As many of you may know, I’m a fan of Conan O’Brien. That extremely pale Irish-American oddity with the even odder hair is one of my most favorite personalities in entertainment and has been for quite a few many years.
I remember watching Conan when I was in elementary school and enjoying watching him make fun of himself and crack jokes that I didn’t really understand. And even years after beginning my fascination with Conan’s style of humor and wise-cracking, I can still say he is still a joy to watch. Who else can sport an Amish beard (his ‘strike’ beard), sing like Edith Bunker, rocking to Rock Band, and still be one of the most serious entertainers? He has always been a joy to watch, even when watching some of his first shows on the Late Night Show when he looked nothing more than a Popsicle stick with a flowing mane of orange hair who was just getting his feet wet in the ‘night show’ business.
All jokes about his looks aside (I do think he is a rather handsome man, but he himself has poked fun at not only his hair, his looks, his height, and his tiny desk on the Late Night Show more than once for a laugh), thinking of the possibility that Conan might quit the ‘night show’ business due to executive ho-ha is an incredibly depressing and frightening prospect. When Craig Kilborn quit The Late Late Show in 2004, it was a confusing time for me as I had watched him for most of his five-year span as host of the show. And seeing Craig Ferguson, the person who I had coined to be only good as Mr. Wick from The Drew Carey Show, replace Mr. Kilborn as the host of The Late Late Show, I was very surprised to see how awesome the show became even after an entertaining run for many years with Mr. Kilborn. I felt the same way when Conan replaced Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show. I enjoyed watching Jay, but Conan was a much much much more entertaining personality to me, even when I found Jay’s cars and his knowledge of them very entertaining as well. And after seeing Conan only have 7 months at the helm of The Tonight Show, I’m deeply bothered to see such an entertainer be possibly screwed over when he has just truly hit the big time after working so many years to make The Late Show an outstanding success. Jimmy Fallon couldn’t of inherited a greater show.
So I’m simply hoping that Conan maintains his role as the host of The Tonight Show and can continue to do what he does best: entertaining America.
Conan’s statement about this whole situation after the break. Took some digging but it seems to be the correct one.
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.
There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.
Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.
Yours,
Conan
Source: Conan releases statement late-night situation [The Marquee Blog (CNN)]