Talk:Conan O'Brien

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This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Conan O'Brien article.

Is it really pertinent to have what time he was born? Mike H 19:24, Sep 9, 2004 (UTC)

It's an interesting trivia bit. I don't have any objection to it being there. Beginning 13:16, Sep 10, 2004 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Mondays

I removed the line at the end of the article "Late Night does not air new episodes on Monday nights." because I don't think it has anything to do with O'Brien or the article (There is no mention of mondays besides this). - Unsigned.


Right. Well, it's not on mondays. Do you even watch the show? Ace Class Shadow 07:54, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cum Shot

In the education paragraph it says he graduated "magna cum shot".

LOL. Sounds like a dirty, dirty pun of magna cum laude. —MESSEDROCKER (talk) 21:12, August 27, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Audience Interaction

Anyone notice that Conan pays a lot more attention to the audience now? Most of his jokes are groan inducing and comments about the audience's (often) mixed reaction frequently each monologue. In fact... Recently he stopped a bit to berate an audience member taking pictures of him.

Conan's style is changing. That's for sure.

--> www.wildboston.com/video/576/

Yeah, actually, that is the NBC photographer, not an audience member. (They don't allow tourists to bring cameras or other recording devices into the studio with them.) Even though Conan calls him an audience member, the guy really does work for the network, and Conan has actually "berated" the same guy on the show before, always in a playful and self-referential manner, typical of Conan's style as a host.
Sorry to burst anyone's bubble. This very erroneous rumor seems to have gotten a lot of play on the internet, much like the "David-Letterman-was-promised-the-Tonight-Show" rumor that I'm having to constantly remove from other articles. Telestylo 07:09, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Conan/Alligator YTMND fad

Should we mention something about Conan O'Brien being the star of the "conangator.ytmnd.com Conan is... AN ALLIGATOR!" fad? —MESSEDROCKER (talk) 21:10, August 27, 2005 (UTC)

Interesting animation, but I don't think a YTMND 'fad' should ever be dignified with a reference in a non-YTMND related article. Sajt

if you search 'conan is' on ytmnd.com you get over 9 pages of him. I think thats pretty significant--eli

[edit] Webpage removal

Why does the conan-obrien.net webpage link keep getting removed from this article? I'm a newcomer--is there some WP policy rule against sites like this? I seem to find several such links on other celebrities' articles. Telestylo 07:25, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Probably best to ask User:Hall Monitor since he/she was the user who removed it. Akamad 22:21, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Nov 9th baby

With his show cancelled tonite, it probably means that his wife gave birth to their son, "Conando". --Madchester 06:01, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

She did indeed, at 8:27 pm. nbcumv.com/entertainment/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20051110000000-birthnoticefroml.html Conan is back tonight (Nov. 10) with a new show. :D

[edit] Award show

I recall in one opening monologue, Conan said he hosted an award show. He cheated by holding the envelope up to the light to see the name, and resisted the urge to walk on stage and screech the winner’s name in one syllable. I forget the award’s name, but shouldn’t that be mentioned in here somewhere? —Frungi 22:52, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

No, as his little cheat didn't effect a thing. --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 00:42, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] White Stripes

I saw a music video today by the White Stripes and Conan was in it. If anyone knows anything about this, maybe it could get a brief mention in the article? Under trivia maybe.

It's in there, the second-to-last graf under Late Night. BabuBhatt 00:22, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The quote

Under the "Quotes" section, I removed the following:

Somehow, Conan O’Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive wit of his generation, but quite possibly the greatest host ever." — Conan O’Brien, 2000 Harvard Commencement Speech

I wouldn't put it past Conan to speak of himself in the third person, but I checked the link and could find no quote resembling this. (Perhaps this was actually taken from the introduction to his speech, but I couldn't find that, either.) So I replaced it with a quote that actually did come from his speech. 23skidoo 06:04, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

It's real. I've seen a video of the speech somewhere (his show?) before. A google search of harvard.edu turns up an article which quotes half the quote.www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/printerfriendly.aspx?ref=503580. The full text can be found in an article on E2.www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=692946 --waffle iron 06:28, 30 January 2006 (UTC)
OK, I found it on the E2 site, however the quote was presented out of context anyway. If you read the transription you'll see Conan adds that he just made that up, etc. I have no idea why it didn't show up when I accessed the site last night. But in any event, if you want to put the original quote back, go ahead, however you should include the rest of the comment in order to give the quote some context (and explain why Conan is referring to himself in third person which is what made me suspicious in the first place). 23skidoo 15:44, 30 January 2006 (UTC)
Why would you have to explain it? It's obviously sarcastic and self-effacing. --PhilKao 07:27, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

Yet, ironically, that's what some critics currently think of him, so it could have also been easily been Conan actually quoting someone else about himself. Ace Class Shadow 08:05, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ireland

My understanding is that Conan makes alot of his Irish heritage and has possibly done a show from ireland as well as going all out st. patrick's day, should there be a reference to this in the main article?

