Conan O'Brien has been a late-night fixture as far back as the early 90s, making his way from the writers' room of The Simpsons all the way to a tragically brief stint as host of The Tonight Show. Now, 10 years into his TBS talk show Conan, the lanky funnyman with dangerously curvy hair is ready to move on, but he hasn't forgotten where he came from.

On the tail end of his final episode on TBS, O'Brien took a seat on stage in front of his live audience (a refreshing change after the cardboard cutouts that filled his seats during most of 2020) and launched into a gratitude-filled monologue about his life and career up until that point. Taking time to single out as many of his dedicated staff members as he could, he made sure the crowd could feel the weight of just what it meant to bring his record-setting 27-year late-night run to an end. Naturally, since this is O'Brien, he peppered in plenty of jokes to keep the mood from getting too heavy.

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O'Brien spent a good chunk of his final speech delivering amusing anecdotes from throughout his tenure in the late-night circuit, from his awkward early days to meeting his wife during a skit on his own show. He showered praise on his staff, including long-time collaborators like his producer Jeff Ross and Andy Richter, who served as O'Brien's sidekick for many years and good buddy for many more. No mention of his bizarre but hilarious video game reviews with Aaron Bleyart, though that's more of a recent addition anyway.

O'Brien entered the late-night circuit in 1993, following a few years writing for Saturday Night Live and another few writing for a number of fondly remembered episodes of The Simpsons. Many were unsure about him as a host at first, himself included, seeing Late Night With Conan O'Brien launch to initially unfavorable reviews. A master of self-deprecation, O'Brien himself even joined in on the fun by penning a piece for the New York Times titled "O'Brien Flops!" the day his show premiered. It proved that, even back before he became a fixture in the entertainment world, he always had that certain spark.

His 10-year run on TBS' Conan also proved that he's not a man easily kept down. After taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009, O'Brien was taken off the show only a year later in what many consider to be extremely unfair treatment on the part of NBC. But he was back on his feet in no time, launching a live tour while setting things up for his TBS talk show. In fact, that might have been the best thing to happen to him, as it led to meeting Steve Koonin of TBS (a meeting he mentioned during his final monologue), who assured him that if he went on their network, he would stay totally in control creatively. If he'd stayed on The Tonight Show, odds are NBC would have found more than a few objections over the years.

So kudos to O'Brien, and here's hoping his upcoming variety show on HBO Max allows him to keep putting his unique brand of comedy out there into the world for a long time to come. But hey, even if it doesn't work out, his podcast Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend seems to be getting some great reviews.

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Source: Team Coco|YouTube