday Night Live - 1991, 2001
- The Simpsons - 1994 (as himself)
- Space Ghost: Coast to Coast - 1994 (as himself)
- Mr. Show with Bob and David - 1995
- The Single Guy - 1996
- Arli$$ - 1996
- Spin City - 1999
- Futurama - 1999
- Storytelling - 2001
- Andy Richter Controls the Universe - 2003
- Bewitched (film) (as himself) - 2005
- Robot Chicken - 2005
- 30 Rock (as himself) - 2007
- O'Grady - 2006
- The Office (cameo) - 2006
- Queer Duck - the movie (as himself) - 2006
- Jenna Jameson: Complete Sex tapes - 2006
- Paris Hilton: Sex Video - 2006
- Robot Chicken (Star Wars special) - As Zuckuss) - 2007
- Guest appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 2007, 2008
- Guest appearance on The Colbert Report - 2007, 2008
References
- Conan O'Brien at IMDb
- Conan O'Brien Biography (1963-)
- 1
- . 'Poonster Gets the Last Laugh, June 2000 article from The Harvard Crimson
- Harvard College Freshman Dean's Office
- Conan O'Brien & Wife Have Second Child - Pregnancy, Conan O'Brien : People.com
- NBC late night host Conan O'Brien, ad executive marry at Seattle cathedral
- E! News - Conan's Baby O'Brien
- Catholic Celebrities - Page 10 - Catholic Answers Forums
- USATODAY.com - Conan O'Brien and wife have baby girl
- NBC Universal: Birth Notice from Late Night with Conan O'Brien
- NEWSMEAT ▷ Conan O'Brien's Federal Campaign Contribution Report
- SFGate: Daily Dish : O'Brien Spends Big in L.A
- Conan's Alleged 'Priest Stalker' in Court
- Accused Conan Stalker Hospitalized
- Interview with Conan on NPR's Fresh Air (September 8, 2003)
- Part One and Part Two of an interview with The A.V. Club
- O'Brien on The Charlie Rose Show from Google Video
External links
- Conan O'Brien at IMDb
- O'Brien's guitar skills demonstrated during WGA strike
- O'Brien's Horny Manatee Website
| Preceded byJay Leno | Host of The Tonight Show announced |
Succeeded by– |
| Preceded byEllen DeGeneres | Host of Emmys 2006 |
Succeeded byRyan Seacrest |