Here's a funny video clip of Meena showing a dance similar to the Macerena.
I love the Macerena. Enjoy the clip.
http://youtu.be/4IrIlwhj_NY
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Conan O'Brien
The candle worm or whatever it was creeped me out. Conan is a natural talk show host like Letterman, Ferguson, etc....
I'm being interrupted so read the rest. I'll continue my thoughts later.
Birth name Conan Christopher O'Brien
Born April 18, 1963 (age 45)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.[1]
Medium Television
Nationality American
Years active 1985—present
Genres Improvisational comedy, Sketch comedy, Physical comedy, Surreal humor, self-deprecation
Influences Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Woody Allen, David Letterman, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Brooks, Bob Newhart, Bill Murray
Spouse Elizabeth Ann Powell (2002—present) (2 children)
Notable works and roles Writer for The Simpsons (1992—1993)
Host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
(1993—2009)
Host of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
Website Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1989 Saturday Night Live
2007 Late Night with Conan O'Brien[2]
Background
O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, the son of Ruth (née Reardon), an attorney, and Thomas Francis O'Brien, a physician and professor of medicine, both Irish Catholic.[4][5] He is the third of six children. Later, in a Late Night episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated.
Education
O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as managing editor of the school newspaper and interned for Rep. Barney Frank.[6] After graduating as valedictorian in 1981,[7] he entered Harvard University.
At Harvard, O'Brien lived in Holworthy Hall during his freshman year, [8] and Mather House during his three upper-class years. He graduated magna cum laude in 1985 with an A.B. in History and Literature.[9] His senior thesis concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.[10]
Throughout college O'Brien was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the Lampoon's president, making him the second person ever to serve as president twice, and the first person to have done so since the 1920s.[citation needed]
Also, while attending Harvard, classmate Damon Krukowski of the band Galaxie 500, used O'Brien's drum kit in many of the band's early recordings.[citation needed]
In 2008, he received an honorary degree in Actuarial Science from Ball State University.[11]
Career
O'Brien in the offices of the Simpsons writers in 1992.
Television writer
O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's Not Necessarily the News.[12] He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings.
In January 1988, Saturday Night Live's executive producer Lorne Michaels hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on SNL, he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers," the latter of which was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz.[13] O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch "Nude Beach" with Robert Smigel, a sketch in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times.
While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987-1988 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue, in Chicago, with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called, Happy Happy Good Show. While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly was roommates with Jeff Garlin.[14] In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.
O'Brien, like many SNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season, gaining notice for the sketch Moleculo.
O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot Lookwell, starring Adam West. The pilot aired on NBC in 1991. The pilot never went to series, but it became a cult hit. It was later screened at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret, featuring an extended interview with O'Brien and rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.
From 1991 – 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons,[13] credited as writer or co-writer of four episodes.[15] Of all the episodes he wrote, he considers "Marge vs. the Monorail" to be his favorite.[13] Years later, in his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000,[16] O'Brien credited The Simpsons with "saving" him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his hiring for that show.[17] As of 2004, O'Brien's office at The Simpsons was being used as storage.[18] Along with that episode he has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block", "Homer Goes to College", and "Treehouse of Horror IV" on which he wrote the episode wrap-arounds. He produced several episodes of seasons 4 and 5 as well, meaning he would frequently contribute to scripts from those seasons.
[edit] Late Night
On April 25, 1993, Lorne Michaels suggested O'Brien try out to be David Letterman's successor as host of Late Night with David Letterman, with Andy Richter signed on to be his sidekick. O'Brien auditioned on the set of The Tonight Show, where he interviewed Mimi Rogers and Jason Alexander.[19] O'Brien resigned his position on The Simpsons, despite his contract not having expired.[19]
Premiering on September 13 of that same year, Late Night with Conan O'Brien received generally unfavorable critical reviews for the first 2 to 3 years after its debut. O'Brien himself, a total unknown among the general public before being named host, was seen by many as not being worthy of the program. NBC even poked fun at this perception in a radio ad which aired shortly before the show's debut and had O'Brien relaying an anecdote where someone recognized him on the street and said, "Look, honey, there's the guy who doesn't deserve his own show!" Another source of criticism was the fact that O'Brien himself appeared to be very nervous and awkward during the show's early days. As a self-deprecating nod to this, the original opening sequence for Late Night With Conan O'Brien was animated and featured a caricature of O'Brien who sweated and pulled at his collar nervously.
The show remained on multi-week renewal cycles while NBC decided its fate. By 1996-97, O'Brien's writing and comedic style was thought to have improved,[citation needed] and he began to develop a growing fan base, especially with high school and college students, as well as the respect of critics and his peers.[citation needed] O'Brien would later poke fun at the first three years of the show when on his 10th Anniversary Special, Mr. T appeared to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he's actually been on the air for ten years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool...but you've only been funny for seven!"
Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the Late Night writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy 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 the Late Night writing staff won the Writers 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 for Late Night.
On the first episode after the September 11th attacks, O'Brien told a story of how he went to pray for the first time since just after he had been announced as the host of Late Night, eight years prior. O'Brien was reported to have been shaken up and talked about a need to have faith.[20]
O'Brien in Helsinki, Finland in February 2006.
After meeting Finnish actor/director Lauri Nurkse on October 11, 2005, O'Brien discovered that he was popular in Finland and began a long-running joke that he resembles the first female President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to the recurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland" and his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland and appeared on several television shows, and met President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special.
O'Brien ad libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on December 4, 2006, after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate web-cam site. NBC opted to purchase the website domain name for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that someone might register the domain name and post content with which NBC would not wish to be associated, or that people would get upset and sue NBC when they found out the website is fictional.[21] NBC now owns the rights to www.hornymanatee.com for 10 years, as per Conan O'Brien. According to O'Brien, it was decided that, since NBC owned the name, they might as well create the website. Late Night has since developed an actual website, which now has received millions of hits, reaching 4 million page views in four days. People send in "horny manatee" artwork, poems, and other content. According to the Alexa website ranking system, Hornymanatee.com has had over 10 million web hits.
