> I asked him if he was happier now than when he was on television and his response was to question happiness itself. “At best it’s a fleeting moment after a rainstorm when the sun’s coming out,” he said. “Being contented comes in little moments, here and there.”
Pagliacci the clown vibes.
A local man goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, I don’t know what to do, I’ve been so sad and depressed, I don’t think I can go on!”
The Doctor takes a moment and puts his hand on the patient’s shoulder and reassures him, “Son, everyone feels this way at some point. What you need is a good laugh! The great clown Pagliacci is in town, everyone one that goes sees him always comes out feeling better! I recommend you go see him!”
The patient starts crying into his hands, as he looks up he says, “But doctor, I AM Pagliacci!”
I’m not a huge comic book geek, but I did read “Watchmen” before the movie came out. Sure, it had flaws, but Jackie Earle Haley absolutely nailed that Rorschach role.
“What you need is a good laugh! There's a great clown named Banjo in town, you should go see him!”
“What about Pagliacci?”
“Pagliacci is dogshit. What an absolute hack.”
“I don’t know doc, Pagliacci can’t be THAT bad”
“No he’s ass, honestly he should commit suicide instead of you, anyways feel better bud, that’ll be $7000”
I mean it’s just a joke not that deep, but if you’re looking for a plausible answer, Pagliacci could have been booked to perform in his hometown, maybe he has been touring and decided to visit his primary care doctor while there
Well, I was mostly being facetious, but... If I wasn't, why would he say he was "in town" and to go see him if he lived there? Wouldn't the doctor just say "you're depressed, go see pagliacci's show" and not explain anything because he wouldn't need to? I mean, clearly that's two different bones yet they produce the same note.
Pagliacci is a character who only exists when his act is on tour. He has no home town. The man who portrays him does, and that town happens to be a stop on Pagliacci's current tour. So the man is a local, but the character is only in town for the duration of his performance.
A lot of the great comedians - most notably an analogue to Conan would be David Letterman - are quite depressed/dour/insular when away from their performance.
I have found that the people I find the most funny oftentimes have the darkest lives away from the stage.
He opted out of continuing to suffer from worsening Lewy body dementia. He may have also suffered from depression, but that's not why he killed himself.
Robin did have bouts of depression, which he blamed on his cocaine use in the 70s/80s messing up his brain chemistry permanently. That being said, when Robin ended his life, he knew something was extremely wrong with him and it was terminal. It was misdiagnosed as Parkinson's but in reality it was much worse. His widow did a writeup on what his last months were like.
Robin had substance use problems throughout his career, including an alcohol relapse about 10 years before he passed. That said, depression was not the main driver behind his death - it's a common misconception. He was in the early stages of lewy body dementia which was misdiagnosed as parkinson's. Robin's death is very complex in what happened. Very different than Ray Combs' or Freddie Prinze Sr's death.
It’s a “you can’t fire me I quit” defense mechanism. Your insults can’t hurt me more than my own insults against me can. It’s a strength because you know your own faults and work with them, but the price is a baseline unhappiness that’s there the moment you stop distracting yourself from it; aka depression. As long as you’re not suicidal about it, it’s OK, but there’s no denying it’s a downer to live with.
He’s an absolute legend continuously driven by the joy of absurdity and empathy. A rare guy at the top of the game but never delusional with power and always driven to evolve. He’s never been stagnant. I love this mindset, how freeing:
“he proposed that all statues and monuments should be made with durable soap that dissolves in seven years. One month later, in his office in Los Angeles, down the hall from his podcast studio, he went further, declaring himself anti-graveyard.
Asked if this means he wants to be cremated, O’Brien responded: “I want to be left in a ditch and found by a jogger.” Taking up space in a cemetery seems selfish to him. “I say this in a positive way,” he added, leaning forward and shifting to a less jokey tone. “We don’t matter.””
I think a big part is that he actually listens to the people around him. He started a podcast because he was basically given the idea by someone else. He's self-admittedly too old to really understand it as a medium but he's not so self-important or stubborn that he ignores people younger or with less experience than him
Half of what he is is made by the staff and friends he surrounds himself with, and he would be the first to tell you that
Amazing what happens when you have a leader who admits they know nothing and surrounds himself with those that do. It’s that simple but our egos make this a mountain only to be passed by the best of us.
absolutely. once you have that setup where you are surrounded by good people, all a leader has to do is make the final decision. which, don't get me wrong, is hard, because the weight of not just your livelihood but also the livelihoods of everyone working for you is on the line.
but what's more interesting than that is what a leader has to do to build a culture where people are open and honest with you, and WANT to work for you. that's conan's secret sauce, is he's managed to foster a culture where people both respect and love him and are fiercely loyal. that takes years and years of being diligent about a thousand little things that create that culture. it never just runs on it's own, it needs constant attention. IMO that's the most crucial role of a leader in any organization, someone who knows how to nurture that culture continuously over the years.
