Home About the Show About Conan Conan Biography Pictures speech to Harvard class of 2000 Links
Television talk show host, writer. Born Conan Christopher O’Brien, on April 18, 1963, in Brookline, Massachusetts, the third of six children. His father, Dr. Thomas O’Brien, is a noted epidemiologist, the head of microbiology at Peter Brigham Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. His mother, Ruth Reardon O’Brien, was a partner at Ropes & Gray law firm outside Boston until her retirement in 1997. He has three brothers: Neal, an antique car collector, Luke, a lawyer, and Justin, a business consultant, and two sisters: Kate, a teacher, and Jane, a scriptwriter. Actor and comedian Denis Leary is a cousin.
O’Brien attended Harvard University, where he majored in American History (BA 1985). He was elected as president of the revered parody magazine, The Harvard Lampoon twice (the only other person to hold that distinction was humorist Robert Benchley in 1912). After graduation, O’Brien moved to Los Angeles and began writing for Not Necessarily the News, a series on cable station HBO. He also performed with an improv group, The Groundlings.
From 1988-91 O’Brien wrote for the hit NBC comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live; the writing staff of the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in 1989. (Some of O’Brien’s more memorable sketches were the “The Girl Watchers,” first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz, singing “Roxanne” in the elevator with Sting, and Mr. Short-Term Memory). O’Brien joined The Simpsons, the animated FOX series known for its hilarious, sharp writing, as a writer, then supervising producer, for their 1992-93 season.
Of the episodes he wrote, he has said that his favorite is “Springfield Gets a Monorail.”
When late-night staple Johnny Carson announced he would retire 1992, both Jay Leno, who had been the permanent guest host, and David Letterman, whose own late-night show followed Carson’s, were considered as his successor. NBC chose Leno over Letterman, and Letterman left the network for CBS, where his new late-night show would go head-to-head with Leno’s. Countless personalities and comedians applied and auditioned for the coveted spot after The Tonight Show, and it was somewhat surprising when the unknown Conan O’Brien was introduced as the new host of Late Night. Tall (six-foot-four) and a bit gangly, with no previous experience as a host, or even in front of the camera, NBC’s choice was questioned, critiqued, and ridiculed by some. On April 26, 1993, O’Brien was selected from among the many talented potential hosts of “Late Night”
Despite initially struggling in the ratings (he was renewed at 13-week intervals until he proved himself), O’Brien persevered with his own style of off-center, quirky, self-effacing comedy, reminiscent of Letterman’s early days, when he was establishing himself as a favorite of college students and the Generation X crowd. After four years on the air, NBC finally gave O’Brien a lucrative five-year contract. O’Brien was accompanied in his exploits by side-man Andy Richter, who left the show in May 2000, and bandleader Max Weinberg, who temporarily left the show to rejoin the E Street Band and his former boss, “The Boss,” Bruce Springsteen, during a 1999-2000 tour.
In 2000, O'Brien met an advertising executive, Liza Powell,, when she appeared in a skit on Late Night. The two began dating, and a year later announced their engagement. Now recently they had their first baby, Daughter Neve O'Brien born October 14, 2003 in New York.
since 4-30-04