Born inBrookline, Massachusetts, O'Brien was raised in anIrish Catholic family. He served as president ofThe Harvard Lampoon while attendingHarvard University, where he graduated with an AB degree in history and literature. He was a writer for the sketch comedy seriesNot Necessarily the News. After writing for several comedy shows inLos Angeles, he joined the writing staff ofSaturday Night Live. O'Brien was a writer and producer forThe Simpsons for two seasons until he was selected byLorne Michaels andNBC to take overDavid Letterman's position as host ofLate Night in 1993. Despite unfavorable reviews and threats of cancellation in the show's first years, O'Brien and the show developed and became highly regarded, earning aPrimetime Emmy Award. He hostedLate Night for 16 years, and as of 2023 is still the longest-serving host in the history of the franchise.
Known for his spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized byThe New York Times as "awkward, self-deprecating humor", O'Brien's late-night programs combine the "lewd and wacky with more elegant, narrative-driven short films".[6] Hisremotes have also become some of his best-received work, including theinternational travel seriesConan Without Borders. With the retirement ofDavid Letterman on May 20, 2015, O'Brien became the longest-working late-night talk show host active in theUnited States.[7] This active streak ended with O'Brien's retirement from late-night television in June 2021, with his entire run as a late-night host lasting nearly 30 years.
After graduating asvaledictorian in 1981, O'Brien entered Harvard University.[18] He lived inHolworthy Hall during his first year with future businessmanLuis Ubiñas and two other roommates,[19] and inMather House during his three upper-class years.[20] He majored in history and literature, and graduatedmagna cum laude with aBachelor of Arts degree in 1985.[21][22] O'Brien's senior thesis, entitledLiterary Progeria in the Works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor, concerned the use of children as symbols in the works ofFaulkner andO'Connor.[23][24] During college, O'Brien briefly played drums in a band called the Bad Clams and was a writer for theHarvard Lampoon humor magazine.[25] During his sophomore and junior years, he served as theLampoon's president.[26] At this time, O'Brien's future boss atNBC,Jeff Zucker, was serving as president of the school newspaperThe Harvard Crimson.[27]
Career
Early writing jobs andSaturday Night Live (1985–1991)
O'Brien, like manySNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in whichTom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode in 1990.[38] O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot forLookwell starringAdam West, which aired on NBC in 1991.[39] Even with support fromNBC presidentBrandon Tartikoff, the pilot never went to series.[40] Despite the negative reviews, it became acult hit.[41] It was later screened atThe Other Network, a festival of unaired TV pilots produced byUn-Cabaret; it featured an extended interview with O'Brien and was rerun in 2002 on theTrio network.[42]
In 1991, after the failure of his sitcom, O'Brien also had an engagement to be married fall through and he quitSaturday Night Live, citingburnout.[43] "I told Lorne Michaels I couldn't come back to work and I just needed to do something else," O'Brien recalled. "I had no plan whatsoever. I was literally in this big transition phase in my life where I decided, I'll just walk around New York City, and an idea will come to me."[44]: 160–161 O'Brien would later return to the show as host in 2001,[45] and in a 2022 cameo appearance.[46]
The Simpsons (1991–1993)
I was very nervous when I started. They showed me into this office and told me to start writing down some ideas. They left me alone in that office. I left after five minutes to go get a cup of coffee. I heard a crash. I walked back to the office, and there was a hole in the window and a dead bird on the floor. Literally, in my first ten minutes atThe Simpsons, a bird had flown through the glass of my window, hit the far wall, broken its neck, and fallen dead on the floor.George Meyer came in and looked at it, and said, "Man, this is some kind of weird omen."