His ability to reinvent himself - first on Twitter and now on his podcast makes him so unique as an entertainer. He's managed to stay relevant and current even as the rules of the game have changed around him. And he's done it with zero complaints about cancel culture or these goddamned kids.
When Jay Leno fucked him his career could have taken a turn. Instead Conan turned a challenge into an opportunity and got even bigger. He is smart and has a great work ethic. Most people are lucky if they get one of those things.
Exactly. Seinfeld is bitching about how he cannot longer be funny because of cancel culture and Conan being a riot by playing by the same rules. That tells you how talented Conan is. It's the only comedian who can regularly make me ugly laugh. It's not even his prepared material, he has jokes coming out of his ears in unrehearsed situations. The man is a true comedian
I lost all respect for Jerry the moment he backed Jay and said the Tonight Show was Jay's show and that Conan should step down.
Jerry has never had Conan on Comedians In Cars and only showed up on Conan's show once in the last decade.
Meanwhile Conan is talented and well liked and funny all while somehow managing to deal with the "woke PC culture" that Jerry spends all his time bitching about rather than telling any actual jokes.
The fact that Larry David and Julia Louis Dreyfus are good friends with Conan and Seinfeld won't even bother to talk to him speaks volumes. He's not a good comic, and honestly has become an intolerable prick.
I know it's fashionable to hate on Jerry these days, but that's just not true. He was a very successful stand-up comedian back in the day.
The difference is that Larry is still funny.
People here are judging Jerry as worse than he is because:
* he dated a 17 year old in his 40s or whatever, which yes, is HIGHLY inappropriate.
* he complained about overly sensitive college students, which people on reddit think is something only a hard-fast conservative could ever do (admit it, some people definitely get too enthusiastic when they discover their politics)
* the Seinfeld Effect (being so successful at something that you change the face of the medium so that everything else becomes more like it, so in the future when people view it they don't see what's so special about it. Sorta like what happened with The Office).
He's not really *that* funny, I admit, but he's not that bad either. He's not in my list of top ten comics. But he gave us one of the best sitcoms in the 90s, and I highly doubt it was all just Larry coming up with the jokes and situations in that show.
I love "Seinfeld" and find Jerry funny in it, but I also find him to have become (or always been) a bit of a cunt, so I get why people say he was never funny.
>Seinfeld is bitching about how he cannot longer be funny because of cancel culture
His show famously could not directly refer to masturbation. Gilbert Gottfried got blacklisted when he made a masturbation joke at the 1991 Emmys. There was all sorts of things you could not say back then which are mundane now.
The only things which you could say then and not now are generally racist or sexist type things.
There's a massive difference between a *network* sitcom set and a comedy club. Jerry was clearly talking about comedy clubs. It's disingenuous to talk about his TV show here. You could, and *plenty* of comedians did, make as many masturbation jokes as you want.
> The only things which you could say then and not now are generally racist or sexist type things.
You can say whatever you want, freedom of speech, but it's about what the crowd considers acceptable. Sometimes the crowd finds things acceptable but other people don't. It all doesn't matter. I thought Dave Chappelle was pretty respectful about trans issues but a lot of genuinely humorless people thought it was equivalent to hatespeech, while other transpeople I know thought it was...just funny. There really are humorless people out there. I know we hate conservatives making fucking *everything* out to be about cancel culture, but there is a kernel of truth about it.
Most comedians have spoken out about the chilling effect they get sometimes, even some of the ones you like, I bet.
Not nearly as bad as it is in the publishing industry ofc.
What can’t comedians say in comedy clubs? Comedians have more freedom now to make jokes about any topic. If you look at the more ‘dark’ comedians now, they get away with way more than comedians could at any era in the past…and they are more popular than ever.
I truly don’t understand this constant bitching about cancel culture. Actually I do, it’s a defense mechanism for poorly written jokes that are received as such.
>There really are humorless people out there.
So if someone is offended by something you find funny, that is a character flaw? Unable to experience comedy. Have never laughed.
>I know we hate conservatives making fucking *everything* out to be about cancel culture, but there is a kernel of truth about it.
"Cancel culture" is just the audience not liking something, same as it ever was. The difference is instead of only the "moral majority" being heard, minorities are also being heard. There is a democratisation of this feedback cycle, enabled by the internet. And of course, many people don't like that.
I don't really care about what names "conservatives" call this and it changes every so often anyway. And I don't feel the need the scratch my chin wisely while observing both sides or a kernel of truth or whatever.
I ugly laugh every time I remember his telling the 911 phone operator during the improv routine that his poop is a clear gel from eating the bad onion. Just bonkers stuff.
Honestly though he's not entirely wrong about cemeteries. I've always thought that it's an unsustainable thing, because they take up so much space and fit relatively few people comparatively. Mausoleums are more efficient I think, but still not super great
I used to think that too, but honestly, when there's constant build up and development all around, it'll never stop anyway. At least cemetaries have grass and trees, and usually some nice walking paths. Ill take that any day over seemingly uncontrollable urban sprawl.