A popular recurring bit on the show was Pale Force, a series of animated episodes in which comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness." As Gaffigan introduced each new episode, O'Brien protested the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak and impotent.
As of October 2005, Late Night with Conan O'Brien had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers.[22]
In 2004, O'Brien negotiated a new contract with NBC. As part of the deal, NBC announced that O'Brien would be taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009. Leno stated on the show that he wanted to avoid a repeat of the controversy and hard feelings that resulted when he was chosen by NBC to host the Tonight Show over David Letterman.[citation needed] On July 21, 2008, NBC announced that O'Brien's first Tonight Show would be on June 1, 2009.[23]
O'Brien is an avid guitarist and music listener. When Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as a musical guest, O'Brien joined the 17 piece band along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests Jimmy Fallon & Thomas Haden Church and played acoustic guitar and contributed backup vocals for the song, "Pay Me My Money Down".
During the writer's strike in 2008, Conan O'Brien staged a feud with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) over a dispute about which of the three were responsible for giving Mike Huckabee's campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee a "bump." This fight crossed over all three shows.[24]
On the June 13, 2008, episode of Late Night, O'Brien simply walked out at the start of the show. Instead of his usual upbeat antics and monologue, O'Brien announced that he had just received news about the sudden death of his good friend, fellow NBC employee and frequent Late Night guest Tim Russert. O'Brien proceeded to show two clips of his favorite Russert Late Night moments.[25]
On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The show consisted of a compilation of previous "Late Night" clips, and was co-hosted by O'Brien's former sidekick, Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by thanking a list of people that helped him get to that point in his career. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.
[edit] Emmy Host
O'Brien hosted the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006 to critical acclaim.[26] He had previously hosted the Primetime Emmys in 2002, and co-hosted in 2003.
[edit] Voice work and guest appearances
O'Brien appeared as a character in the 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, voiced by Brent Spiner. O'Brien later appeared in South Park in the episode "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?". In 2006, he voiced himself in a short South Park scene as part of the opening of the 2006 Emmy Awards. In 2005, he provided the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln in the audiobook version of Assassination Vacation.
He appeared in another late-night talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast (SGC2C), in Episode 77: Fire Ant, in which he and Space Ghost argue about a number of topics, including whether or not anyone actually watches SGC2C. Space Ghost later quips, "Well, that's very stupid, and you won't make it in television," an obvious parody of early reviews of O'Brien's show. A short time later, Space Ghost leaves the interview in order to follow a fire ant that bit him. As Space Ghost is crawling out of the studio, O'Brien gripes that "For all these people know, my show is a cop show on Fox or something!" Space Ghost replies, "Isn't it?"
O'Brien made an appearance on Robot Chicken: Star Wars, and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, on June 17, 2007 as the voice of the bounty hunter Zuckuss. In a parody of Late Night, Zuckuss hosts a talk show called "Late Night with Zuckuss. O'Brien's "Fake Celebrity Interviews" segment was even spoofed when Zuckuss did a "fake interview" with Emperor Palpatine. Typical of Conan's fake interviews, the fake Palpatine made a fool of himself; the implication was that the actual Palpatine was not pleased, as, in the final moments of the sketch, the Death Star can be seen approaching through a window in Zuckuss' studio, aiming and firing – then there is a "Technical Difficulties" test pattern. He also appeared in Season one on the show in two roles. First as a pizza delivery man who is not aware of his customer's sexy advances; and as a wrestling announcer with historical figures as pro wrestlers.
On the hit TV show 30 Rock O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan", Conan appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on Late Night, despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.
O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the US version of The Office. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believed that he spotted someone that looks like former SNL cast member Tina Fey, but mistakes another woman for her. In the meantime, Conan has a quick walk-on and the camera-crew informs Michael when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey look-alike.
O'Brien starred in one of Bud Light's Super Bowl XLIII commercials as himself. In the ad, O'Brien agrees to do a Bud Light commercial where he dresses and acts suggestively and says "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!" The spot is only supposed to air in Sweden, but ends up being broadcast on the Jumbotron in New York City's Times Square. Two guys who spot O'Brien then mock him by saying "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!". Super Bowl XLIII aired on NBC, O'Brien's network.
O'Brien will be a guest star on a future episode of the Nick Jr. animated show The Backyardigans, providing the voice of Santa Claus. The episode is scheduled to air later in the show's upcoming fourth season.[27]
[edit] Television writer/producer (2002–present)
In 2002, Conan helped write and produce Andy Richter Controls the Universe, a comedy series that ran for two seasons. It was cancelled mostly due to poor ratings.
In 2004, O'Brien had to apologize to Canadians for engaging in Quebec bashing, something which some felt to be racist towards Francophones. [28]
On March 7, 2006, NBC announced a new adventure/comedy series entitled Andy Barker, P.I.. O'Brien was executive producer and also co-wrote the pilot. The show starred O'Brien's former sidekick Andy Richter. After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007.[29]
"USA Network has handed out a 90-minute, cast-contingent pilot order to the medical-themed "Operating Instructions" from Conan O'Brien's production banner. O'Brien will serve as an Executive Producer through his Conaco label. The script comes from "Just Shoot Me" veterans Judd Pillot and John Peaslee, who will also executive produce."[30]
[edit] Personal life
Conan O'Brien with his wife Liza in 2007
O'Brien's long-time friend is Father Paul B. O' Brien, with whom he founded Labels Are For Jars,[31] an anti-hunger organization based in Lawrence, MA. The two are not related.
O'Brien once was in a relationship with Lisa Kudrow until O'Brien decided to move to New York to pursue a television show. O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann 'Liza' Powell (who prior was dating actor Eric Schaeffer) in 2000 when she appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in an advertising skit involving Foote, Cone & Belding.[32] The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their January 12, 2002 marriage in Powell's Seattle hometown. O'Brien and Powell have a daughter Neve (born October 14, 2003)[33] and son Beckett (born November 9, 2005).[34]
O'Brien repeatedly affirms his Irish Catholic heritage on his show. On a 2009 episode of Inside the Actor's Studio he told how both sides of his family moved here from Ireland in the 1850's and only married other Irish Catholics. He says his lineage is 100% pure Irish Catholic.
