Biogs - Late Night
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Loading ...Conan O’Brien
Having been a writer for various TV shows in the 80’s, Conan joined Saturday Night Live in 1988, where he was a writer for three years. Between 1991 and 1994 Conan was a writer on The Simpsons.Having been a writer for various TV shows in the 80’s, Conan joined Saturday Night Live in 1988, where he was a writer for three years. Between 1991 and 1994 Conan was a writer on The Simpsons. In 1993 David Letterman, expecting to be promoted to the Tonight Show, defected to CBS. NBC quickly needed to find a replacement for Letterman, and essentially build the show from scratch. Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of Saturday Night Live who hired O’Brien as a writer in the 80’s chose him to front the show, with Andy Richter as a sidekick. Whilst the first years were noted for being less than perfect, the show quickly grew a gathering and has had constant viewing figures for many years.
Having been a writer for various TV shows in the 80’s, Conan joined Saturday Night Live in 1988, where he was a writer for three years. Between 1991 and 1994 Conan was a writer on The Simpsons.In 1993 David Letterman, expecting to be promoted to the Tonight Show, defected to CBS. NBC quickly needed to find a replacement for Letterman, and essentially build the show from scratch. Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of Saturday Night Live who hired O’Brien as a writer in the 80’s chose him to front the show, with Andy Richter as a sidekick. Whilst the first years were noted for being less than perfect, the show quickly grew a gathering and has had constant viewing figures for many years.Conan O’Brien is perhaps best known for his “wacky” on-air style. He frequently knocks over his microphone (“Bessie Lou”), claps to the tune of “I’m gonna go to hell when I die” after a joke in poor taste and often tells the audience to “stay cool, my babies”. Conan can often be seen doing impressions of celebrities Donald Trump (to the theme from The Apprentice) and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who always eats a sausage at the end.
In 2006 Conan mentioned fictional website hornymanatee.com at the end of a segment. NBC had to purchase the domain name, and since then much has been made of hornymanatee.com. Conan visited Finland where the show is very popular, apparently in some part due to his likeness with Tarja Halonen , the female president.
Conan can also be seen in Pale Force, a cartoon by Jim Gaffigan who regularly appears on the show. Letterman has been a guest on Late Night and supported him when it was announced Conan would host The Tonight Show, which Letterman had hoped to host years earlier, in 2009.
Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg 7
Max Weinberg is the band leader on Late Night. Previously a drummer in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Max put the band together in 1993 for the show. Every night Conan greets Max at the start of the monologue, only normally to reply “Ok, that was weird” to whatever Max said in return. The perceived lack of chemistry, which can be found between Jay Leno and Kevin Eubanks, and David Letterman and Paul Shaffer is long running.
LaBamba is often the subject of Conan’s jokes, and can also be seen in the segment “In the Year 2000”. In 2006 LaBamba’s moustache was lit up for Christmas. Pender, the trumpet player, can often be seen viewing hornymanatee.com on a laptop. In 2006, the band were featured in a segment on the show which drew comparisons with the Survivor that year which split the teams in to race.
Even though Conan was one of the original writers for The Simpsons, he was not asked to write for The Simpsons Movie.
Joel Godard
Joel is the announcer on Late Night. He isn’t featured as much as Alan Kalter is on The Late Show, but often appears in his booth. He often says something negative, but in his announcers voice, finishing with a big grin at the end.
Manatee
The Horny Manatee can often be seen dancing to The Divynals ‘I Touch Myself’ in front of a webcam. Having mentioned the website hornymanatee.com at the end of the sketch, NBC had to purchase the domain. Late Night set up the website and have used it on numerous occasions, inviting fan art.
Others who often appear include Brian Stack. Brian can normally be seen as a ghost from when the studio was used for radio, and sings a song which is offensive seventy years on. Others include a travelling salesman, and someone who sits in the audience and asks after Conan announces an upcoming guest “(Name), that’s fantastic” to camera. When Conan mentions the usual comedy and sketches he can be seen reading a book upside down, apparently unimpressed.
Another is Brian McCann, most recently seen as a reporter for Late Night buying a hot dog in New York for $100. Through 2006 he was frequently seen as the character with “no reason to live”, Conan having reported something. He would run to the back of the audience shouting “there’s no reason to live”, get in a kayak or train and move out of shot, where stock footage would be shown. By the time the footage has ended he is back in his seat in the audience.