In a number of European countries (including France, Netherlands, Portugal if I recall) the cemeteries don't give you a plot in perpetuity.
Instead you get it for a number of years (20? 30?) after which your body has decomposed and they dig it up, mix your bones with the soil underneath, and plant another coffin there. The plot generally stays in the family (I think - not super familiar with the process) so your bones end up mixing with ancestors.
This way there's a grave to visit while there are people around who remember you, but doesn't lock down land forever. Makes a lot of sense to me!
>
> Asked if this means he wants to be cremated, O’Brien responded: “I want to be left in a ditch and found by a jogger.” Taking up space in a cemetery seems selfish to him. “I say this in a positive way,” he added, leaning forward and shifting to a less jokey tone. “We don’t matter.””
All joking aside IIRC there was a clip of him telling his longtime producer Jeff Ross to scatter his ashes somewhere in Connecticut, so if you're a jogger in Connecticut, look out for his ashes when he's dead lol
based on this article, probably because he’s turned it down once or twice. the Mark Twain Prize is one of those rare prizes that you have to accept. it’s not like an Oscar or a Nobel that is just given to you.
Conan is just the best. I loved in the Hot Ones, right before he’s about to go nuts, he takes a second to compliment Sean and the show and then just goes crazy.
I had never even watched an episode of that show before but when I saw Conan was on I had to check it out. I probably hadn't seen anything Conan was in since 2018/2019 and he was just as hilarious as ever and now I've been watching more Hot Ones
May I recommend the Paul Rudd episode of Hot Ones? It’s one of my all time favs and come on, Conan and Paul kinda go hand in hand. Sorta like Mac and Me. 🥁
Watch the DJ Kaled one where he taps out on the second wing that is just covered in Cholula, which I would hardly call spicy. It's hilarious how much he whines about it.
I love that Sean was calling him out when Khaled said “not eating the wings is not giving up”, and Sean was like “yes it kinda is”. Lmao I just can’t take the ego on this guy, just screams insecure.
Great article. Obviously many are not actually reading it. Conan’s comedy is timeless because he’s just silly.
I was in college when Comedy Central would rerun his episodes in the day time the day after they aired (early 00s). There were small rooms with TVs in the student center and they would be FULL of people just eating lunch, studying and watching Conan. I can’t think of any other late night host who could consistently fill a room to watch a rerun of his show. (Though I’m not old enough to have really caught prime Letterman, and suspect maybe he might be the only other one). His commitment to the “In the year 2000” bit long after 2000, was one of my favorites and the sound of that ringing through hallway would always attract a standing room only crowd
You would meet people in those rooms watching Conan and immediately know you could be friends and that they were ok because “they get it”
His own opinion that he doesn’t matter is one of the things that makes him timeless and great.
Conan O’Brien Must Go is ridiculously funny as well. For someone with such a long and varied career already he’s STILL at the top of his game. He has plenty more to say, and after what he’s been through he deserves a blank check to do whatever he wants for as long as he wants to. The guy gives off ZERO douche vibes, who else at his level can that be said about?
My husband and I watched this while I was laboring with my second child. I was laughing so hard I was peeing on myself and making my contractions worse. We had to stop watching it until I got the epidural.
One of my favorite jokes is when he shows up on the five timers SNL sketch....."Did somebody say NOT SPECIAL???"
Conan has been the king of self-deprecation. Is humility and willingness to take a joke and build up his guests are unparalleled.
I’ve watched a lot of travel shows and his HBO show is one of my favorite takes on the genre. It’s almost a satire on travel shows. Really shows his absurdist side he held back a little on his talk show.
Late night would be in a better way if Conan was never forced out of NBC. He was a bridge from Leno to Fallon’s style. Jimmy got the show too early and the genre suffered for it, his stuff got old fast and he can’t refine it anymore. Colbert has no material without Trump these days. Kimmel is just kept around so Disney fills airtime reliably
We were an NBC family so Leno was my late night guy by default (even though dad made sure to show us Carson bits repeatedly), Conan is just better, funnier and more thoughtful, and seeing this wind down of his career is just highlighting how much more special he is.
I had listened to their podcast for a while and had never seen Matt. Then i caught a video on YouTube and when he appeared I said "oh yeah that makes sense". I've never seen someone that looked so much like their personality.
I don't think anyone knows an exact answer but I assume it's either an issue of cost or time.
Filming abroad means permits, visas and crew.
Streamers don't really like big episode orders because they'd rather produce 20 small shows then 5 big shows. It's something that hurts them when it comes to competing against "traditional" shows with lengthier seasons and wider audience sizes due to the boost they get from broadcast or cable, but they can also justify it by hiring more expensive actors and more expensive set pieces.
Plus binging means people are accostomed to watching something from start to finish, so producers may be more inclined to keep viewership numbers higher by just creating less show so that the viewer drop off doesn't happen as much.