O'Brien donated $500 to the Senate campaign of Christopher Dodd in 1997 and again in 2004.[35]
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War." He grew the beard in support for his writers, but shortly after shaved it off.
Recently, O'Brien purchased a $10.5 million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California in preparation of his move there in 2009 from New York City to work his new job hosting The Tonight Show at Universal Studios Hollywood.[36][37]
[edit] Subject of stalking
It was reported that since September 2006 that O'Brien had allegedly been stalked by the Father David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, had been sending O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker" and coming in contact with O'Brien's parents. Ajemian sent a letter to O'Brien, frustrated that he had been denied a spot in the Late Night audience. He stated in his letter to O'Brien that he flew to New York, "in the dimming hope that you might finally acknowledge me." He also stated in another letter that, "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans??? You owe me big time pal." Ajemian also seemed to have made a death threat to O'Brien in another letter; saying, "Remember Frank Costello once dodged a bullet in your building and so can you." Ajemian then tried to forcefully enter a taping of Late Night, but was caught and arrested. He was previously warned by the NBC security team to stay away from the studio. After a psychological evaluation, he was deemed fit to stand trial. He has since been bailed out of jail.[38] He was then reported missing by his father around 3:15 PM EST on November 10, 2007. He was found and underwent evaluation at a hospital. It is known that the two had attended Harvard University at the same time. He was found fit to stand trial on April 4, 2008.
On April 8, 2008, Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking, stating that "he never meant to cause anxiety or to upset anyone." He was ordered to pay a $95 USD court charge, and was also required to sign a two-year restraining order, barring him from coming near O'Brien.[39]
On September 11, 2008, Ajemian checked himself out of his treatment at a hospital against the wishes of his cardinal, Seán Patrick O'Malley. Cardinal O'Malley then released a statement, saying that because he violated his Cardinal's wishes, Ajemian can no longer serve as a priest in the Catholic Church.[40]
[edit] Comedy and mannerisms
On Late Night, O'Brien has become known for his more active and spontaneous hosting style. He starts off every show by saying, "We have a great show for you tonight." His stage habits include, but are not limited to, mime, self-deprecation, dramatic expressions, various impressions, use of awkward pauses or responses and moving his hair and scalp back and forth. He frequently makes fun of and interacts with the audience. He commonly makes light of his own appearance including his hairstyle, his pale skin, his clumsiness and his height.
One of his trademarks is to perform the "string dance." He also does impressions of celebrities; among the most common are Arnold Schwarzenegger (where he pretends to bite off a piece of an imaginary sausage, only because his "Arnold always eats a sausage"), Donald Trump, whom he vaguely resembles, which generally includes the phrase, "You're fired," and Larry King where he circles both eyes with his fingers (to represent eyeglasses) and pretends to pull suspenders on his chest.
I'm being interrupted so read the rest. I'll continue my thoughts later.
Birth name Conan Christopher O'Brien
Born April 18, 1963 (age 45)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.[1]
Medium Television
Nationality American
Years active 1985—present
Genres Improvisational comedy, Sketch comedy, Physical comedy, Surreal humor, self-deprecation
Influences Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Woody Allen, David Letterman, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Brooks, Bob Newhart, Bill Murray
Spouse Elizabeth Ann Powell (2002—present) (2 children)
Notable works and roles Writer for The Simpsons (1992—1993)
Host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
(1993—2009)
Host of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
Website Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1989 Saturday Night Live
2007 Late Night with Conan O'Brien[2]
Background
O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, the son of Ruth (née Reardon), an attorney, and Thomas Francis O'Brien, a physician and professor of medicine, both Irish Catholic.[4][5] He is the third of six children. Later, in a Late Night episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated.
Education
O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as managing editor of the school newspaper and interned for Rep. Barney Frank.[6] After graduating as valedictorian in 1981,[7] he entered Harvard University.
At Harvard, O'Brien lived in Holworthy Hall during his freshman year, [8] and Mather House during his three upper-class years. He graduated magna cum laude in 1985 with an A.B. in History and Literature.[9] His senior thesis concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.[10]
Throughout college O'Brien was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the Lampoon's president, making him the second person ever to serve as president twice, and the first person to have done so since the 1920s.[citation needed]
Also, while attending Harvard, classmate Damon Krukowski of the band Galaxie 500, used O'Brien's drum kit in many of the band's early recordings.[citation needed]
In 2008, he received an honorary degree in Actuarial Science from Ball State University.[11]
Career
O'Brien in the offices of the Simpsons writers in 1992.
Television writer
O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's Not Necessarily the News.[12] He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings.
In January 1988, Saturday Night Live's executive producer Lorne Michaels hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on SNL, he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers," the latter of which was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz.[13] O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch "Nude Beach" with Robert Smigel, a sketch in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times.
While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987-1988 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue, in Chicago, with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called, Happy Happy Good Show. While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly was roommates with Jeff Garlin.[14] In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.
O'Brien, like many SNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season, gaining notice for the sketch Moleculo.
O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot Lookwell, starring Adam West. The pilot aired on NBC in 1991. The pilot never went to series, but it became a cult hit. It was later screened at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret, featuring an extended interview with O'Brien and rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.
From 1991 – 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons,[13] credited as writer or co-writer of four episodes.[15] Of all the episodes he wrote, he considers "Marge vs. the Monorail" to be his favorite.[13] Years later, in his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000,[16] O'Brien credited The Simpsons with "saving" him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his hiring for that show.[17] As of 2004, O'Brien's office at The Simpsons was being used as storage.[18] Along with that episode he has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block", "Homer Goes to College", and "Treehouse of Horror IV" on which he wrote the episode wrap-arounds. He produced several episodes of seasons 4 and 5 as well, meaning he would frequently contribute to scripts from those seasons.
