Results tagged “Conan O'Brien”

The ongoing feud between Conan O'Brien and Newark Mayor Cory Booker ended last night with Booker appearing on the show and Conan donating $100K to Booker's charity (video 1, 2). Conan also set up a "Newark Joke Jar" and promised to add $500 any time he made a joke at the city's expense, the Star-Ledger liveblogged (really). The feud began when Conan made a joke about health-care in Newark—"The health-care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark"—and resulted in his being banned from Newark Airport. And thus ends the scandal that never really was because Letterman had to go and ruin everything.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being remembered for her diplomatic skills by brokering peace between Conan O'Brien and Newark mayor Cory Booker, who have had some sort of feud about Newark—O'Brien had joked, "The Mayor of Newark, New Jersey wants to set up a citywide program to improve residents' health. The health-care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark" and then it started a volley of threats (Booker put O'Brien on Newark Airport's no-fly list) and more jokes.

Last Friday, Conan O'Brien slipped while doing a Tonight Show bit with actress—and triathlon competitor—Teri Hatcher. He hit his head on the floor while trying to race Hatcher and was injured enough for the show's taping to stop. Last night, he shared his experience and video of the fall. (It's 8 minutes, so might be good to watch during lunch... or skip about 1:15 in)

The sorry state of the Mets isn't just a local issue at this point. Last night on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien got in on the fun showing just how deep dysfunction runs within the organization right now.

Last night, Conan O'Brien officially took over hosting duties for The Tonight Show and opened the show with a taped bit that showed him running across the country from NYC to LA (with scenic stops at the Wrigley Field in Chicago, St. Louis Arch, and a Victorian Doll Museum somewhere else).

Unless you were one of those people on Friendster who used to list "Kill Your Television" under Favorite Shows, you probably have heard that Conan O'Brien will be taking over later this evening. As New York officially lets go of its red-headed late night stepchild once and for all, Conan introduces himself to Los Angeles with an inaugural show that has a distinct '90s feel to it: his guests are Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam and the return of old sidekick Andy Richter as his new announcer. Will Pimpbot 5000 return as well? In an interview with today's Times, Conan said, "I can’t go anywhere without people saying, ‘Good luck in LA’ Or, ‘What’s it like in LA?’ Osama Bin Laden is in a cave somewhere saying, ‘I wonder how Conan will be in LA.’”

With Friday night's final Late Night repeat now behind us, the Conan O'Brien era in New York is officially over. But luckily for some fans, the new Tonight Show host was not able to take everything from his old show with him. The nonprofit group Build It Green! loaded up two truckloads of props left over from Late Night this past week—many of which will be available for fans to buy. Build It Green! made it clear though that the Brian Williams cutout used for Conan's old feud with the anchor is off-limits (can you blame them?). And despite threats to retire the Masturbating Bear, something tells us that costume will make the trip to LA. One prop that won't however is the giant pickle that Conan once received from his predecessor and now rival, David Letterman. While a few people looking for trouble called out Conan for leaving Jimmy Fallon on a sour note by not paying the new host more lip service during his farewell, O'Brien did make a point to pass along the good luck cuke. Fallon and The Roots take over Late Night in a little over twenty-four hours!

While Conan may be leaving us for the sunny skies of Los Angeles, we still all have televisions, so it's not like he's going anywhere, really. On that note, there are some more details that have just been released about his new Tonight Show gig, NBC says his old pal Andy Richter will be the announcer! It's been nearly 9 years since the two paired up, and Richter will get some on-screen time, too, as the network notes he'll also participate in comedic pieces. O'Brien said this of his old right arm: "Andy is one of the funniest people I know and we've maintained a close friendship since he left Late Night. We have a proven chemistry that will be an incredible asset to The Tonight Show. I'm looking forward to working with Andy on a daily basis again, particularly since he owes me $300." Look for the two of them on a small screen near you starting June 1st!

Conan O'Brien came to New York sixteen years ago as an unknown underdog that left most people scratching their heads trying to figure out just why this awkward Simpsons writer was chosen to replace the legendary David Letterman. He said goodbye to the city last night just as awkward, but now almost universally loved and respected as a comedian who was able to take what at times is a very "out there" sensibility and make it succeed with mainstream audiences.