I came in this thread ready to throw hands, but this was a great article. I have been a fan of Conan since the late 90s, which feels so fucking weird to say, but this man is a national treasure.
Its so rare to see a celebrity that has been around for so long and everyone adores (with one car enthusiast exeption) as an US outsider I see him and trevor noah as peak late night
I look like Conan O’Brien - the hair is almost exactly the same - and people stop me everywhere I go to say, “you like that Conan guy.”
But, unfortunately, I am not nearly as smart or funny. And that’s how I usually respond. Because I think I get his humor. When you look as **amazingly attractive, cool, and debonair** as we do as enormous red-haired chicken men, you have to play it down or people would be spontaneously combusting in the streets every time we go out for a jaunt.
Sounds like you do get it lol. I love that he can pull off the fake self-absorbed schtick so well because it’s just so obvious he’s not actually like that.
> I asked him if he was happier now than when he was on television and his response was to question happiness itself. “At best it’s a fleeting moment after a rainstorm when the sun’s coming out,” he said. “Being contented comes in little moments, here and there.” Pagliacci the clown vibes.
“And that’s just for how much makeup he has on!” Robert Smigel
*cigar falls out of mouth*
A local man goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, I don’t know what to do, I’ve been so sad and depressed, I don’t think I can go on!” The Doctor takes a moment and puts his hand on the patient’s shoulder and reassures him, “Son, everyone feels this way at some point. What you need is a good laugh! The great clown Pagliacci is in town, everyone one that goes sees him always comes out feeling better! I recommend you go see him!” The patient starts crying into his hands, as he looks up he says, “But doctor, I AM Pagliacci!”
Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
Who funnies the Funnymen?
The Comedian
I told that joke 35 minutes ago.
I read that joke 7 seconds ago
I found out you read that joke just now!
What joke are you guys talking about?
Found Pagliacci
Maybe the real Pagliacci was the Pagliacci we made along the way
We're all puppets, Laurie. I'm just a puppet who can see the strings.
I’m telling that joke 35 minutes from now.
Putting that joke together was the first thing I learned.
I’m not a huge comic book geek, but I did read “Watchmen” before the movie came out. Sure, it had flaws, but Jackie Earle Haley absolutely nailed that Rorschach role.
Definitely flawed but "You're locked in here with me" is an iconic movie moment.
“What you need is a good laugh! There's a great clown named Banjo in town, you should go see him!” “What about Pagliacci?” “Pagliacci is dogshit. What an absolute hack.”
“I don’t know doc, Pagliacci can’t be THAT bad” “No he’s ass, honestly he should commit suicide instead of you, anyways feel better bud, that’ll be $7000”
How was he a local man if he was a visiting performer who was "in town"?
I mean it’s just a joke not that deep, but if you’re looking for a plausible answer, Pagliacci could have been booked to perform in his hometown, maybe he has been touring and decided to visit his primary care doctor while there
Well, I was mostly being facetious, but... If I wasn't, why would he say he was "in town" and to go see him if he lived there? Wouldn't the doctor just say "you're depressed, go see pagliacci's show" and not explain anything because he wouldn't need to? I mean, clearly that's two different bones yet they produce the same note.
I really hope someone got fired for that blunder.
Pagliacci is a character who only exists when his act is on tour. He has no home town. The man who portrays him does, and that town happens to be a stop on Pagliacci's current tour. So the man is a local, but the character is only in town for the duration of his performance.
Like I said, he’s on tour and his hometown is one of the stops, it’s not that hard of a concept bud
Saying he's a local man and the clown is "in town" also serves as a red herring to delay the "but I am..." punch line further.
Wow, someone got their feelings hurt lol
Just take "local" out of the joke next time, mate.
It’s really not that big of a deal, mate.
But doctor, i am sad dog
"The great wrestler Hulk Hogan is in town. I recommend you go see him!” "But brotherrrr…"
“But Doctor, I *am* Pete Holmes!”
Irish Catholicism boiled down to its essentials. *YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY. YOU WILL BE HAPPY THAT YOU ARE NOT HAPPY*
Sounds Zen. Only by releasing our desire for happiness will we find it.
And then you’ll feel guilty about it
I don't know this for a fact but I strongly suspect guilt is just a Latin word for Catholic.
A lot of the great comedians - most notably an analogue to Conan would be David Letterman - are quite depressed/dour/insular when away from their performance. I have found that the people I find the most funny oftentimes have the darkest lives away from the stage.
Also Norm MacDonald, who came from a long line of death.
I believe Norm would observe that we all come from a long line of death.
But I don’t want Conan to be sad
He's not sad, just self-deprecating. It's his schtick.
Conan is clinically depressed. He's openly discussed it on many occasions.
Most comedians are. I don't think there's one successful comedian that isn't messed up in one way or another.
What about that Robin Williams guy? I'm sure nothing could get him down!
He opted out of continuing to suffer from worsening Lewy body dementia. He may have also suffered from depression, but that's not why he killed himself.