[edit] Late Night
On April 25, 1993, Lorne Michaels suggested O'Brien try out to be David Letterman's successor as host of Late Night with David Letterman, with Andy Richter signed on to be his sidekick. O'Brien auditioned on the set of The Tonight Show, where he interviewed Mimi Rogers and Jason Alexander.[19] O'Brien resigned his position on The Simpsons, despite his contract not having expired.[19]
Premiering on September 13 of that same year, Late Night with Conan O'Brien received generally unfavorable critical reviews for the first 2 to 3 years after its debut. O'Brien himself, a total unknown among the general public before being named host, was seen by many as not being worthy of the program. NBC even poked fun at this perception in a radio ad which aired shortly before the show's debut and had O'Brien relaying an anecdote where someone recognized him on the street and said, "Look, honey, there's the guy who doesn't deserve his own show!" Another source of criticism was the fact that O'Brien himself appeared to be very nervous and awkward during the show's early days. As a self-deprecating nod to this, the original opening sequence for Late Night With Conan O'Brien was animated and featured a caricature of O'Brien who sweated and pulled at his collar nervously.
The show remained on multi-week renewal cycles while NBC decided its fate. By 1996-97, O'Brien's writing and comedic style was thought to have improved,[citation needed] and he began to develop a growing fan base, especially with high school and college students, as well as the respect of critics and his peers.[citation needed] O'Brien would later poke fun at the first three years of the show when on his 10th Anniversary Special, Mr. T appeared to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he's actually been on the air for ten years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool...but you've only been funny for seven!"
Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the Late Night writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy 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 the Late Night writing staff won the Writers 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 for Late Night.
On the first episode after the September 11th attacks, O'Brien told a story of how he went to pray for the first time since just after he had been announced as the host of Late Night, eight years prior. O'Brien was reported to have been shaken up and talked about a need to have faith.[20]
O'Brien in Helsinki, Finland in February 2006.
After meeting Finnish actor/director Lauri Nurkse on October 11, 2005, O'Brien discovered that he was popular in Finland and began a long-running joke that he resembles the first female President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to the recurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland" and his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland and appeared on several television shows, and met President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special.
O'Brien ad libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on December 4, 2006, after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate web-cam site. NBC opted to purchase the website domain name for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that someone might register the domain name and post content with which NBC would not wish to be associated, or that people would get upset and sue NBC when they found out the website is fictional.[21] NBC now owns the rights to www.hornymanatee.com for 10 years, as per Conan O'Brien. According to O'Brien, it was decided that, since NBC owned the name, they might as well create the website. Late Night has since developed an actual website, which now has received millions of hits, reaching 4 million page views in four days. People send in "horny manatee" artwork, poems, and other content. According to the Alexa website ranking system, Hornymanatee.com has had over 10 million web hits.
A popular recurring bit on the show was Pale Force, a series of animated episodes in which comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness." As Gaffigan introduced each new episode, O'Brien protested the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak and impotent.
As of October 2005, Late Night with Conan O'Brien had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers.[22]
In 2004, O'Brien negotiated a new contract with NBC. As part of the deal, NBC announced that O'Brien would be taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009. Leno stated on the show that he wanted to avoid a repeat of the controversy and hard feelings that resulted when he was chosen by NBC to host the Tonight Show over David Letterman.[citation needed] On July 21, 2008, NBC announced that O'Brien's first Tonight Show would be on June 1, 2009.[23]
O'Brien is an avid guitarist and music listener. When Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as a musical guest, O'Brien joined the 17 piece band along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests Jimmy Fallon & Thomas Haden Church and played acoustic guitar and contributed backup vocals for the song, "Pay Me My Money Down".
During the writer's strike in 2008, Conan O'Brien staged a feud with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) over a dispute about which of the three were responsible for giving Mike Huckabee's campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee a "bump." This fight crossed over all three shows.[24]
On the June 13, 2008, episode of Late Night, O'Brien simply walked out at the start of the show. Instead of his usual upbeat antics and monologue, O'Brien announced that he had just received news about the sudden death of his good friend, fellow NBC employee and frequent Late Night guest Tim Russert. O'Brien proceeded to show two clips of his favorite Russert Late Night moments.[25]
On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The show consisted of a compilation of previous "Late Night" clips, and was co-hosted by O'Brien's former sidekick, Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by thanking a list of people that helped him get to that point in his career. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.
[edit] Emmy Host
O'Brien hosted the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006 to critical acclaim.[26] He had previously hosted the Primetime Emmys in 2002, and co-hosted in 2003.
[edit] Voice work and guest appearances
O'Brien appeared as a character in the 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, voiced by Brent Spiner. O'Brien later appeared in South Park in the episode "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?". In 2006, he voiced himself in a short South Park scene as part of the opening of the 2006 Emmy Awards. In 2005, he provided the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln in the audiobook version of Assassination Vacation.
He appeared in another late-night talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast (SGC2C), in Episode 77: Fire Ant, in which he and Space Ghost argue about a number of topics, including whether or not anyone actually watches SGC2C. Space Ghost later quips, "Well, that's very stupid, and you won't make it in television," an obvious parody of early reviews of O'Brien's show. A short time later, Space Ghost leaves the interview in order to follow a fire ant that bit him. As Space Ghost is crawling out of the studio, O'Brien gripes that "For all these people know, my show is a cop show on Fox or something!" Space Ghost replies, "Isn't it?"
O'Brien made an appearance on Robot Chicken: Star Wars, and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, on June 17, 2007 as the voice of the bounty hunter Zuckuss. In a parody of Late Night, Zuckuss hosts a talk show called "Late Night with Zuckuss. O'Brien's "Fake Celebrity Interviews" segment was even spoofed when Zuckuss did a "fake interview" with Emperor Palpatine. Typical of Conan's fake interviews, the fake Palpatine made a fool of himself; the implication was that the actual Palpatine was not pleased, as, in the final moments of the sketch, the Death Star can be seen approaching through a window in Zuckuss' studio, aiming and firing – then there is a "Technical Difficulties" test pattern. He also appeared in Season one on the show in two roles. First as a pizza delivery man who is not aware of his customer's sexy advances; and as a wrestling announcer with historical figures as pro wrestlers.
On the hit TV show 30 Rock O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan", Conan appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on Late Night, despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.
O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the US version of The Office. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believed that he spotted someone that looks like former SNL cast member Tina Fey, but mistakes another woman for her. In the meantime, Conan has a quick walk-on and the camera-crew informs Michael when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey look-alike.
