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Conan O'Brien: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien was born on the 18th of April 1963 in Brookline, Massachusetts, into a family of Irish Catholic immigrants who had settled in America during the 1850s. His father, Thomas Francis O'Brien, was a physician and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, while his mother, Ruth O'Brien, was an attorney at the Boston firm Ropes & Gray. Despite this privileged upbringing and his own academic success as valedictorian of Brookline High School, O'Brien's early career was defined by a profound sense of failure. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1985 with a degree in history and literature, yet his transition to the comedy world was anything but smooth. After moving to Los Angeles to write for HBO's Not Necessarily the News, he struggled to find his footing, eventually joining the writing staff of Saturday Night Live in 1988. Even there, he faced the threat of cancellation and the skepticism of critics who viewed him as too smart, too East Coast, and too tall to succeed. The very man who would become the longest-serving host in the history of the Late Night franchise was once told by a Washington Post critic to resume his previous identity as Conan O'Blivion, a name that stuck for years as a symbol of his perceived inability to connect with audiences.
The Simpsons and The Nervous Writer
In 1991, O'Brien found himself at the center of a surreal shift in American animation when he joined the writing staff of The Simpsons. The show was then a prestigious family sitcom, but O'Brien's arrival marked a rapid turn toward the absurd. He was one of the first hires after the original crew, and his presence transformed the writers' room into what colleague Josh Weinstein called a ten-hour Conan show. O'Brien developed a unique persona known as the Nervous Writer, a character where he would open a can of Diet Coke and spray it all over himself while nervously pitching jokes, a habit that became a source of endless amusement for his colleagues. He wrote some of the series' most acclaimed episodes, including Marge vs. the Monorail and Homer Goes to College, yet he remained deeply insecure about his place among the show's legends. When he was approached by Lorne Michaels to host Late Night, the decision was made while O'Brien was passed out face-down on a shag carpet, comatose and quiet, unaware that his life was about to change in a dramatic way. The transition from writer to host was fraught with tension, as Fox would not let him out of his contract, forcing NBC and O'Brien to split the cost to buy him out of his commitment to The Simpsons.
The Night The Show Flopped
Late Night with Conan O'Brien premiered on the 13th of September 1993 to a wave of unfavorable reviews and public apprehension. Critics attacked O'Brien for being nervous and fidgety, with Tom Shales of The Washington Post suggesting he resume his previous identity as Conan O'Blivion. The show was constantly at risk for cancellation, and at one low point in 1994, NBC threatened to put him on a week-to-week contract. Interns filled empty seats in the audience while affiliates began to inquire about replacement hosts. The situation was so dire that sidekick Andy Richter once joked about his vacation activities, reminding himself what it was like to be unemployed, an in-joke that alluded to the rumors floating in the trades that NBC was near canceling the program. O'Brien himself wrote a self-deprecating New York Times piece titled O'Brien Flops! on the day of the show's premiere, acknowledging the public's skepticism. Despite these early struggles, the show slowly but steadily acquired commercial and critical success, with sketches like If They Mated and Desk Drive growing in popularity. A turning point came with David Letterman's appearance in February 1994, which provided a morale boost and signaled that the show was finally finding its voice.
When was Conan O'Brien born and where was he born?
Conan Christopher O'Brien was born on the 18th of April 1963 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was born into a family of Irish Catholic immigrants who had settled in America during the 1850s.
What year did Conan O'Brien host The Tonight Show and when did he leave?
Conan O'Brien hosted The Tonight Show from 2009 until his departure on the 21st of January 2010. The final Tonight Show with O'Brien aired on the 22nd of January 2010, marking the end of his tenure as the host of the flagship late-night program.
When did Conan O'Brien launch his podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend?
Conan O'Brien launched his weekly podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend on the 18th of November 2018 with Will Ferrell as the first guest. The podcast became the top podcast on iTunes with over 250 million downloads as of August 2021.
When did Conan O'Brien retire from late-night television?
Conan O'Brien retired from late-night television on the 24th of June 2021 with his final show airing on that date. This marked the end of his twenty-eight year run as a late-night host.
When did Conan O'Brien receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor?
Conan O'Brien received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on the 23rd of March 2025 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He was named the recipient of the award in 2025.
In 2009, O'Brien moved from New York to Los Angeles to host his own incarnation of The Tonight Show, a lifelong dream that he had kept him in NBC's employ despite the fact that he likely could have secured a more lucrative deal at another network. However, the transition was marred by highly publicized network politics that would ultimately lead to his downfall. On the 7th of January 2010, NBC executive Jeff Zucker met with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien to discuss how to move Leno out of prime time and back into late night. It was proposed that O'Brien would remain as host of The Tonight Show, which would run at 12:05 am with Leno hosting a 30-minute show at 11:35 pm. O'Brien was unhappy and disappointed with NBC's plan, releasing a statement on the 12th of January that the delay would seriously damage what he considered to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The conflict ended on the 21st of January 2010, when it was announced that O'Brien had reached a deal with NBC that would see him exit The Tonight Show the next day. The deal granted him 45 million dollars, of which 12 million was designated for distribution to his staff, who had moved with O'Brien to Los Angeles from New York when he left Late Night. The final Tonight Show with O'Brien aired on the 22nd of January 2010, featuring guests like Tom Hanks and Steve Carell, and marked the end of his tenure as the host of the flagship late-night program.