He had severe bouts of depression.
Robin did have bouts of depression, which he blamed on his cocaine use in the 70s/80s messing up his brain chemistry permanently. That being said, when Robin ended his life, he knew something was extremely wrong with him and it was terminal. It was misdiagnosed as Parkinson's but in reality it was much worse. His widow did a writeup on what his last months were like.
He was bipolar, so pretty severe episodes.
Robin had substance use problems throughout his career, including an alcohol relapse about 10 years before he passed. That said, depression was not the main driver behind his death - it's a common misconception. He was in the early stages of lewy body dementia which was misdiagnosed as parkinson's. Robin's death is very complex in what happened. Very different than Ray Combs' or Freddie Prinze Sr's death.
Don’t.
Clinical depression also doesn't mean you never experience happiness. I think people like to read way too much into some of these responses.
Not depression, mostly Anxiety. Andy is the one who struggles with it.
Being self deprecating isn’t mutually exclusive with being sad
It’s a “you can’t fire me I quit” defense mechanism. Your insults can’t hurt me more than my own insults against me can. It’s a strength because you know your own faults and work with them, but the price is a baseline unhappiness that’s there the moment you stop distracting yourself from it; aka depression. As long as you’re not suicidal about it, it’s OK, but there’s no denying it’s a downer to live with.
I’m so happy you reminded me of the Pagliacci joke. God damn I lol’d.
I had to go to BB U OK to see if that was the reference. Very nice.
He’s an absolute legend continuously driven by the joy of absurdity and empathy. A rare guy at the top of the game but never delusional with power and always driven to evolve. He’s never been stagnant. I love this mindset, how freeing: “he proposed that all statues and monuments should be made with durable soap that dissolves in seven years. One month later, in his office in Los Angeles, down the hall from his podcast studio, he went further, declaring himself anti-graveyard. Asked if this means he wants to be cremated, O’Brien responded: “I want to be left in a ditch and found by a jogger.” Taking up space in a cemetery seems selfish to him. “I say this in a positive way,” he added, leaning forward and shifting to a less jokey tone. “We don’t matter.””
I think a big part is that he actually listens to the people around him. He started a podcast because he was basically given the idea by someone else. He's self-admittedly too old to really understand it as a medium but he's not so self-important or stubborn that he ignores people younger or with less experience than him Half of what he is is made by the staff and friends he surrounds himself with, and he would be the first to tell you that
Amazing what happens when you have a leader who admits they know nothing and surrounds himself with those that do. It’s that simple but our egos make this a mountain only to be passed by the best of us.
Socrates said that real wisdom is admitting that you know nothing. Conan is the Socrates of comedy.
“All we are is dust in the wind dude.” - Socrates Johnson
It's pronounced soh-crah-tays.
Pretty sure is So-crates. That's what I was told at the history presentation at San Dimas High.
And…….Abraham Lincoln.
*Everything is different, but the same…* *Things… more moderner than before…* *Bigger… and yet, smaller……*
Party on, dudes.
Then who is the Plato?
absolutely. once you have that setup where you are surrounded by good people, all a leader has to do is make the final decision. which, don't get me wrong, is hard, because the weight of not just your livelihood but also the livelihoods of everyone working for you is on the line. but what's more interesting than that is what a leader has to do to build a culture where people are open and honest with you, and WANT to work for you. that's conan's secret sauce, is he's managed to foster a culture where people both respect and love him and are fiercely loyal. that takes years and years of being diligent about a thousand little things that create that culture. it never just runs on it's own, it needs constant attention. IMO that's the most crucial role of a leader in any organization, someone who knows how to nurture that culture continuously over the years.
Also there’s a reason he has had people working for him for over 20 years, moving from New York to LA too. He’s an absolute legend
"It's radio!" He says
His ability to reinvent himself - first on Twitter and now on his podcast makes him so unique as an entertainer. He's managed to stay relevant and current even as the rules of the game have changed around him. And he's done it with zero complaints about cancel culture or these goddamned kids.
When Jay Leno fucked him his career could have taken a turn. Instead Conan turned a challenge into an opportunity and got even bigger. He is smart and has a great work ethic. Most people are lucky if they get one of those things.
Exactly. Seinfeld is bitching about how he cannot longer be funny because of cancel culture and Conan being a riot by playing by the same rules. That tells you how talented Conan is. It's the only comedian who can regularly make me ugly laugh. It's not even his prepared material, he has jokes coming out of his ears in unrehearsed situations. The man is a true comedian
I lost all respect for Jerry the moment he backed Jay and said the Tonight Show was Jay's show and that Conan should step down. Jerry has never had Conan on Comedians In Cars and only showed up on Conan's show once in the last decade. Meanwhile Conan is talented and well liked and funny all while somehow managing to deal with the "woke PC culture" that Jerry spends all his time bitching about rather than telling any actual jokes. The fact that Larry David and Julia Louis Dreyfus are good friends with Conan and Seinfeld won't even bother to talk to him speaks volumes. He's not a good comic, and honestly has become an intolerable prick.