O'Brien starred in one of Bud Light's Super Bowl XLIII commercials as himself. In the ad, O'Brien agrees to do a Bud Light commercial where he dresses and acts suggestively and says "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!" The spot is only supposed to air in Sweden, but ends up being broadcast on the Jumbotron in New York City's Times Square. Two guys who spot O'Brien then mock him by saying "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!". Super Bowl XLIII aired on NBC, O'Brien's network.
O'Brien will be a guest star on a future episode of the Nick Jr. animated show The Backyardigans, providing the voice of Santa Claus. The episode is scheduled to air later in the show's upcoming fourth season.[27]
[edit] Television writer/producer (2002–present)
In 2002, Conan helped write and produce Andy Richter Controls the Universe, a comedy series that ran for two seasons. It was cancelled mostly due to poor ratings.
In 2004, O'Brien had to apologize to Canadians for engaging in Quebec bashing, something which some felt to be racist towards Francophones. [28]
On March 7, 2006, NBC announced a new adventure/comedy series entitled Andy Barker, P.I.. O'Brien was executive producer and also co-wrote the pilot. The show starred O'Brien's former sidekick Andy Richter. After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007.[29]
"USA Network has handed out a 90-minute, cast-contingent pilot order to the medical-themed "Operating Instructions" from Conan O'Brien's production banner. O'Brien will serve as an Executive Producer through his Conaco label. The script comes from "Just Shoot Me" veterans Judd Pillot and John Peaslee, who will also executive produce."[30]
[edit] Personal life
Conan O'Brien with his wife Liza in 2007
O'Brien's long-time friend is Father Paul B. O' Brien, with whom he founded Labels Are For Jars,[31] an anti-hunger organization based in Lawrence, MA. The two are not related.
O'Brien once was in a relationship with Lisa Kudrow until O'Brien decided to move to New York to pursue a television show. O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann 'Liza' Powell (who prior was dating actor Eric Schaeffer) in 2000 when she appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in an advertising skit involving Foote, Cone & Belding.[32] The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their January 12, 2002 marriage in Powell's Seattle hometown. O'Brien and Powell have a daughter Neve (born October 14, 2003)[33] and son Beckett (born November 9, 2005).[34]
O'Brien repeatedly affirms his Irish Catholic heritage on his show. On a 2009 episode of Inside the Actor's Studio he told how both sides of his family moved here from Ireland in the 1850's and only married other Irish Catholics. He says his lineage is 100% pure Irish Catholic.
O'Brien donated $500 to the Senate campaign of Christopher Dodd in 1997 and again in 2004.[35]
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War." He grew the beard in support for his writers, but shortly after shaved it off.
Recently, O'Brien purchased a $10.5 million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California in preparation of his move there in 2009 from New York City to work his new job hosting The Tonight Show at Universal Studios Hollywood.[36][37]
[edit] Subject of stalking
It was reported that since September 2006 that O'Brien had allegedly been stalked by the Father David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, had been sending O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker" and coming in contact with O'Brien's parents. Ajemian sent a letter to O'Brien, frustrated that he had been denied a spot in the Late Night audience. He stated in his letter to O'Brien that he flew to New York, "in the dimming hope that you might finally acknowledge me." He also stated in another letter that, "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans??? You owe me big time pal." Ajemian also seemed to have made a death threat to O'Brien in another letter; saying, "Remember Frank Costello once dodged a bullet in your building and so can you." Ajemian then tried to forcefully enter a taping of Late Night, but was caught and arrested. He was previously warned by the NBC security team to stay away from the studio. After a psychological evaluation, he was deemed fit to stand trial. He has since been bailed out of jail.[38] He was then reported missing by his father around 3:15 PM EST on November 10, 2007. He was found and underwent evaluation at a hospital. It is known that the two had attended Harvard University at the same time. He was found fit to stand trial on April 4, 2008.
On April 8, 2008, Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking, stating that "he never meant to cause anxiety or to upset anyone." He was ordered to pay a $95 USD court charge, and was also required to sign a two-year restraining order, barring him from coming near O'Brien.[39]
On September 11, 2008, Ajemian checked himself out of his treatment at a hospital against the wishes of his cardinal, Seán Patrick O'Malley. Cardinal O'Malley then released a statement, saying that because he violated his Cardinal's wishes, Ajemian can no longer serve as a priest in the Catholic Church.[40]
[edit] Comedy and mannerisms
On Late Night, O'Brien has become known for his more active and spontaneous hosting style. He starts off every show by saying, "We have a great show for you tonight." His stage habits include, but are not limited to, mime, self-deprecation, dramatic expressions, various impressions, use of awkward pauses or responses and moving his hair and scalp back and forth. He frequently makes fun of and interacts with the audience. He commonly makes light of his own appearance including his hairstyle, his pale skin, his clumsiness and his height.
One of his trademarks is to perform the "string dance." He also does impressions of celebrities; among the most common are Arnold Schwarzenegger (where he pretends to bite off a piece of an imaginary sausage, only because his "Arnold always eats a sausage"), Donald Trump, whom he vaguely resembles, which generally includes the phrase, "You're fired," and Larry King where he circles both eyes with his fingers (to represent eyeglasses) and pretends to pull suspenders on his chest.
Ellen Degeneres
********************Warning
Some of the content on this page may be inappropriate for some people.
Some of the stuff deals with adult situations.
If you are under 18 you might want to ask an adult to sit with you.
I don't think there is anything that is too bad but I remember being under 18. Some things I saw were very sexual to me. Those same things today are no big deal. Think about women's beach volleyball. It is a cool sport but nobody can deny that the women dress in skimpy outfits. For people over 18 it's just nice. For people under 18 women's beach volleyball might be seen as something really arousing.
Please make the right decision. Ellen is pretty discreet but you never know how two people will react to the same situation.
If you have decided to continue down the page enjoy. I know you will.