[edit] O'Brien and YTMND

I agree with the discussion started by eli. Conan is HUGE on YTMND and YTMND is huge on the Internet. It should at least be mentioned somewhere. Especially when you mention the 'conan vs bear' stuff, which is my first time of hearing about it. =\ —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.102.10.188 (talk • contribs) 08:26, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

YTMND is really not that huge. Most people would not know what the heck you are talking about. ~MDD4696 18:16, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
and thats why you have a link yo iy and they learn...and it is fairly big(and mainly rubbish) Owwmykneecap 20:19, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rumors of Conan's Succession

Just wondering, can we get a source on the bit about Carson Daily being Conan's rumored sucessor? I know I've seen Carson's name mentioned for the job, but never in a way that conclusively puts him above several other names that keep coming up. Something I missed, perhaps? Lee Bailey 22:56, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

After some looking into the matter, I've removed the remark for lack of citation. I don't think there's really a clear frontrunner yet. Lee Bailey 00:27, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. Smigel taking over is a joke and Daly would probably be happier at last call. I guess, in a way, we might have another David Letterman-type incident unless Daly steps up and saus he wants to do it. The Anti-Gnome 00:34, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merging The String Dance

I think The String Dance should be merged into this article. It's really not important enough to have its own article. Comments? ~MDD4696 18:15, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

I agree with the merging idea, but I think merging it into Late Night with Conan O'Brien is a better idea. Having an article for such a relatively unknown dance is just useless. --IceCube 03:40, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
I also agree but I say merge it into both Conan O'Brien and Late Night with Conan O'Brien because the dance is integral parts of both. - Patman2648 01:32, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Conan becomes host

Initially O'Brien was only signed on as a writer and producer for the new show, but when no host was found during the auditions, the hosting duties were given to him.

Is this accurate? It's in the article unsourced, and think it might not be the case. --Lee Bailey 16:44, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm basically positive that the line is wrong. Based on my obsessive watching of _The Simpsons_ commentary, there had been talk that they wanted Conan to produce the show, but the Simpsons show runners had been adamant about NOT releasing him from hisn contract to produce the show. However, they DID give him clearance to AUDITION for the job of host, which he did, and then based on that and the confidence of Lorne Michaels, he got the job. I'm going to remove that line from the article. Croctotheface 15:16, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tarja Halonen

Has Conan ever visited other countries in his show? He was in Finland in February. Viihde 20:47, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

yes, I know for sure he did a show in Canada, and I believe he is planning, or has already been to Ireland... - Adolphus79 23:05, 20 May 2006 (UTC)
He's also visited U.S. troops in Iraq, although I don't know if that was shown on Late Night. There's a map on his NBC.com page, which shows all the countries, and other cities, that he's visited. riana 04:24, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
Conan has visited many countries. One week in Canada and the Finland trip (which I'm not sure how that was handled, but I know at least one show was actually dedicated to it). All his other visitings have been remotes only. Bits aired during normal NYC shows. He has done remotes where
  • He visited his 'heritage' in Ireland (visiting O'Brien's Castle, among others)
  • He went to SLC for the 2002 Winter games, but my gut tells me he might have gone to Nagano in 98. I can't say that for a fact though. Actually, now that I think about it - I think it was the Sydney Games.
  • He visited Amsterdam
  • He visited Germany including a talk show that uses many American late night show bits
  • He visited several American cities as well (Houston, Chicago for a week of shows, LA for a week of shows, frankly a number of smaller places for remotes).

TheHYPO 04:56, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Simpsons?

The simpsons section mentions Conan "signed on as a writer and producer for the Fox series The Simpsons, where he also became a supervising producer". On the simpsons, writers room members are credited as producers for episodes; I think it is misleading to mention him as a "producer" for the simpsons (or a supervising producer - where does this come from?); as far as I understand it, he was only ever a writer for the show. Any source saying otherwise? TheHYPO 05:48, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Comedy and mannerisms section

This section has gotten out of control, sorry to say. It's at the point where people are just adding favorite parts from the previous night's show. Can we reach a consensus on which lines should be kept, maybe no more than 15 or so, and try to keep it to that? Beginning 12:03, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Anything he does frequently—not just (more than) once—and is easily recognized/acknowledged. Looking at it as I write this, though, I agree. Some of it even applies more to the show than him. I'll edit accordingly. ACS (Wikipedian); Talk to the Ace. See what I've edited. 17:00, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
A good third of the entrys in this section seem to me to be in the wrong place. All the things about stuff that happens on Late Night seem to be to belong in that article like things about the sketches and things of that nature, or banter with the band. I know it's hard to distribute because O'Brien can't be separated into an article for the character and the actor like most TV characters, but it seems like many of the items are of more interest to someone looking up the show itself than looking up o'brien. (Particularly since he is really the only star of the show, so what he does on the show is pretty much the show). TheHYPO 19:39, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
Fair enough. I'll see what I can do. ACS (Wikipedian); Talk to the Ace. See what I've edited. 23:37, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
Done. I hope the guys working at Late Night don't mind me effectively dumping the section into that article. ACS (Wikipedian); Talk to the Ace. See what I've edited. 00:05, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] YTMND Popularity?