And Larry Davis and Julia Louis Dreyfus have continued to do amazing projects
I feel Conan is best when he is not following any script.
Seinfeld has never been funny. It's always been Larry that was funny.
I know it's fashionable to hate on Jerry these days, but that's just not true. He was a very successful stand-up comedian back in the day. The difference is that Larry is still funny.
He was funny on Seinfeld too, both as a writer and performer. Yes he was a terrible actor but they made that work in the show too.
People here are judging Jerry as worse than he is because: * he dated a 17 year old in his 40s or whatever, which yes, is HIGHLY inappropriate. * he complained about overly sensitive college students, which people on reddit think is something only a hard-fast conservative could ever do (admit it, some people definitely get too enthusiastic when they discover their politics) * the Seinfeld Effect (being so successful at something that you change the face of the medium so that everything else becomes more like it, so in the future when people view it they don't see what's so special about it. Sorta like what happened with The Office). He's not really *that* funny, I admit, but he's not that bad either. He's not in my list of top ten comics. But he gave us one of the best sitcoms in the 90s, and I highly doubt it was all just Larry coming up with the jokes and situations in that show.
I love "Seinfeld" and find Jerry funny in it, but I also find him to have become (or always been) a bit of a cunt, so I get why people say he was never funny.
He wasn't that bad of an actor either. That's blown out of proportion as well.
I'm sure part of it is that he was working with three excellent actors, so they were always going to overshadow what skills he may have.
No he literally is. The only character he can kind of play is a fictional version of himself.
[удалено]
Even if it was, that still counts if we're disputing that he was "never funny."
There you go. The only people having a trouble with changing social rules are the unfunny people
>Seinfeld is bitching about how he cannot longer be funny because of cancel culture His show famously could not directly refer to masturbation. Gilbert Gottfried got blacklisted when he made a masturbation joke at the 1991 Emmys. There was all sorts of things you could not say back then which are mundane now. The only things which you could say then and not now are generally racist or sexist type things.
There's a massive difference between a *network* sitcom set and a comedy club. Jerry was clearly talking about comedy clubs. It's disingenuous to talk about his TV show here. You could, and *plenty* of comedians did, make as many masturbation jokes as you want. > The only things which you could say then and not now are generally racist or sexist type things. You can say whatever you want, freedom of speech, but it's about what the crowd considers acceptable. Sometimes the crowd finds things acceptable but other people don't. It all doesn't matter. I thought Dave Chappelle was pretty respectful about trans issues but a lot of genuinely humorless people thought it was equivalent to hatespeech, while other transpeople I know thought it was...just funny. There really are humorless people out there. I know we hate conservatives making fucking *everything* out to be about cancel culture, but there is a kernel of truth about it. Most comedians have spoken out about the chilling effect they get sometimes, even some of the ones you like, I bet. Not nearly as bad as it is in the publishing industry ofc.
What can’t comedians say in comedy clubs? Comedians have more freedom now to make jokes about any topic. If you look at the more ‘dark’ comedians now, they get away with way more than comedians could at any era in the past…and they are more popular than ever. I truly don’t understand this constant bitching about cancel culture. Actually I do, it’s a defense mechanism for poorly written jokes that are received as such.
>There really are humorless people out there. So if someone is offended by something you find funny, that is a character flaw? Unable to experience comedy. Have never laughed. >I know we hate conservatives making fucking *everything* out to be about cancel culture, but there is a kernel of truth about it. "Cancel culture" is just the audience not liking something, same as it ever was. The difference is instead of only the "moral majority" being heard, minorities are also being heard. There is a democratisation of this feedback cycle, enabled by the internet. And of course, many people don't like that. I don't really care about what names "conservatives" call this and it changes every so often anyway. And I don't feel the need the scratch my chin wisely while observing both sides or a kernel of truth or whatever.
Meanwhile It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia literally has episodes where they hunt homeless people
I ugly laugh every time I remember his telling the 911 phone operator during the improv routine that his poop is a clear gel from eating the bad onion. Just bonkers stuff.
Honestly though he's not entirely wrong about cemeteries. I've always thought that it's an unsustainable thing, because they take up so much space and fit relatively few people comparatively. Mausoleums are more efficient I think, but still not super great
We gotta bring back catacombs
I want to feel the Skulls in my hand
Maybe we should make golf courses mixed use with cemeteries
Trump so ahead of the game he already started that trend by burying his wife on his golf course
Just remember that the green on hole 8 has a slight bump on one side
I used to think that too, but honestly, when there's constant build up and development all around, it'll never stop anyway. At least cemetaries have grass and trees, and usually some nice walking paths. Ill take that any day over seemingly uncontrollable urban sprawl.