Birth name: Ellen Lee DeGeneres Born: January 26, 1958 (1958-01-26) (age 50), Metairie, Louisiana
Medium: Stand-up comedy, Television, Film
Nationality: American
Spouse: Portia de Rossi (2008-present)
Domestic partner(s): Anne Heche (1997–2000), Alexandra Hedison (2000–2004), Portia de Rossi (2004–2008, married)
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
1997 Ellen
Outstanding Talk Show
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Outstanding Special Class Writing
2005, 2006, 2007
Outstanding Talk Show Host
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic
1991
Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special
1994 46th Primetime Emmy Awards
2000 Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning
Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, television host and actress. She currently hosts the Emmy Award-winning syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
She has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of "Dory" in the Pixar animated hit film Finding Nemo. She also starred in two television sitcoms, The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002 and Ellen from 1994 to 1998. In 1997 during the fourth season of Ellen, she came out publicly as a lesbian, in an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues as well as the "coming out" process.
Background
DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana, the daughter of Elliot DeGeneres, a salesman, and Elizabeth (Betty) Jane Pfeffer. She is of French, English, German and Irish descent. Along with her brother Vance DeGeneres, actor and guitarist for the rock band Cowboy Mouth, DeGeneres was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of 13. DeGeneres' mother, Betty and her father, Elliot, filed for separation on December 4, 1973. The divorce was finalized in January 1974. Shortly after the divorce, Betty Jane remarried to Roy Gruessendorf, who also worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and DeGeneres moved away with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their father in New Orleans. DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School on May 21, 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. DeGeneres moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communications. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm along with cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chain store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center in New Orleans. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, a bartender. Finally, DeGeneres realized she didn't want to "answer to a boss" and started to figure out what she really wanted to do.
DeGeneres' brother Vance made a guest appearance on Ellen in 1994. He was a correspondent for The Daily Show from 1999 to 2001.
Career
Stand-up comedy
DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffeehouses before working her way up to emcee Clyde's Comedy Club by 1981. Her comedy during this period was described as a "distaff version of Bob Newhart." In the early 1980s, she began to tour nationally, eventually winning the title of funniest person in America in a competition sponsored by the cable network Showtime. She was then able to work at higher profile venues. She appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1986.
Early screen work
Television and film work in the late '80s/early '90s included roles on television in Open House and in the film Coneheads. Ellen (sitcom, 1994-1998)
DeGeneres' comedy material was turned into the subject matter of the successful 1994-1998 sitcom named These Friends of Mine during its first season. The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres' style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld."
The show reached its height of attention in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, that she was gay. The outing episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode," was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but later episodes of the series would fail to match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.
Ellen's Energy Adventure
DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye the science guy, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.
The Ellen Show
DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show. Though her character was again a lesbian, it was not the central theme of the show. The Ellen Show received critical praise, but low viewership and was canceled after one season.
During this time DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001, when she hosted the Emmy Awards-TV show. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a posh ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a homosexual woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"
Finding Nemo and voice acting
DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose her because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show. The movie returned DeGeneres to the limelight, with critics giving her rave reviews. DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress", "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting" for her work. She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle.
In September 2003, DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing in 2003 such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen Ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors. On November 17, 2005, the show was played in reverse.
In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.
In August 2005, DeGeneres was selected once again as host of the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held on September 18, 2005. The award ceremonies aired three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. Because DeGeneres is from New Orleans, the tragedy hit close to home. When she announced that she would again host the Emmys, she joked, "You know me, any excuse to put on a dress." She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.
In February 2006, DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.
In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said.
In March 2007, DeGeneres continued her talk show with a week at Universal Studios Orlando with guests Jennifer Lopez and Lynyrd Skynyrd. DeGeneres did skits with the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.
In May 2007, DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a male nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.
In March 2008, DeGeneres hosted her talk show once again from Orlando Florida at Universal Studios Orlando with guests including the Jonas Brothers and Jeff Foxworthy.
In Fall 2008, the daytime talk show will be moved to a larger studio; in addition the Ellen show will be produced in high definition. With her moving to a new studio, her producers will have a new HD control room and equipment.
79th Academy Awards DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that." Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home." In fact, Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."
DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast
2007 Writers Guild strike
DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres verbally supported the 2007 WGA strike she did not support it when she crossed the picket line the day after the strike began. Her actions prompted a response from the Union: "We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn't even stand by writers for more than one day - writers who have helped make her extremely successful." Her representatives said that she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show lose its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue during the strike, typically written by WGA writers. The WGAE condemned her, and said that she was "not welcome in NY", while the AFTRA defended her.
Personal life
DeGeneres' relationship with former Another World actress Anne Heche turned into material for the tabloid press. After several years in the spotlight, Heche broke up with DeGeneres and went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon. DeGeneres then had a relationship with actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison. The couple appeared on the cover of The Advocate magazine (after their split-up had already been announced to the press).
Since 2004, DeGeneres has been in a relationship with Arrested Development and former Ally McBeal star Portia de Rossi whom she married on August 16, 2008. They were married at their Los Angeles home with 19 guests including their respective mothers. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged. DeGeneres gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. They live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats, and plan to air part of the wedding ceremony on Ellen's talk show.
In her book, Love, Ellen, DeGeneres' mother, Betty DeGeneres, describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has in fact become one of her strongest supporters. Betty DeGeneres is an active member of PFLAG and spokesperson for the HRC Coming Out Project. She is also a breast cancer survivor.
After DeGeneres came out as a lesbian, televangelist Jerry Falwell referred to her in a sermon as "Ellen DeGenerate." DeGeneres responded: "Really, he called me that? Ellen DeGenerate? I've been getting that since the fourth grade."
On September 1, 2006, at just before 4 pm PT, DeGeneres was mildly injured in a three-car road accident as a 2002 Porsche Carrera rear-ended a 2002 Buick Le Sabre, which subsequently rear-ended DeGeneres' 2006 Porsche Carrera as she was driving on Sunset Boulevard with then girlfriend Portia de Rossi. DeGeneres was able to walk away from the scene. Two men in their twenties, later identified as paparazzi, were in the Buick, and the other vehicle was being driven by a drunk 52-year-old woman.
In 2007, Forbes ranked her personal net worth to be US$65 million.
