Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer,

and producer. He is best known for hosting several late-night talk shows; since 2010, he has
hosted Conan on the cable channel TBS. O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and was
raised in an Irish Catholic family. He served as president of The Harvard Lampoon while
attending Harvard University, and was a writer for the sketch comedy series Not Necessarily the
News.
After writing for several comedy shows in Los Angeles, he joined the writing staff of Saturday Night
Live. O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons for two seasons until he was
commissioned by NBC to take over David Letterman's position as host of Late Night in 1993. A
virtual unknown to the public, O'Brien's initial Late Night tenure received unfavorable reviews and
remained on a multiweek renewal cycle during its early years. The show generally improved over
time and was highly regarded by the time of his departure in 2009. Afterwards, O'Brien relocated
from New York to Los Angeles to host his own incarnation of The Tonight Show for seven months
until network politics prompted a host change in 2010.
Known for his spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized as "awkward, self-
deprecating humor", O'Brien's late-night programs combine the "lewd and wacky with more elegant,
narrative-driven short films (remotes)".[1] He has hosted Conan since 2010 and has also hosted such
events as the Emmy Awards and Christmas in Washington.[2][3]O'Brien has been the subject of a
documentary, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011), and has also hosted a 32-city live comedy tour.
With the retirement of David Letterman on May 20, 2015, O'Brien became the longest-working of all
current late-night talk show hosts in the United States, at 25 years.[4]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Career
o 2.1Saturday Night Live (1987–1991)
o 2.2The Simpsons (1991–1993)
o 2.3Late Night (1993–2009)
o 2.4The Tonight Show (2009–2010)
o 2.5Television hiatus
o 2.6Conan (2010–present)
o 2.7Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend (2018–present)
o 2.8Television producer
o 2.9Voice work
o 2.10Guest appearances
o 2.11Hosting duties
 3Influences
 4Personal life
o 4.1Victim of stalking
 5Filmography
o 5.1Film
o 5.2Television
o 5.3Video games
o 5.4Music videos
 6References
 7External links
Early life
O'Brien was born on April 18, 1963, in Brookline, Massachusetts.[5] His father, Thomas Francis
O'Brien, is a physician, epidemiologist, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical
School.[6][7][8] His mother, Ruth O'Brien (née Reardon), is a retired attorney and former partner at the
Boston firm Ropes & Gray.[9][10] O'Brien has three brothers and two sisters.
O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as the managing editor of the school
newspaper, The Sagamore.[8] In his second year, O'Brien was an intern for Congressman Robert
Drinan[11] and in his senior year, he won the National Council of Teachers of English writing contest
with his short story, "To Bury the Living".[12] After graduating as valedictorian in 1981, he
entered Harvard University.[13] At Harvard, O'Brien lived in Holworthy Hall during his first
year[14] and Mather House during his three upper-class years. He concentrated in History &
Literature, and graduated magna cum laude[15] in 1985.[16] O'Brien's senior thesis concerned the use
of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.[17][18] During college,
O'Brien briefly served as the drummer in a band called "The Bad Clams", was a writer for
the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine,[19] and developed a spoof of the popular video game One on
One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird in which the Boston Celtics play against a classical ballet troupe.[20] During
his sophomore and junior years, he served as the Lampoon's president.[21] At this time, O'Brien's
future boss at NBC, Jeff Zucker, was serving as President of the school's newspaper The Harvard
Crimson.[22]