— O'Brien on his first moments atThe Simpsons[44]: 160–161
O'Brien in the offices of the writers ofThe Simpsons, 1992
Mike Reiss andAl Jean, thenshowrunners of the animated sitcomThe Simpsons, called O'Brien and offered him a job.[47] The series was prestigious in the writing community at the time; O'Brien recalls "everyone wanted to be on that show, but they never hired."[44]: 160–161 O'Brien was one of the first hires after the show's original crew. With the help of an old Groundlings friend, actorLisa Kudrow, O'Brien purchased an apartment inBeverly Hills.[43][44]: 163 He and Kudrow became romantically involved as well, and Kudrow believed he should begin performing rather than writing. O'Brien disagreed, feeling that Kudrow was flattering him, and asserting he was happy as a writer. In his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000,[48] O'Brien creditedThe Simpsons with saving him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing before being hired for the show.[49]
From 1991 to 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer forThe Simpsons. When O'Brien first arrived at the Fox lot, they temporarily gave him writerJeff Martin's office. O'Brien was nervous and self-conscious, feeling that he would embarrass himself in front of what he regarded as an intimidating collection of writers.[44]: 160–161 O'Brien would pitch characters in their voices, as he thought that was the norm, until Reiss informed him that no one did this.[44]: 162 [50] He fit in quickly, commanding control of the room frequently; writerJosh Weinstein called it a "ten-hour Conan show, nonstop".[44]: 160–161 According to John Ortved, one of his fellow writers said that O'Brien had been a shoo-in to take over as showrunner.[44]: 160–161
O'Brien wrote some of the series' most acclaimed episodes: "Marge vs. the Monorail" and "Homer Goes to College".[44]: 160–161 [51] The show was initially a highly realistic family sitcom; after O'Brien's debut, the show took a rapid shift in the direction of the surreal.[44]: 164 O'Brien also has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block" and "Treehouse of Horror IV", on which he wrote the episodewraparounds.Wallace Wolodarsky described a "room character" O'Brien put on for the writers: "Conan used to do this thing called the Nervous Writer that involved him opening a can ofDiet Coke and then nervously pitching a joke. He would spray Diet Coke all over himself, and that was always a source of endless amusement among us."[44]: 162 During his time atThe Simpsons, O'Brien also had a side project working with Smigel on the script for a musical film based on the "Hans and Franz" sketch fromSaturday Night Live, but the film was never produced.[52][53]
Meanwhile,David Letterman was preparing to leave the talk showLate Night, prompting executive producer Lorne Michaels to search for a new host. Michaels approached O'Brien to produce; then-agentGavin Polone stressed that O'Brien wanted to perform, rather than produce.[44]: 164 He arranged with Michaels that O'Brien would do a test audition on the stage ofThe Tonight Show.Jason Alexander andMimi Rogers were the guests, and the audience was composed ofSimpsons writers.[44]: 165 Wolodarksky recalled the experience: "Seeing this friend of yours, this guy that you worked with, walk out from behind that curtain and deliver a monologue was like something you could only dream up that you couldn't ever imagine actually happening."[44]: 165 The performance was beamed by satellite to New York, where Lorne Michaels and NBC executives watched.[6] The audition was not well received by media commentators, citing his "awkward" humor.[54][55]
O'Brien was picked as the new host ofLate Night on April 26, 1993.[6] As the writers headed to the voice record for "Homer Goes to College", O'Brien received a phone call from Polone informing him of the decision.[56] "He was passed out facedown into this horrible shag carpet. He was just quiet and comatose down there on that carpet," recalled postproduction supervisorJ. Michael Mendel. "I remember looking at him and saying, 'Wow. Your life is about to change, in a really dramatic way.'"[44]: 166–167 Fox, however, would not let O'Brien out of his contract. Eventually, NBC and O'Brien split the cost to get him out of the contract.[44]: 166–167 [57][58] During pre-production, writerRobert Smigel suggested fellow writerAndy Richter to sit beside O'Brien and act as asidekick.[59] After O'Brien's departure, the writers atThe Simpsons would watch videotaped episodes ofLate Night at lunch the day following their midnight broadcast and analyze them.[44]: 166–167
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, originating from Studio 6A at30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, premiered on September 13, 1993, to unfavorable reviews from contemporary critics.[60] This reception was not completely unsurprising: there was significant public apprehension due to O'Brien being virtually unknown to the public,[61][62][63] and O'Brien himself wrote a self-deprecatingThe New York Times piece titled "O'Brien Flops!" on the day of the show's premiere.[64] Critics attacked O'Brien:Tom Shales ofThe Washington Post suggested that "the host resume his previous identity, Conan O'Blivion."[6][65] Generally, critics viewed O'Brien as nervous and fidgety on-camera, and that he was "too smart, too East Coast, too sophisticated, too young and even too tall to be successful."[6] The show was constantly at risk for cancellation; at one low point in 1994, NBC threatened to put him on a week-to-week contract. Executives were anxious to replace him withGreg Kinnear, who followed O'Brien withLater at 1:30 am.[6] Interns filled empty seats in the audience while affiliates began to inquire about replacement hosts.[66][67] In one installment after a short stretch of reruns, sidekickAndy Richter described his vacation activities as follows: "I sat back and reminded myself what it's like to be unemployed." The in-joke alluded to the rumors floating in the trades that NBC was near canceling the program.[68]