Awards
Daytime Emmy Awards
2008 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2007 Outstanding Talk Show
2007 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2006 Outstanding Talk Show
2006 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2006 Outstanding Special Class Writing
2005 Outstanding Talk Show
2005 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2005 Outstanding Special Class Writing
2004 Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Emmy Awards
1997 Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, Ellen: "The Puppy Episode" People's Choice Awards
2008 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2008 Favorite Funny Female Star
2008 Favorite Yes I Chose This Star
2007 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2007 Favorite Funny Female Star
2006 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2006 Favorite Funny Female Star
2005 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2005 Favorite Funny Female Star
Kids Choice Awards
2004 Favorite Voice from an animated movie, Finding Nemo 1st Annual Wave Awards, Academy of Wireless Arts, Video and Entertainment
2007 Favorite Talk Show Host, Ellen: On the Go!, Ellen DeGeneres & Sprint TV
Filmography
Television
Women of the Night (1988)
Open House (1989-1990)
Laurie Hill (1992-1993)
''Roseanne as Dr. Whitman (1995)
Ellen (1994-1998)
Mad About You as Nancy Bloom (1998)
If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)
Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning (2000)
Will & Grace as Sister Louise (2001)
On the Edge (2001)
The Ellen Show (2001-2002)
Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now (2003)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-present)
57th Annual Primetime Emmys 2005
79th Annual Academy Awards (Host) (25 February 2007)
American Idol: Idol Gives Back (Co-host)
Deal Or No Deal as a model (2008) (April 2007)
Ellen's Really Big Show (2007) Film
Arduous Moon (1990) (short subject)
Wisecracks (1991) (documentary)
Coneheads (1993)
Trevor (1994) (short subject)
Ellen's Energy Adventure (1996) (short subject) 9 (1996)
Mr. Wrong as Martha Alston(1996)
Goodbye Lover (1998)
Dr. Dolittle as John Dolittle's dog (1998) (voice)
EdTV as Cynthia (1999)
The Love Letter as Janet Hall (1999)
If These Walls Could Talk 2 as Kal (2000)
Pauly Shore Is Dead as herself (2003)
Finding Nemo as Dory (2003) (voice)
My Short Film (2004) (short subject)
Discography
Ellen DeGeneres: Taste This
The Ellen DeGeneres Show: DVDlicious
Tributes
ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1 - Comedy Central star Jade Esteban Estrada portrays DeGeneres in the highly-acclaimed solo comedy in 2002.
Bibliography
DeGeneres, Ellen (1995). My Point...And I Do Have One. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0553099558.
DeGeneres, Ellen (2003). The Funny Thing Is.... New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743247612.
Some of the content on this page may be inappropriate for some people.
Some of the stuff deals with adult situations.
If you are under 18 you might want to ask an adult to sit with you.
I don't think there is anything that is too bad but I remember being under 18. Some things I saw were very sexual to me. Those same things today are no big deal. Think about women's beach volleyball. It is a cool sport but nobody can deny that the women dress in skimpy outfits. For people over 18 it's just nice. For people under 18 women's beach volleyball might be seen as something really arousing.
Please make the right decision. Ellen is pretty discreet but you never know how two people will react to the same situation.
If you have decided to continue down the page enjoy. I know you will.
Birth name: Ellen Lee DeGeneres Born: January 26, 1958 (1958-01-26) (age 50), Metairie, Louisiana
Medium: Stand-up comedy, Television, Film
Nationality: American
Spouse: Portia de Rossi (2008-present)
Domestic partner(s): Anne Heche (1997–2000), Alexandra Hedison (2000–2004), Portia de Rossi (2004–2008, married)
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
1997 Ellen
Outstanding Talk Show
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Outstanding Special Class Writing
2005, 2006, 2007
Outstanding Talk Show Host
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic
1991
Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special
1994 46th Primetime Emmy Awards
2000 Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning
Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, television host and actress. She currently hosts the Emmy Award-winning syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
She has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of "Dory" in the Pixar animated hit film Finding Nemo. She also starred in two television sitcoms, The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002 and Ellen from 1994 to 1998. In 1997 during the fourth season of Ellen, she came out publicly as a lesbian, in an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues as well as the "coming out" process.
Background
DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana, the daughter of Elliot DeGeneres, a salesman, and Elizabeth (Betty) Jane Pfeffer. She is of French, English, German and Irish descent. Along with her brother Vance DeGeneres, actor and guitarist for the rock band Cowboy Mouth, DeGeneres was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of 13. DeGeneres' mother, Betty and her father, Elliot, filed for separation on December 4, 1973. The divorce was finalized in January 1974. Shortly after the divorce, Betty Jane remarried to Roy Gruessendorf, who also worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and DeGeneres moved away with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their father in New Orleans. DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School on May 21, 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. DeGeneres moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communications. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm along with cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chain store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center in New Orleans. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, a bartender. Finally, DeGeneres realized she didn't want to "answer to a boss" and started to figure out what she really wanted to do.
DeGeneres' brother Vance made a guest appearance on Ellen in 1994. He was a correspondent for The Daily Show from 1999 to 2001.
Career
Stand-up comedy
DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffeehouses before working her way up to emcee Clyde's Comedy Club by 1981. Her comedy during this period was described as a "distaff version of Bob Newhart." In the early 1980s, she began to tour nationally, eventually winning the title of funniest person in America in a competition sponsored by the cable network Showtime. She was then able to work at higher profile venues. She appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1986.
Early screen work
Television and film work in the late '80s/early '90s included roles on television in Open House and in the film Coneheads. Ellen (sitcom, 1994-1998)
DeGeneres' comedy material was turned into the subject matter of the successful 1994-1998 sitcom named These Friends of Mine during its first season. The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres' style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld."
The show reached its height of attention in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, that she was gay. The outing episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode," was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but later episodes of the series would fail to match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.
Ellen's Energy Adventure
DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye the science guy, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.
The Ellen Show
DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show. Though her character was again a lesbian, it was not the central theme of the show. The Ellen Show received critical praise, but low viewership and was canceled after one season.
During this time DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001, when she hosted the Emmy Awards-TV show. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a posh ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a homosexual woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"
Finding Nemo and voice acting
DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose her because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show. The movie returned DeGeneres to the limelight, with critics giving her rave reviews. DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress", "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting" for her work. She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle.