His more creative uses of pantomiming have caught on fire with the YTMND circles as he is one of the best recognized figures as far as fads go. Would it be worthy of note in this article his YTMND popularity? Is he even aware of it? X^D Chicobo329 20:17, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ratings drop?

The shows ratings have however been dropping and there have been instances where NBC has done re-runs of previously aired episodes.[4]

The linked source makes no mentions of recent ratings drops, and the fact that NBC shows re-runs is hardly exceptional or noteworthy. Also, the phrasing is awkward. NBC "has done reruns"? If no one objects or offers a better source, I'll delete this bit. --Thetourist 21:11, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure ratings aren't on constant incline. The question is, even if they are declining, how significantly are they declining... just the fact that they are declining isn't significant in itself. But as you said, the statement above isn't even proof of that much. TheHYPO 22:30, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chip Whitley

The wikipedia page Chip Whitley redirects to Conan O'Brien. Perhaps an explanation of this would be helpful. I am hesitant to add it myself as the only explanation i can offer is that he occasionally refers to himself as Chip Whitley on Late Night. If this comment goes unanswered i just might add that one little remark somewhere on the page.

The explaination was moved to the Late Night article with the rest of Conan's "shtick" TheHYPO 05:37, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Transfer of 'Late Night' cast to 'The Tonight Show'?

Curious if he is taking his any of his cast/crew from Late Night with him to The Tonight Show in '09? As much as I like Kevin, I'd hate to see Max and the band disappear (particularly LaBamba). And Conan just wouldn't be the same without Joel Goddard! Grammaticus Repairo 02:30, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

There are plenty of considerations. Is Max feeling too old too do the gig anymore? Does the band want to relocate to LA? (Is the show going to move to LA?) What are everyone's contracts. I would certainly thing that if MW7 wanted to do it and Conan wanted them, they would be the band. I expect the show to completely reinvent just as it did when Leno took over from Carson, and just as Late Night did when Conan took over. TheHYPO 04:36, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

But Conan's show/combination is proven and it would be stupid to change it. Comparing this switch to other shows is dumb. Others have started their careers by taking a show, not by switching like Conan is doing (if I remember correctly).

Letterman reinvented his show at least to a degree when he moved, and it was within NYC. He's about as 'lean' a change as you can get. Then you have someone like Craig Kilborn who left ComCent (Daily Show) for CBS and basically became a counter-Conan type show, with only a bit of his old show schtick. Noone has announced if the Tonight show is going to goto LA, but I believe the 'given' reason that it has been there for so long is because it's Hollywood and Tonight is expected to have the big celebrity guests, which are easiest to come by in Hollywood. Secondly, as a counter to Letterman who is in NYC, they don't want Tonight to also be in NYC such that the same celebs will be on both shows night after night. So assuming they move to Cali, as I already said, what are you going to do? force the band members to move to LA? If they don't want to live in LA, you pretty much have to get a new band. I expect the show to bring some of its old bits, and some new stuff. (I don't expect a massive change from monologue>desk bit>possibly having the TV over his shoulder>actual items, clutch cargo etc., but I could easily see a new theme song, totally new set structure and layout, maybe some different idiosyncracies than on the current show. TheHYPO 04:01, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] facebook fanclubs

I don't see any reason for a facebook fanclub to be on a biography page. Not only that but there is constant defacing of the fanclub listing. I removed it entirely.

[edit] How Irish?

Exactly how Irish is he? I know he makes a big deal of it, but all it says in the article is that he is from a Irish American family. SteveLamacq43 22:59, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Funniest Man Alive

Conan not only has the funniest talk show ever in history, he's also the funniest man alive.--Tainted Drifter 05:26, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, thank you. Your opinion is noted, and filed under 'u' for 'unimportant'. TheHYPO 19:59, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] South House

I was sure he was in South House in Harvard. I'm probably wrong but someone might look into it.

[edit] /b/ vandalism. *sigh*

The lovely fellows over at /b/ "decided" that Conan died of a heart attack, and acted accordingly. Just thought to warn you.

What's /b/? TheHYPO 07:20, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hair

Conan's hair should have its own page.

[edit] Three testicles?

Can this be real or is it simple vandalism?

[edit] Hornymanatee.com

Can we get some sources or something on the "required by law" bit attached to it? I've been searching and I can't find any such law mentioned anywhere—the only mention of it I did find suggested that Conan was joking—and, frankly, I can't imagine any such law ever being passed or being considered constitutional. Kakaze 08:37, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

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