Late Night under O'Brien slowly but steadily acquired commercial and critical success. Sketches grew in popularity ("If They Mated", "Desk Drive", "In the Year 2000").[67] A reliable staple involved a TV screen, lowered behind O'Brien's desk and displaying a still photo of a news figure. The lips and voice of these characters (Clutch Cargo) – frequently a party-crazed "hillbilly" interpretation ofBill Clinton – were supplied by writing partnerRobert Smigel.[67] A turning point was David Letterman's February 1994 appearance. "It was a morale boost," said O'Brien. "I'm thinking, If the guy who created the 12:30 thing comes on and says we're smart and funny, let's go."[69] The show went through a wobble in January 1995 when Robert Smigel, feeling burned out, quit as head writer.[43] An increase in quality over time, perceived by some observers, was sometimes credited to a growth in O'Brien's comedic performance.[70] Within a year, a comedic formula began to arise: the show would combine the lewd and wacky with more elegant, narrative-drivenremotes.[6][71] One famous remote was when O'Brien visited a historic, Civil War-era baseball league.[6] That piece was one of O'Brien's personal favorites, later remarking, "When I leave this earth, at the funeral, just show this, because this pretty much says who I'm all about."[72]
O'Brien's audience, largely young and male (a coveted demographic), grew steadily and the show began to best competitors in the ratings, and continued to do so for 15 seasons.[6] In the early days of the Internet, fans launched unofficial websites, compiling precise summaries of each episode.[73] Even Tom Shales was a convert: he called the show "one of the most amazing transformations in television history."[67] Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and theLate Night writing team were nominated annually for theEmmy Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series, winning the award for the first and only time in 2007. In 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004, he and theLate Night writing staff won theWriters Guild Award for Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series. In 2001, he formed his own television production company,Conaco, which subsequently shared in the production credits forLate Night.[9] That same year, he returned toSaturday Night Live, hosting the show during its 26th season.[45]
As of October 2005[update],Late Night with Conan O'Brien had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers.[66] In 2006, O'Brien exploited his perceived resemblance toTarja Halonen, entering her second term as president ofFinland. Capitalizing on the resemblance and on the2006 Finnish presidential election, O'Brien andLate Night aired mock political ads both in support of Halonen and against her main opponentSauli Niinistö, which influenced popular perception of the race, which Halonen eventually won.[74] O'Brien traveled to Finland shortly after the election.[75] "We took the show toHelsinki for five days," O'Brien recalled, "where we were embraced like a national treasure."[6][76] As part of the five-day trip, which was released as a one-hour special episode ofLate Night, O'Brien met with Halonen at the FinnishPresidential Palace.[77]
On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode ofLate Night with Conan O'Brien.[80] The show consisted of a compilation of previousLate Night clips and included a surprise appearance by former sidekick Andy Richter.Will Ferrell,John Mayer, and theWhite Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by destroying the set with an axe, handing out the pieces of the set to the audience,[81] and thanking a list of people who helped him. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman,Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.[82]
In 2019, clips from O'Brien's time onLate Night began to be posted on his TBS website and on the Team Coco YouTube channel.[83]
As part of a new contract negotiated withNBC in 2004, the network decided that O'Brien would take overThe Tonight Show fromJay Leno in 2009.[85] Leno then moved to aprime time slot, namedThe Jay Leno Show.[86] HostingThe Tonight Show was a lifelong dream of O'Brien's, and the promise of succeeding Leno kept him in NBC's employ despite the fact that he likely could have secured a more lucrative deal at another network.[87] O'Brien was a guest on Jay Leno's final episode ofThe Tonight Show.[88] On June 1, 2009,Will Ferrell became Conan's firstTonight Show guest on the couch andPearl Jam appeared as his first musical guest.[89]
O'Brien acquired the nickname "Coco" after its use in the first "Twitter Tracker" sketch during the second episode of hisTonight Show run.[90] Guest Tom Hanks used the nickname during his subsequent interview, even getting the audience to chant it. In reaction to themoniker, O'Brien remarked to Hanks in jest, "If that catches on, I'll sue you."[91] During the taping of the Friday, September 25, 2009, episode ofThe Tonight Show, O'Brien suffered a mild concussion after he slipped and hit his head while running a race as part of a comedy sketch with guestTeri Hatcher. He was examined at a hospital and released the same day. A rerun was aired that night, but O'Brien returned to work the following Monday and poked fun at the incident.[92][93]
By November 2009, ratings for O'Brien'sThe Tonight Show declined by around 2 million viewers since the previous year when Leno was host.[94] On January 7, 2010, NBC executive Jeff Zucker met with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien to discuss how to move Leno out of prime time, where his ratings were lackluster, and back into late night.[95] It was proposed that O'Brien would remain as host ofThe Tonight Show, which would run at 12:05 am with Leno hosting a 30-minute show at 11:35 pm.[96] Three days later,NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairmanJeff Gaspin confirmed thatThe Jay Leno Show would be moved to 11:35 pm following NBC's coverage of the2010 Winter Olympics.[97]
Every comedian, every comedian dreams of hostingThe Tonight Show and—for seven months—I got to do it. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second [of it].... All I ask is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism; for the record it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen.