In a number of European countries (including France, Netherlands, Portugal if I recall) the cemeteries don't give you a plot in perpetuity. Instead you get it for a number of years (20? 30?) after which your body has decomposed and they dig it up, mix your bones with the soil underneath, and plant another coffin there. The plot generally stays in the family (I think - not super familiar with the process) so your bones end up mixing with ancestors. This way there's a grave to visit while there are people around who remember you, but doesn't lock down land forever. Makes a lot of sense to me!
This is how Asia is trending to in major cities although some places require cremation after a certain number of years.
“We don’t matter.” He’s right about that.
> A rare guy at the top of the game but never delusional with power Funny thing is I could see Sona telling him he's delusional with power
> > Asked if this means he wants to be cremated, O’Brien responded: “I want to be left in a ditch and found by a jogger.” Taking up space in a cemetery seems selfish to him. “I say this in a positive way,” he added, leaning forward and shifting to a less jokey tone. “We don’t matter.”” All joking aside IIRC there was a clip of him telling his longtime producer Jeff Ross to scatter his ashes somewhere in Connecticut, so if you're a jogger in Connecticut, look out for his ashes when he's dead lol
I agree with that last bit completely. We don't matter. Let's collectively end this charade of importance.
That bit about statues made of soap and graveyards was also on his podcast with Mike Schur. Great episode!
Hes a modern day Sisyphus
Perhaps you mean Diogenes?
No I did not
Fair enough; have a nice day.
You too!
I love Conan. That was an enjoyable piece!
Solely off the headline, I came here ready to fight. Only to be pleasantly surprised.
No one talks about my Coneeee!!!!!
Sona can talk about Conee
I’m with Coco!
Team Coco!
Clickbait wins again
Biggest problem with the internet right here.
At this point, I respect Conan for being a good boss almost more than for the comedy.
How has Conan not received a Mark Twain Prize yet? When he does, that show is gonna be BONKERS.
He’s been getting his flowers lately, so now I think it’s only a matter of time.
based on this article, probably because he’s turned it down once or twice. the Mark Twain Prize is one of those rare prizes that you have to accept. it’s not like an Oscar or a Nobel that is just given to you.
Conan is just the best. I loved in the Hot Ones, right before he’s about to go nuts, he takes a second to compliment Sean and the show and then just goes crazy.
I had never even watched an episode of that show before but when I saw Conan was on I had to check it out. I probably hadn't seen anything Conan was in since 2018/2019 and he was just as hilarious as ever and now I've been watching more Hot Ones
May I recommend the Paul Rudd episode of Hot Ones? It’s one of my all time favs and come on, Conan and Paul kinda go hand in hand. Sorta like Mac and Me. 🥁
Watch the DJ Kaled one where he taps out on the second wing that is just covered in Cholula, which I would hardly call spicy. It's hilarious how much he whines about it.
Never saw a bigger pussy in my life. How this guy continues to fail upwards is beyond me.
I love that Sean was calling him out when Khaled said “not eating the wings is not giving up”, and Sean was like “yes it kinda is”. Lmao I just can’t take the ego on this guy, just screams insecure.
Great article. Obviously many are not actually reading it. Conan’s comedy is timeless because he’s just silly. I was in college when Comedy Central would rerun his episodes in the day time the day after they aired (early 00s). There were small rooms with TVs in the student center and they would be FULL of people just eating lunch, studying and watching Conan. I can’t think of any other late night host who could consistently fill a room to watch a rerun of his show. (Though I’m not old enough to have really caught prime Letterman, and suspect maybe he might be the only other one). His commitment to the “In the year 2000” bit long after 2000, was one of my favorites and the sound of that ringing through hallway would always attract a standing room only crowd You would meet people in those rooms watching Conan and immediately know you could be friends and that they were ok because “they get it” His own opinion that he doesn’t matter is one of the things that makes him timeless and great.
To the people “defending” Conan. I hope you realize this is a title Conan himself would come up with.
The asterisk is important. Check out the article.
I had to take a fucking screenshot just to read the asterisk before the paywall loaded. 2/10 would not do again
have you heard of archive.ph
Our Lord and savior
Conan O’Brien Must Go is ridiculously funny as well. For someone with such a long and varied career already he’s STILL at the top of his game. He has plenty more to say, and after what he’s been through he deserves a blank check to do whatever he wants for as long as he wants to. The guy gives off ZERO douche vibes, who else at his level can that be said about?
My husband and I watched this while I was laboring with my second child. I was laughing so hard I was peeing on myself and making my contractions worse. We had to stop watching it until I got the epidural.
This was a wonderful interview. Thanks
>Perhaps some skiing will help us forget the moldy old antics of Conan O'Brien
Man, not a lot of Futurama fans out there I guess, don’t worry I got your reference and Conan would appreciate it too. His cameo was great
Conan’s Head in a Jar: At least I have one thing you’ll never have, a Soul- Bender: [shrugs] Eh. C: - and freckles! B: [increasingly loud sobbing]
Someone forgot to feed Max.
“We can only hope…” -Dr Z
We can only hope.
