Conan O'Brien Biography Quotes 29 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Conan Christopher OBrien was born on April 18, 1963, in Brookline, Massachusetts, to a family rooted in scholarship and public service. His father, Thomas OBrien, became a prominent physician and professor at Harvard Medical School, and his mother, Ruth OBrien (nee Reardon), practiced law. Raised in a large Irish American family and educated in the public schools of Brookline, he showed early talent for writing and performance. At Brookline High School he was an academic standout and class valedictorian, and he edited the school newspaper while developing a taste for satire and wordplay that would become his comedic signature.

OBrien attended Harvard University, concentrating in History and Literature. He joined the Harvard Lampoon, the storied humor magazine that had nurtured generations of comedy writers, and was elected president of the Lampoon twice. The role immersed him in collaborative writing and sketch construction, giving him a practical apprenticeship in shaping jokes, characters, and absurd premises into tightly paced comedy.

Early Career as a Writer
After college, OBrien moved into television writing. He worked on HBOs Not Necessarily the News and the short-lived Wilton North Report, sharpening his sensibilities in topical humor and news parody. A pivotal professional friendship formed with Robert Smigel, with whom he co-wrote Lookwell, a 1991 pilot produced by Lorne Michaels and starring Adam West. Although it was not picked up to series, Lookwell later earned cult status and demonstrated OBriens skill at designing character-driven absurdity.

In 1988, OBrien joined Saturday Night Live as a writer, again under Lorne Michaels. At SNL he contributed to sketches that fused conceptual weirdness with mainstream appeal, collaborating closely with performers and fellow writers. His work earned industry notice and established him as a versatile writer capable of both high-concept premises and quick-turn topical material.

The Simpsons Years
OBrien left SNL in 1991 to join the writing staff of The Simpsons, soon becoming a supervising producer. His scripts, including New Kid on the Block, Homer Goes to College, and Marge vs. the Monorail, stood out for orchestral silliness woven into airtight storytelling. Guided by showrunners and a rigorous writers room, he learned how to structure episodes with escalating comic set pieces, a discipline that would later inform the architecture of his talk shows.

Late Night with Conan OBrien
In 1993, after David Letterman departed NBCs Late Night franchise for CBS, Lorne Michaels recommended OBrien as the new host of Late Night. The choice surprised the public: a relatively unknown writer stepping into a marquee role. OBrien, with Andy Richter as his on-air partner and Max Weinberg leading the house band, debuted to mixed reviews and nervous ratings. Executive producer Jeff Ross helped build a resilient show culture, and OBriens on-camera persona evolved quickly: gangly, self-deprecating, fast on his feet, and eager to break the format with desk pieces, characters, and elaborate remotes.

Late Night gradually became a creative laboratory. Robert Smigel introduced Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, while a deep bench of writers and producers developed recurring bits such as In the Year 2000 and the Walker, Texas Ranger lever. The shows willingness to indulge surrealism, celebrate awkwardness, and spotlight staffers became its calling card. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, OBrien had a devoted following and consistent critical acclaim.

The Tonight Show Transition and the NBC Dispute
NBC announced in 2004 that OBrien would inherit The Tonight Show in 2009. When the handover arrived, Andy Richter returned as announcer and sidekick, and the move was framed as a generational changing of the guard. However, the network soon reshuffled late-night scheduling, positioning Jay Leno in prime time and then proposing to return him to 11:35 p.m., which would have pushed The Tonight Show with Conan OBrien past midnight. OBrien publicly objected, arguing that the change would damage the Tonight Show legacy. In early 2010 he exited NBC with a settlement. The controversy, sometimes called the late-night wars, galvanized fans under the Im With CoCo banner and turned OBrien into a folk hero for creative independence.

During the hiatus that followed, OBrien embarked on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, a live stage show that kept his staff working and brought his brand of comedy directly to audiences across North America. The tour underlined his loyalty to his team and his instinct to reinvent under pressure.

Reinvention at TBS
In November 2010, OBrien launched Conan on TBS, with Andy Richter returning and Jimmy Vivino leading the Basic Cable Band. The show embraced digital media, making remotes and sketches shareable online. Jordan Schlansky, a deadpan associate producer, became a recurring on-air foil in workplace remotes that showcased OBriens improvisational skill. The series also birthed long-running segments like Clueless Gamer and spun off primetime travel specials under the banner Conan Without Borders.

The travel episodes took OBrien to Cuba, Armenia, South Korea, Mexico, Haiti, Israel, Ghana, and beyond, where he collaborated with local comedians and artists, and in Armenia he traveled with his longtime assistant Sona Movsesian, highlighting her heritage. These specials fused curiosity, cultural exchange, and silliness, expanding his late-night sensibility into global field pieces. In 2019, Conan shifted to a streamlined 30-minute format, reflecting changing viewing habits and the shows emphasis on remotes and digital clips. The TBS run ended in 2021, closing a chapter that had defined cable-era late night.

Podcasting, Team Coco, and New Platforms
Anticipating shifts in audience behavior, OBrien and executive producer Jeff Ross built Team Coco into a multi-platform brand spanning television, live events, and digital video. In 2018 he launched the weekly podcast Conan OBrien Needs a Friend, featuring freewheeling interviews with entertainers, authors, and public figures. The chemistry among OBrien, Sona Movsesian, and producer Matt Gourley gave the podcast a loose, intimate tone that contrasted with the precision of broadcast television. The show became a hit and helped establish podcasting as a major pillar of his career. In 2022, Team Coco, including its podcast slate, was acquired by SiriusXM, underscoring its value as a modern comedy studio.

OBrien continued developing travel and variety projects for streaming, including a globe-trotting series that extended the Without Borders spirit to longer-form storytelling and drew on relationships with international creators.

Public Appearances and Recognition
Beyond his own programs, OBrien has hosted major award shows, including the Primetime Emmy Awards, and delivered widely shared commencement addresses noted for a blend of candor and optimism. Over the years he and his writing teams have received multiple Emmy and Writers Guild honors and nominations, reflecting sustained excellence across sketch, animation, late-night variety, and audio.

Personal Life
OBrien met advertising executive Liza Powel during a Late Night taping in 2000, when her agency appeared in a comedy sketch. They married in 2002 and have two children. Known for supporting his staff during industry disruptions, he famously devised on-air stunts to keep Late Night alive during the 2007-08 writers strike and took pains to protect employees financial well-being through periods of uncertainty. Colleagues often cite his loyalty, curiosity, and generosity behind the scenes, qualities mirrored by relationships with collaborators such as Andy Richter, Max Weinberg, Robert Smigel, Jeff Ross, Sona Movsesian, Jordan Schlansky, Jimmy Vivino, and Matt Gourley.

Influence and Legacy
Conan OBrien stands out as a rare figure who bridged the worlds of elite comedy writing and mass-appeal hosting. His path from the Lampoon to SNL and The Simpsons, and then to decades behind a late-night desk, helped redefine the modern talk show as a writers medium that welcomes subversion, experimentation, and the personalities of the staff as part of the show. His willingness to move platforms, center digital audiences, and approach global cultures with comic humility broadened the genre. Even as trends shifted from network television to cable, and then to streaming and podcasts, OBrien adapted without losing the voice that first took shape in the Lampoon offices: literate, absurd, self-mocking, and deeply collaborative.

Our collection contains 29 quotes who is written by Conan, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Motivational - Puns & Wordplay - Leadership - Sarcastic.

Other people realated to Conan: Jay Leno (Comedian), Marc Maron (Entertainer), Rob Lowe (Actor), Will Arnett (Actor), Norm MacDonald (Actor)

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