—Conan O'Brien, on his departure fromThe Tonight Show, January 22, 2010[98]
Sources familiar with the situation stated that O'Brien was unhappy and disappointed with NBC's plan.[99] On January 12, O'Brien released this statement: "I sincerely believe that delayingThe 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'tThe Tonight Show."[100] On January 21, 2010, it was announced that O'Brien had reached a deal with NBC that would see him exitThe Tonight Show the next day. The deal also granted him $45 million, of which $12 million was designated for distribution to his staff, who had moved with O'Brien to Los Angeles from New York when he leftLate Night.[101]
Jay Leno returned toThe Tonight Show following NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Under the $45 million deal with NBC, O'Brien was allowed to start working for another network as soon as September 2010.[104][105] Conan's rumored next networks ranged from Fox toComedy Central.[106] Other networks reportedly interested in O'Brien includedTNT,HBO,FX,Showtime,Revision3,[107] and even theNBCUniversal–ownedUSA Network.[108]
On February 8, 2010, it was reported that O'Brien was attempting to sell hisCentral Park West penthouse in New York with an asking price of $35 million.[109] He had purchased the apartment in 2007 for $10 million.[110] Two years earlier, O'Brien had purchased a home in theBrentwood section of Los Angeles for over $10.5 million.[111] Some industry insiders have speculated that O'Brien had chosen to stay on the west coast in order to facilitate a return to late night television and because he did not want to put his children through another move.[112]
O'Brien was included in the 2010Time 100, a list compiled byTime of the 100 most influential people in the world as voted on by readers.[113] After being prohibited from making television appearances of any kind until May, O'Brien spoke about theTonight Show conflict on theCBS newsmagazine60 Minutes on May 2, 2010.[114] During the interview withSteve Kroft, O'Brien said the situation felt "like a marriage breaking up suddenly, violently, quickly. And I was just trying to figure out what happened." He also said he "absolutely" expected NBC to give him more of a chance and that, if in Jay Leno's position, he would not have come back toThe Tonight Show. However, O'Brien said he did not feel unfortunate. "It's crucial to me that anyone seeing this, if they take anything away from this, it's I'm fine. I'm doing great," said O'Brien. "I hope people still find me comedically absurd and ridiculous. And I don't regret anything."[115]
On March 11, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour beginning April 12, 2010, entitled, "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour".[116] Co-hostAndy Richter, along with members of the formerTonight Show Band, joined O'Brien on the tour.[117]Max Weinberg, however, was not able to join,[118] except for a guest appearance at one of Conan's New York City shows.[119] On April 12, 2010, O'Brien opened his two-month comedy tour inEugene, Oregon, with a crowd of 2,500 and no TV cameras.[120] The tour traveled through America's Northwest and Canada before moving on to larger cities, including Los Angeles and New York City, where he performed atRadio City Music Hall, next to his formerLate Night studios.[121][122] The tour ended inAtlanta on June 14.[123] In 2011, the documentary film titledConan O'Brien Can't Stop was released which followed O'Brien throughout his comedy tour.[124] The film premiered March 2011 at theSouth by Southwest media festival to positive reviews.[125][126] It was directed byRodman Flender who is O'Brien's personal friend and classmate at Harvard University.[127]
The day his live tour began, O'Brien announced that he would host a new show on cable stationTBS.[1] The show,Conan, debuted on November 8, 2010, and aired Monday through Thursday at 11:00 pm ET/10:00 pm CT.[128][129] O'Brien's addition movedLopez Tonight withGeorge Lopez back one hour.[2] Refusing at first to do to Lopez what had happened to him at NBC, O'Brien agreed to join TBS after Lopez called to persuade him to come to TBS.[130]
In February 2015, following the onset of theCuban thaw, O'Brien became the first American television personality to film inCuba for more than half a century.[131] O'Brien then visitedArmenia for his next show abroad, during which he featured his assistantSona Movsesian, who isArmenian American.[132] While visiting, O'Brien guest-starred as a gangster on an Armenian soap opera.[133] In April 2016, O'Brien visitedSouth Korea in response to a fan letter urging him to visit, as well as a growing fan base online. His visit included a trip to theKorean Demilitarized Zone, which resulted in O'Brien andSteven Yeun also visitingNorth Korea on a technicality by stepping across the border line at theDMZ. O'Brien commented on the significance during the sketch, claiming, "The idea that you and I could be in North Korea, talking and communicating freely, seems like kind of a cool message."[134][135] These remotes were later brandedConan Without Borders and became part of their own series, with O'Brien eventually traveling to thirteen countries in total.[136][137] The series became some of his most popular work, winning an Emmy in 2018.[138][136] The international shows became available onNetflix before moving toHBO Max.[139][140]