The Tour That Saved Him
Following his departure from The Tonight Show, O'Brien embarked on a 32-city live comedy tour titled The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, which began on the 12th of April 2010 in Eugene, Oregon. The tour traveled through America's Northwest and Canada before moving on to larger cities, including Los Angeles and New York City, where he performed at Radio City Music Hall next to his former Late Night studios. The tour ended in Atlanta on the 14th of June 2010, and was the subject of the documentary Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, which premiered in March 2011 at the South by Southwest media festival to positive reviews. The documentary, directed by Rodman Flender, O'Brien's personal friend and classmate at Harvard University, followed O'Brien throughout his comedy tour, capturing his resilience and ability to connect with audiences in a live setting. The tour was a critical and commercial success, proving that O'Brien could thrive outside the constraints of network television. It also allowed him to reconnect with his roots as a stand-up comedian, a role he had largely abandoned during his years as a talk show host. The tour's success paved the way for his next venture, a new show on cable station TBS, which would become Conan.
Conan Without Borders
In 2010, O'Brien announced that he would host a new show on cable station TBS, which debuted on the 8th of November 2010 and aired Monday through Thursday at 11:00 pm ET. The show, Conan, moved Lopez Tonight with George Lopez back one hour, and O'Brien agreed to join TBS after Lopez called to persuade him to come to the network. The show became a platform for O'Brien's international travel series, Conan Without Borders, which took him to thirteen countries in total. In February 2015, O'Brien became the first American television personality to film in Cuba for more than half a century, following the onset of the Cuban thaw. He then visited Armenia, where he guest-starred as a gangster on an Armenian soap opera, and in April 2016, he visited South Korea, where he and Steven Yeun visited North Korea on a technicality by stepping across the border line at the DMZ. These remotes became some of his most popular work, winning an Emmy in 2018, and the international shows became available on Netflix before moving to HBO Max. The series allowed O'Brien to explore the world in a way that his studio-based shows never could, and it became a defining element of his career, showcasing his curiosity and willingness to take risks.
The Podcast and The Final Bow
In 2018, O'Brien launched his own weekly podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, which debuted on the 18th of November 2018 with Will Ferrell as the first guest. The podcast has received strong reviews and became the top podcast on iTunes, with over 250 million downloads as of August 2021. The podcast has also won numerous awards throughout its run, and in May 2022, O'Brien's podcast, as well as the entire Team Coco digital media business, was sold to SiriusXM for 150 million dollars. The podcast allowed O'Brien to connect with his guests in a more intimate setting, and it became a platform for him to explore his interests and passions in a way that his television shows never could. In 2021, O'Brien retired from late-night television, with his final show airing on the 24th of June 2021, marking the end of his twenty-eight year run as a late-night host. The final show featured a live audience and marked the end of O'Brien's tenure as a late-night host, but it also marked the beginning of a new chapter in his career, as he moved to a weekly untitled variety show on fellow WarnerMedia property HBO Max, where he was expected to focus more on his podcast and travel shows with a relaxed production schedule. In 2025, O'Brien was named the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and he received the award on the 23rd of March at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The Man Behind The Mask
Conan O'Brien's personal life is as colorful and complex as his professional career. He met Elizabeth Ann Powel in 2000, and the couple dated for nearly 18 months before their 2002 marriage in Powel's hometown of Seattle. O'Brien and Powel have a daughter born in 2003 and a son born in 2005. O'Brien often speaks about his Irish Catholic heritage, and his lineage is 100% Irish Catholic, a fact that was confirmed via DNA test a decade later. He has been a registered Democrat since casting his first vote for president in 1984 for Walter Mondale, and he considers himself a moderate on the political spectrum. O'Brien founded the anti-hunger organization Labels Are For Jars with his friend and former Harvard dormmate Father Paul B. O'Brien, and he helped open the Cor Unum meal center in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 2006. In 2008, O'Brien was stalked by Father David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who sent O'Brien letters signed as your priest stalker, and later sent O'Brien death threats and tried to forcefully enter a taping of Late Night before being arrested. Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking on the 8th of April 2008, and was later laicized. O'Brien's personal life has been marked by both triumph and tragedy, but he has always managed to find a way to move forward, using his experiences to inform his work and to connect with his audience.