| Conan O'Brien AKA Conan Christopher O'Brien
Born: 18-Apr-1963 Birthplace: Brookline, MA
Gender: Male Religion: Roman Catholic Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Talk Show Host, Comic Party Affiliation: Democratic Nationality: United States Executive summary: The Tonight Show Conan O'Brien attended Harvard, and edited The Harvard Lampoon for two years. After graduating Harvard magna cum laude with a degree in U.S. History, O'Brien wrote for satirical newscasts Not Necessarily the News and The Wilton North Report. He wrote for Saturday Night Live from 1987-91, and The Simpsons from 1990-93, where his work included "Homer Goes to College" and "Marge vs. the Monorail".
When David Letterman bolted from NBC's Late Night for CBS in 1993, Lorne Michaels was charged with finding a new host. Michaels had worked with O'Brien on SNL and thought he would do nicely, despite O'Brien's relative lack of performing experience -- only some improvisational comedy on stage in the 1980s. Thus a gangly redhead nobody had seen before took over Late Night in September of 1993, and after several months started not sucking. It took years before O'Brien seemed relaxed, but he definitely developed a knack for both performing and interviewing. Long-running skits included "In the Year 2000" and Robert Smigel's "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog".
After the 2003 SARS scare decimated tourism in Toronto, the Canadian government underwrote a road trip for O'Brien's Late Night in 2004. Some Canadians were offended when "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" insulted Canadians with lines like, "So you're French and Canadian? You're obnoxious and dull". Chum Television, which airs the show in Canada, edited out such "offensive material" when the program was re-broadcast. Alexa McDonough, a member of Canada's Parliament, called the program vile, vicious, hate-mongering garbage, and said the Canadian government should demand its money back. No refund has been offered.
In 2004, Jay Leno announced his retirement from The Tonight Show, effective 2009, and NBC announced that Conan O'Brien would take over, which he did on 1 June 2009. Actor-comedian Denis Leary is O'Brien's cousin.
Father: Thomas O'Brien (doctor) Mother: Ruth O'Brien (attorney) Brother: Neal O'Brien (b. 1960) Brother: Luke O'Brien (attorney, b. 1961) Sister: Kate O'Brien (teacher, b. 1965) Sister: Jane O'Brien (writer-producer, Futurama, b. 1967) Brother: Justin O'Brien (businessman, b. 1972) Girlfriend: Lynn Kaplan (cohabited 1994-99) Wife: Liza Powell (advertising executive, m. 12-Jan-2002, one daughter, one son) Daughter: Neve O'Brien (b. 14-Oct-2003) Son: Beckett O'Brien (b. 9-Nov-2005)
High School: Brookline High School, Brookline, MA (1981) University: BA History and Literature, Harvard University (1985)
Harvard Lampoon Al Franken for Senate Roast: Lorne Michaels (2004) Irish Ancestry
TELEVISION The Tonight Show Host (2009-) Late Night with Conan O'Brien Host (1993-2009) The Simpsons Producer Saturday Night Live Writer (1987-91)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR The Great Buck Howard (18-Jan-2008) Himself Queer Duck: The Movie (4-Jun-2006) [VOICE] Bewitched (24-Jun-2005) Himself Vanilla Sky (10-Dec-2001) Himself America: A Tribute to Heroes (21-Sep-2001) Himself Storytelling (12-May-2001) Himself Barenaked in America (11-Sep-1999) Himself
Requires Flash 7+ and Javascript.
Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile
Copyright ©2009 Soylent Communications
|