TBS extended the show through 2018 in 2014[141] and through 2022 in 2017.[142] In late 2018,Conan took a three-month hiatus while O'Brien launched another national comedy tour. The show returned January 22, 2019, in a new half-hour format without the live band.[143]
In response to theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program switched to a remotely-produced format from O'Brien's home beginning March 30, 2020.[144][145] In July 2020, it was announced thatConan would continue with this format, but would be filmed with limited on-site staff from theLargo at the Coronet in Los Angeles and no studio audience — making it the first American late-night talk show to return to filming outside of the host's residence (albeit still not from its main studio).[146] In November 2020, TBS announced thatConan would end in June 2021.[147] The final show aired on June 24, 2021, featuring a live audience and marking the end of O'Brien's twenty-eight year run as a late-night host.[148] It was announced that O'Brien would move to a weekly untitled variety show on fellowWarnerMedia propertyHBO Max, where he was expected to focus more on his podcast and travel shows with a relaxed production schedule.[149][150] On his final show, O'Brien featured fictional characterHomer Simpson, marking also the three episodes that O'Brien wrote for the series.[151] ComediansWill Ferrell andJack Black also paid their farewell to the show in the series finale.[152]
Podcasting andConan O'Brien Must Go (2018–present)
In 2018, O'Brien's production company, Team Coco, partnered withEarwolf to launch his own weekly podcast,Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.[153] The podcast debuted November 18, 2018, withWill Ferrell as the first guest.[143] O'Brien stated the title istongue-in-cheek, saying he would like to see if celebrity guests would actually be his friends.[154] In each episode, O'Brien is joined by his guest, as well as his assistantSona Movsesian and the show's producerMatt Gourley.[155] Guests on the podcast have includedBarack andMichelle Obama,Stephen Colbert, andBob Newhart among others.[156] The podcast has received strong reviews and became the top podcast oniTunes. The podcast has also won numerous awards throughout its run.[157][158]Deadline Hollywood reported that, as of August 2021, the podcast had been downloaded over 250 million times and was averaging more than 9 million downloads per month.[155]
In May 2022, O'Brien's podcast, as well as the entire Team Cocodigital media business, was sold toSiriusXM for $150 million.[a] This sale included all other Team Coco podcasts includingInside Conan andParks and Recollection, as well as the development of a comedy channel for SiriusXM radio service.[161][162]
On April 18, 2024,HBO released a four-episode international travel series titledConan O'Brien Must Go onMax to widespread critical acclaim.[163] The series featured O'Brien traveling to Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland to meet fans whom he had previously featured via video calls in his podcast seriesConan O'Brien Needs a Fan.[164][165][166][167] The show was renewed for a second season of six episodes in May 2024.[163] To promote the first season's release,O'Brien appeared on the interview showHot Ones, where guests eat increasingly spicychicken wings. The intensity and humor of his episode received significant media attention, resulting in widespread praise of his performance and more generally as a comedic performer.[168][169][170]
O'Brien was executive producer and co-wrote thepilot of the 2007NBC adventure/comedy seriesAndy Barker, P.I., starring O'Brien's sidekickAndy Richter.[173] After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007 byEntertainment Weekly.[174][175] Later,USA Network ordered a pilot episode of the medical-themedOperating Instructions, which was produced by O'Brien's production companyConaco.[176] In January 2010, NBC ordered two pilots from Conaco, the one-hour courtroom dramaOutlaw and a half-hour comedy.[177]Outlaw was produced in eight episodes and premiered on September 15, 2010.[178]