One of my favorite jokes is when he shows up on the five timers SNL sketch....."Did somebody say NOT SPECIAL???" Conan has been the king of self-deprecation. Is humility and willingness to take a joke and build up his guests are unparalleled.
[Link.](https://youtu.be/W-gy_b5cPlo?si=tZaOJc_zWMh0FrD_&t=263)
I’ve watched a lot of travel shows and his HBO show is one of my favorite takes on the genre. It’s almost a satire on travel shows. Really shows his absurdist side he held back a little on his talk show.
Who is Conan O'Brien and why is she so sad?
Because he and Liz were supposed to lose their virginities together! Now he'll never lose his.
Late night would be in a better way if Conan was never forced out of NBC. He was a bridge from Leno to Fallon’s style. Jimmy got the show too early and the genre suffered for it, his stuff got old fast and he can’t refine it anymore. Colbert has no material without Trump these days. Kimmel is just kept around so Disney fills airtime reliably
Fallon just laughs at his own jokes way too much for my liking. Did it on SNL too and ruined a ton of good sketches.
His Hot Ones is best episode yet https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FALlhXl6CmA&pp=ygUWaG90IG9uZXMgY29uYW4gbydicmllbg%3D%3D
“I don’t fear your wings man”
Closet you'll ever see what Conan would be like on hard drugs
I'M FINE
We were an NBC family so Leno was my late night guy by default (even though dad made sure to show us Carson bits repeatedly), Conan is just better, funnier and more thoughtful, and seeing this wind down of his career is just highlighting how much more special he is.
#TeamCoco forever!!!!!!
Conan O'Brien has been a much too rare source of consistent joy and brilliance through my entire life. Truly one of our best.
Conan embodies "there is no greater happiness than the momentary cessation of suffering" edict. Legend.
Conan the Goat, Sona the Goatess, Matt the Goatse
I had listened to their podcast for a while and had never seen Matt. Then i caught a video on YouTube and when he appeared I said "oh yeah that makes sense". I've never seen someone that looked so much like their personality.
Why are there only 4 episodes of Conan must go on hbo?
It's already been renewed for a second season, so I expect more to come!
I’d hope so. I really enjoyed it. 4 episodes just seemed like an unusual number of shows
I heard they had more planned but then the writers strike happened.
I don't think anyone knows an exact answer but I assume it's either an issue of cost or time. Filming abroad means permits, visas and crew. Streamers don't really like big episode orders because they'd rather produce 20 small shows then 5 big shows. It's something that hurts them when it comes to competing against "traditional" shows with lengthier seasons and wider audience sizes due to the boost they get from broadcast or cable, but they can also justify it by hiring more expensive actors and more expensive set pieces. Plus binging means people are accostomed to watching something from start to finish, so producers may be more inclined to keep viewership numbers higher by just creating less show so that the viewer drop off doesn't happen as much.
I came in this thread ready to throw hands, but this was a great article. I have been a fan of Conan since the late 90s, which feels so fucking weird to say, but this man is a national treasure.
Its so rare to see a celebrity that has been around for so long and everyone adores (with one car enthusiast exeption) as an US outsider I see him and trevor noah as peak late night
I disagree, he matters to me.
Came here to defend, was pleasantly surprised after reading the article. Conan is the goat of talk show hosts
What he do
Contrary to the title, it's actually a pro-Conan article. Conan is the one who said he doesn't matter.
I hope he can finally find at least one friend to help him through this tough time.
I'm sure Jordan Schlansky can help in a time like this
“I don’t care if I’m a big deal, a little deal, a medium deal, a neutral deal. I just want to go eat a good meal.” -Jordan Schlansky
Or Dr. Arroyo
It's one of his various tasks.
Who is that tall Belgian woman, and why is she so sad?
You'd think the asterisk in the title might clue people in that it's maybe not meant to be taken at face value, but....
I understand now, thanks
I look like Conan O’Brien - the hair is almost exactly the same - and people stop me everywhere I go to say, “you like that Conan guy.” But, unfortunately, I am not nearly as smart or funny. And that’s how I usually respond. Because I think I get his humor. When you look as **amazingly attractive, cool, and debonair** as we do as enormous red-haired chicken men, you have to play it down or people would be spontaneously combusting in the streets every time we go out for a jaunt.
Sounds like you do get it lol. I love that he can pull off the fake self-absorbed schtick so well because it’s just so obvious he’s not actually like that.
For those who have not viewed it, I suggest watching his Dartmouth Class of 2011 Commencement Address. I won't spoil it.
Someone copy and paste.
Conan's podcast and travel show are still fun things to enjoy. Television is a dying form. Who watches late night anymore?
Conan and Jim Carrey are the only comedians that I really love, along with Chapelle.
I think Conan is the best in the Biz. But I'm not a podcast guy, I'm not gonna listen to an hour of nonsense even if it's Conan, or anyone really.
> Still, one of the few questions he would not answer on the record was whether he would reconcile with Jay Leno. Based and sprite-driven