Saturday Night Live Wiki
Advertisement

Conan "Tenderloin" O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He has also been hosted of the podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018 and is set to launch a travel show, Conan O'Brien Must Go, on Max.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, O'Brien was raised in an Irish Catholic family. He served as president of The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, and was a writer for the sketch comedy series Not Necessarily the News. After writing for several comedy shows in Los Angeles, he joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live. O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons for two seasons until he was selected by Lorne Michaels and NBC to take over David Letterman's position as host of Late Night in 1993. Despite unfavorable reviews and threats of cancellation in the show's first years, O'Brien and the show developed and became highly regarded, earning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He hosted Late Night for 16 years, and as of 2023 is still the longest-serving host in the history of the franchise.

In 2009, O'Brien moved from New York to Los Angeles to host his own incarnation of The Tonight Show for seven months until highly publicized network politics prompted a host change in 2010. After this departure, O'Brien hosted a 32-city live comedy tour titled The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, which was the subject of the documentary Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011). He then hosted Conan from 2010 to 2021. Throughout his career, he has also hosted a number of awards shows and television specials, including the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006 and the White House Correspondents' dinner in 1995 and 2013. Conan was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2010.

Known for his spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized by The New York Times as "awkward, self-deprecating humor", O'Brien's late-night programs combine the "lewd and wacky with more elegant, narrative-driven short films". His segments outside the studio, dubbed "remotes", have also become some of his best-received work, including the international travel series Conan Without Borders. With the retirement of David Letterman on May 20, 2015, O'Brien became the longest-working late-night talk show host active in the United States. This active streak ended with O'Brien's retirement from late-night television in June 2021, with his entire run as a late-night host lasting almost 28 years.

As a writer on SNL, he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers"; the latter was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz. O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch, "Nude Beach", with Robert Smigel, in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times. O'Brien, like many SNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman named Sean in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" on the December 8, 1990 episode during the opening monologue for hosting his fifth episode.

O'Brien left SNL in 1991 to become a writer and producer for the popular Fox animated series The Simpsons. He left The Simpsons in 1993 to return to NBC as host of the 12:35 series Late Night, which had previously featured Jim Downey and would later be hosted by Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. He briefly hosted The Tonight Show from 2009 to 2010, becoming the first person to serve as the permanent host for both NBC programs. He currently hosts his TBS late-night talk show Conan since November 2010.

O'Brien returned to SNL when he hosted the March 10, 2001 episode and also made a cameo on February 4, 2006 where he appeared in the SNL Digital Short.

SNL Bill Hader - Conan O'Brien

Bill Hader as Conan O'Brien on the January 16, 2010 episode during the "Larry King Live" sketch.

He was also impersonated by Bill Hader on the January 16, 2010 episode during the "Larry King Live" sketch.

Conan made a cameo appearance in the February 26, 2022 episode during the sketch that inducted host John Mulaney into the Five-Timers Club.

Impressions[]

  • Right Said Fred

SNL Career[]

Gallery[]

Advertisement