On the TV show30 Rock, O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead characterLiz Lemon, who works in the same building.[185] In the episode "Tracy Does Conan", O'Brien appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executiveJack Donaghy into having the characterTracy Jordan onLate Night, despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.[186] O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the U.S. version ofThe Office. In the episode "Valentine's Day",Michael believes that he spots formerSNL cast memberTina Fey, but has actually mistaken another woman for her. In the meantime, O'Brien has a quick walk-on, and the camera crew informs Michael when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey lookalike.[187] In 2011, he starred as himself in the web seriesWeb Therapy (oppositeLisa Kudrow) for three episodes.[188] O'Brien also made a guest appearance as the "Wandering MC" in the 2019 video gameDeath Stranding,[189][190] where he communicates with the player using voice lines and facial expressions recorded during his visit toKojima Productions' headquarters.[191]
On March 2, 2025, O'Brien hosted the97th Academy Awards for the first time.[200] He received wide acclaim for his performance, with the ceremony achieving its best U.S. television ratings in five years, and theAcademy announced just two weeks later that he would return to host the98th Academy Awards.[201][202]
Influences and style
O'Brien demonstrating his long legs atSXSW in March 2024. He is known for his active, spontaneous, and self-deprecating humor.
OnLate Night, O'Brien became known for his active andspontaneous hosting style,[9] which has been characterized as "self-deprecating" by both media outlets and O'Brien himself.[203][204] This spontaneity is also apparent in remotes in which he is put in novel and open-ended environments. Some of these, such as a "Civil War-era baseball" remote duringLate Night and his internationalConan Without Borders shows, are among his best-received work.[72][205]
O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann "Liza" Powel in 2000, when, as a senior copywriter for the advertising agencyFoote, Cone & Belding, she appeared in a pre-taped sketch onLate Night with Conan O'Brien in which O'Brien sought to craft a more effective TV commercial forHilton Furniture, a store in Houston, where his show aired in an undesirable timeslot of 2:40am.[229][230] The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their 2002 marriage in Powel's hometown ofSeattle.[231] O'Brien and Powel have a daughter, Neve (born 2003)[232] and a son, Beckett (born 2005).[233]
O'Brien often speaks about hisIrish Catholic heritage.[234][235] On a 2009 episode ofInside the Actors Studio, he stated that ancestors from both sides of his family moved to America from Ireland starting in the 1850s, subsequently marrying only other Irish Catholics, and that his lineage is thus 100% Irish Catholic.[9] His entirely homogenous ancestry was confirmed via DNA test a decade later, which he shared onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert. O'Brien noted that being entirely descended from just one ethnic group is extremely rare for an American, and that his being so "shocked" his doctor.[236]
He has been a registeredDemocrat since casting his first vote for president in 1984 forWalter Mondale. He considers himself amoderate on the political spectrum.[9][237] O'Brien founded the anti-hunger organizationLabels Are For Jars with his friend and former Harvard dormmate Father Paul B. O'Brien.[238] He also helped open theCor Unum meal center inLawrence, Massachusetts in 2006.[239][240]
Starting in September 2006, O'Brien wasstalked by Father David Ajemian of theArchdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, sent O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker".[241] Ajemian later sent O'Brien death threats and tried to forcefully enter a taping ofLate Night before being arrested.[242] On April 8, 2008, Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking, and was laterlaicized.[243][244]
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months owing to thestrike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting abeard, which guestTom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War."[245] After leavingThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in 2010, O'Brien again grew a beard, which he kept until May 2011, when it was partially shaved on the set ofConan byWill Ferrell (and completely shaved off-screen by a professional barber).[246]
On June 12, 2011, O'Brien was awarded an honoraryDoctor of Arts degree fromDartmouth College.[251] In addition to the honorary degree, he delivered thecommencement speech.[252][253] On October 21, 2011, O'Brien was ordained as a minister by theUniversal Life Church Monastery,[254] allowing him to perform a same-sex marriage in New York, at that time one of the few states in the US where gay marriage was legal.[255] The wedding, between a member of O'Brien's staff and his partner, was held on the stage of theBeacon Theatre on November 3, 2011, and broadcast onConan.[256] Thesame-sex marriage ceremony was the first to be broadcast on American late night television.[257]
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