The day has come, Conan O'Brien will be leaving his Late Night show in New York for new sunny digs in Los Angeles. Jimmy Fallon will be taking over, though in a different studio, so tonight is the last chance to lay your eyes on the Late Night set as you know it. NY1 is reporting that fans of the host have been lined up in the cold in hopes of scoring tickets to the final show. One told them, "I just love Conan and I'm really sad he's leaving and I'm really excited to see the show. I know it's going to be amazing and I just absolutely had to be at the last show." People, he's still going to be on television. Another fan said, "We went to the show yesterday. Then, once we got out, we got back in line." They caught that priest, right?

During Late Night, Conan O'Brien reminisced about how much he loved New York (he will soon to depart to Los Angeles to take over the Tonight Show)—and as if on cue, Mayor Michael Bloomberg walked out to the strains of "New York, New York." He spoke about O'Brien's 16 years in NYC and presented a key, to which O'Brien exclaimed, "I'm floored. I'm stunned. I'm receiving a key to New York City."

Local TV nerds likely have their TiVos set to record NBC at 9:30 tonight on both tuners to make sure they don't miss the debut of Man Men's Jon Hamm in his guest role as Liz Lemon's new love interest on 30 Rock. Last night Hamm was promoting his gig on Conan and revealed that he and Tina Fey were shooting one of their scenes when she spotted Flight 1549 flying low on its descent towards the Hudson two weeks ago. Conan wondered if Hamm's good looks could have been the culprit! Captain Sully and Don Draper? Hubba hubba.

Jay Leno confirms today what had been a longstanding rumor that David Letterman's show invited him to be a guest on the first show following his departure from The Tonight Show. But Leno says, “It would look like an insult to Conan. I would never do that.” In today's interview with Late Shift author Bill Carter, Leno reveals that the deal for his new nightly 10 p.m. show came after he turned down NBC's initial offers of a weekly Sunday night show and then an 11 p.m. show on USA. Leno initially agreed to NBC's wishes for him to move aside for Conan back in 2004 because he says, “I’ve never been one of those guys, when the girl says ‘I don’t think we should see each other anymore,’ I go, ‘Why? What can I do?’ No, I’m ‘O.K., babe, I’m gone.’” He explains that the 10 p.m. show is now ripe for success now because recent NBC efforts like Lipstick Jungle and My Own Worst Enemy haven't taken off and also says, “Five years ago this wouldn’t have been a good idea, but more people — and younger people — are going to bed at 11 o’clock because they carpool or they have to get up at 6.” Carpoolers, buckle up.

If you ever find yourself on line for Inside the Actor's Studio, James Lipton's high-brow talk show of sorts that films at Pace University, there's something you should know before stepping inside. While the show may only be an hour when it airs on Bravo, the real life version is about 4 or 5 times as long. We recently spent a big chunk of time with Josh Brolin in the studio (more on that to come), and now TV Squad writes about their experience when Conan O'Brien was a guest, with a post titled: James Lipton holds Conan O'Brien and hundreds of others hostage. They note, "It was nearly midnight when Lipton got to his last blue card...when the nearly 4 hour interview was finished, everyone felt drained. Even Conan seemed to be glad it was over." And in all that time there wasn't much lip service paid to Conan's move to the west coast, aside from him saying "he was excited and nervous—and that they'd fly Lipton out to L.A. so he could still be on the show."

All you Tonight Show Headlines and Jaywalking fanatics, stop your worrying: Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Jay Leno will be staying at NBC when his Tonight Show contract is up--and will be moving into primetime with a Monday-to-Friday weekday at 10 p.m. talk show.

Jim Gaffigan might be the last of a certain era of comedians as a stand-up who simply does wry, observational jokes and yet still commands a great deal of respect from both the mainstream and also as a "comedian's comedian." He makes frequent appearances on Late Night, both performing stand-up as well as premiering webisodes of Pale Force, the series that animates Gaffigan and Conan O'Brien as underfed superheroes. Gaffigan is recognizable from around the dial where it's from My Boys, the TBS sitcom he co-stars in or a series of commercials he did for Sierra Mist. He's a transplant from Indiana who is married and raising two kids near the Bowery. He'll be performing at Town Hall from November 26th through the 30th.

Tina Fey has been making her 30 Rock promo rounds (the season premiere airs tomorrow) and appeared on Conan last night, where the first segment was all about that other show: SNL. (She says her recent stints at her old gig have been akin to "moving back in with your parents.")

