Conan Week—My Coco
Conan O’Brien recorded his last episode as a late night TV show host last night. The comedy giant (and almost literal giant?) already has his own popular podcast network, and there will be more projects in the future. But in honor of this particular phase’s ending, Afternoon Delights will be featuring various Conan O’Brien-centric clips/videos/whatnots.
I noticed some people online lamenting that the outpouring of gratitude and praise towards Conan O’Brien was disproportionate to the events as he wasn’t dead or anything similarly dramatic. But here’s the thing—why do we wait for people to be gone forever to praise them? Let people know they mean something to you while they can hear it. Posthumous tributes are good, touching, and cathartic but they do nothing to let the person know that they were loved and they mean a great deal to many.
I mentioned before that Conan O’Brien shaped a bunch of my personality and that’s not hyperbole. His work on The Simpsons (unbeknownst to be at the time) was a major factor in fostering my appreciation for irony, nerdery, and absurdism. This is also true of his Late Night show, where I also saw how some self-deprecation can make it easier for folks to sympathize with you or to help others know you don’t take everything so damn seriously.
His Tonight Show era was wobbly at first but eventually found its roots back to being bizarre and, when shitbird Jay Leno arose again, created a cause célèbre for millions of fans to fight gross corporate greed with increasing weird and silly methods.
I loved attending his live show in Boston, watching the Dropkick Murphys perform and O’Brien strutting around in an Eddie Murphy-esque purple leather jumpsuit.
His TBS show had similar bizarre vibes as his Late Night days. There was a casualness to the proceedings, like everyone involved knew they were just having fun and being dopey to their own entertainment. And it worked.
For whatever reason, O’Brien is always able to foster a sense of community amongst his fans. Recurring sketches, long running bits, various tics, frequent returning guests, and more made it all seem like it was a group you knew. And not an elite snobbish insular clique, just a few weirdos that gathered together to make each other laugh.
Because of this, and more, it’s pretty impossible for me to limit the final Afternoon Delights of Conan Week to just one thing. So, instead, I will list multiple ones:
One of my favorite moments from O’Brien has nothing to do with his TV work. Back in his Harvard days, as a member of the National Lampoon, the ginger clown prince of crime embarked on many a shenanigan. The best involves Burt Ward, who played Robin on the 1966 Batman TV series. This story has been recounted a few times, but I first learned about it in an article in Playboy in the ‘90s, because yes, I am precisely that cool, and it makes me laugh every time I think about it. While Ward was at Harvard to give a speech, Conan and friends stole the Robin costume from him. They then plagued him with mysterious phone calls taunting Ward about his missing piece of paraphernalia—something Ward did not appreciate. Eventually they returned the Boy Wonder’s tights, but it’s still great to imagine.
Of course there’s this infamous interview with filmmaker Abel Ferrara where the dude is clearly hopped up on goofballs and talks all sorts of nonsense while O’Brien and (technically Conan’s distant cousin) Denis Leary just laugh and make jokes to which the director of THE DRILLER KILLER remains oblivious.
Also from Late Night is the time they turned an entire show into a Claymation episode, with guests Mr. T, Johnny Knoxville, Richard Lewis, and David Bowie being rendered in glorious, rudimentary stop motion. The best is when Richard Lewis is telling a story about being in the L.A. Lakers’ locker room and notices something about Shaq—the camera movements and figure animation is incredibly immersive.
Conan O’Brien during his Harvard days. Photo taken by John Candy. Yes, really.
His TBS days brought O’Brien into a whole new world that included trying out video games, playing with apps, launching podcasts, and using the Internet in many fun and different ways. This includes releasing behind the scenes footage and rejected bits that clearly demonstrate the vibe on the set. One of the best is when the O’Brien, the guests, and the audience all have to act like Sturgill Simpson is there to perform…except he recorded his song at a different date and time.
But lastly there’s this, some of his parting words on his final episode of The Tonight Show. O’Brien basically adopts a Paddington philosophy while decrying cynicism. It’s a good note to go out on and an important lesson we all need to carry in our hearts. No matter how things change, what goes wrong, or anything else, you can’t give in to cynicism. You can be angry, you can be hurt, you can be depressed; but you can also always find the possibility for change if you look for it.