A seemingly innocent appearance by Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Late Night with Conan O'Brien last night turned into a segment on actress-envy and Emmy-theft! The actress was up against Tina Fey for an Emmy this year; Fey won and took home her 5th statue, whereas Dreyfus was left going home to her two old, dusty ones. In her speech, however, Fey noted how she channels Dreyfus at times...meaning the Emmy really belongs to them both, right?

Has a Jimmy Fallon-hosted Late Night reality sunk in yet? Well, it's happening, and the ex-SNL cast member will be getting a head start by popping up at a URL near you sometime soon. The NY Times reports that "Lorne Michaels has decided to try to get a jump on things by starting NBC’s next edition of Late Night, with its new host Jimmy Fallon, as a nightly entry on the Internet."

At a press conference set to take place today, it's expected that Jimmy Fallon will be announced as Conan O'Brien's successor on the "Late Night" show. WNBC reports that the early chatter came in from an anonymous source. The announcement doesn't come as a surprise, since reports of the late night changes began to leak last year; last month Fallon's new position was all but confirmed.

In the past year there have been murmurings of Jimmy Fallon taking over Conan's "Late Night" seat, when the latter moves over to the Tonight Show. Variety reports that NBC will officially announce the former SNL star's new position within the next few weeks, reuniting the actor/comedian with the Peacock network as well as Lorne Michaels (who executive produces the show).

The presidential race has been a goldmine for talk shows (well, when the Writers' Guild strike isn't happening) and nowhere is that more apparent than on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. On last night's Colbert Report, on a riff about John McCain's Super Tuesday chances and taking credit for Mike Huckabee'e campaign, Stephen Colbert was joined by Jon Stewart, his Comedy Central crony, and then Conan O'Brien!

What has Conan O'Brien been doing in his spare time? His writers have only been putting pen to paper for their picket signs, and even though he returned to his late night desk earlier this month -- he's been a one-man show, lacking his trusty troupe of scribes. Alone and living in a world of reruns, he's been unloading in his diary strike journal.

Late night television is back, with two hosts not crossing the picket line (David Letterman and Craig Ferguson), and three still getting WGA picketers outside of their studios (Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel). Only two hosts were willing to grow, and keep, their strike beards -- and we want to know whose you like best!

Last week everyone from writers on the picket line to bored couch potatoes were abuzz with news that the late night heavyweights would be returning with all new shows. Last night was the big night (Letterman, O'Brien, Kimmel, Ferguson and Leno all returned), and both Conan O'Brien and David Letterman took the stage showing solidarity with strike beards intact. Letterman threatened to shave his later on Conan's show, saying that he'd probably be helping his New York late night pal out since he's returned sans writers.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 20th Ave. and 37th St. in Queens, a hate crime on East 9th St. and Ave. H in Brooklyn, and a missing child on Decatur Ave. in the Bronx.
• Hyperactive performer Robin Williams is David Letterman's guest tonight, in his first new show in weeks. Letterman, as well as Craig Ferguson, have worked out pacts with the Writers Guild of America, allowing writers to come back. Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are crossing picket lines to come back. Riffing on Robin Williams' routines are not as funny when hard to distinguish from KKK impersonations in the deep south.
• A Port Authority policeman in the department's K-9 unit was involved in an auto accident that killed the woman driving the other vehicle. The officer was hospitalized and his partner was taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
• A man with a hunting knife was arrested after entering and then exiting Hillary Clinton's Iowa campaign headquarters. There was no overt violent action, but local police described him as a local unpredictable character.

As we previously mentioned, the late night heavyweights have been angling to make a return in early '08. Letterman has been leading the pack by working on a deal with the WGA through his own production company, WorldWide Pants Inc. Yesterday they reached an agreement which will allow his show to return to the air next week, writing staff and all.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an injured firefighter at Ave Y and Knapp St. in Brooklyn, serious trauma at the Bryant Park ice rink in Manhattan, and a stabbing at 169th St. and Linden Blvd. in Queens.
• The New Yorker collects quotes from striking writers and their supporters regarding the strike beard phenomena. Conan O'Brien, on perhaps the only physical feature that will ever help him resemble a lumberjack: "I’m the only guy chopping wood outside his Manhattan co-op.”
• Former Yankee Jim Leyritz was arrested on suspicion of DUI and DUI manslaughter after a crash in Florida last night (Leyritz's 44th birthday), which killed the driver of the car he struck.

After Letterman announced his show's comeback with new episodes, writers' strike or no writers' strike, the leaders of late night all followed suit.