In September 2003, DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing in 2003 such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen Ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors. On November 17, 2005, the show was played in reverse.
In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.
In August 2005, DeGeneres was selected once again as host of the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held on September 18, 2005. The award ceremonies aired three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. Because DeGeneres is from New Orleans, the tragedy hit close to home. When she announced that she would again host the Emmys, she joked, "You know me, any excuse to put on a dress." She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.
In February 2006, DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.
In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said.
In March 2007, DeGeneres continued her talk show with a week at Universal Studios Orlando with guests Jennifer Lopez and Lynyrd Skynyrd. DeGeneres did skits with the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.
In May 2007, DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a male nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.
In March 2008, DeGeneres hosted her talk show once again from Orlando Florida at Universal Studios Orlando with guests including the Jonas Brothers and Jeff Foxworthy.
In Fall 2008, the daytime talk show will be moved to a larger studio; in addition the Ellen show will be produced in high definition. With her moving to a new studio, her producers will have a new HD control room and equipment.
79th Academy Awards DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that." Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home." In fact, Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."
DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast
2007 Writers Guild strike
DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres verbally supported the 2007 WGA strike she did not support it when she crossed the picket line the day after the strike began. Her actions prompted a response from the Union: "We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn't even stand by writers for more than one day - writers who have helped make her extremely successful." Her representatives said that she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show lose its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue during the strike, typically written by WGA writers. The WGAE condemned her, and said that she was "not welcome in NY", while the AFTRA defended her.
Personal life
DeGeneres' relationship with former Another World actress Anne Heche turned into material for the tabloid press. After several years in the spotlight, Heche broke up with DeGeneres and went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon. DeGeneres then had a relationship with actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison. The couple appeared on the cover of The Advocate magazine (after their split-up had already been announced to the press).
Since 2004, DeGeneres has been in a relationship with Arrested Development and former Ally McBeal star Portia de Rossi whom she married on August 16, 2008. They were married at their Los Angeles home with 19 guests including their respective mothers. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged. DeGeneres gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. They live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats, and plan to air part of the wedding ceremony on Ellen's talk show.
In her book, Love, Ellen, DeGeneres' mother, Betty DeGeneres, describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has in fact become one of her strongest supporters. Betty DeGeneres is an active member of PFLAG and spokesperson for the HRC Coming Out Project. She is also a breast cancer survivor.
After DeGeneres came out as a lesbian, televangelist Jerry Falwell referred to her in a sermon as "Ellen DeGenerate." DeGeneres responded: "Really, he called me that? Ellen DeGenerate? I've been getting that since the fourth grade."
On September 1, 2006, at just before 4 pm PT, DeGeneres was mildly injured in a three-car road accident as a 2002 Porsche Carrera rear-ended a 2002 Buick Le Sabre, which subsequently rear-ended DeGeneres' 2006 Porsche Carrera as she was driving on Sunset Boulevard with then girlfriend Portia de Rossi. DeGeneres was able to walk away from the scene. Two men in their twenties, later identified as paparazzi, were in the Buick, and the other vehicle was being driven by a drunk 52-year-old woman.
In 2007, Forbes ranked her personal net worth to be US$65 million.
Awards
Daytime Emmy Awards
2008 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2007 Outstanding Talk Show
2007 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2006 Outstanding Talk Show
2006 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2006 Outstanding Special Class Writing
2005 Outstanding Talk Show
2005 Outstanding Talk Show Host
2005 Outstanding Special Class Writing
2004 Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Emmy Awards
1997 Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, Ellen: "The Puppy Episode" People's Choice Awards
2008 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2008 Favorite Funny Female Star
2008 Favorite Yes I Chose This Star
2007 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2007 Favorite Funny Female Star
2006 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2006 Favorite Funny Female Star
2005 Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host
2005 Favorite Funny Female Star
Kids Choice Awards
2004 Favorite Voice from an animated movie, Finding Nemo 1st Annual Wave Awards, Academy of Wireless Arts, Video and Entertainment
2007 Favorite Talk Show Host, Ellen: On the Go!, Ellen DeGeneres & Sprint TV
Filmography
Television
Women of the Night (1988)
Open House (1989-1990)
Laurie Hill (1992-1993)
''Roseanne as Dr. Whitman (1995)
Ellen (1994-1998)
Mad About You as Nancy Bloom (1998)
If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)
Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning (2000)
Will & Grace as Sister Louise (2001)
On the Edge (2001)
The Ellen Show (2001-2002)
Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now (2003)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003-present)
57th Annual Primetime Emmys 2005
79th Annual Academy Awards (Host) (25 February 2007)
American Idol: Idol Gives Back (Co-host)
Deal Or No Deal as a model (2008) (April 2007)
Ellen's Really Big Show (2007) Film
Arduous Moon (1990) (short subject)
Wisecracks (1991) (documentary)
Coneheads (1993)
Trevor (1994) (short subject)
Ellen's Energy Adventure (1996) (short subject) 9 (1996)
Mr. Wrong as Martha Alston(1996)
Goodbye Lover (1998)
Dr. Dolittle as John Dolittle's dog (1998) (voice)
EdTV as Cynthia (1999)
The Love Letter as Janet Hall (1999)
If These Walls Could Talk 2 as Kal (2000)
Pauly Shore Is Dead as herself (2003)
Finding Nemo as Dory (2003) (voice)
My Short Film (2004) (short subject)
Discography
Ellen DeGeneres: Taste This
The Ellen DeGeneres Show: DVDlicious
Tributes
ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1 - Comedy Central star Jade Esteban Estrada portrays DeGeneres in the highly-acclaimed solo comedy in 2002.
Bibliography
DeGeneres, Ellen (1995). My Point...And I Do Have One. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0553099558.
DeGeneres, Ellen (2003). The Funny Thing Is.... New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743247612.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Conan O'Brien
The candle worm or whatever it was creeped me out. Conan is a natural talk show host like Letterman, Ferguson, etc....
I'm being interrupted so read the rest. I'll continue my thoughts later.
Birth name Conan Christopher O'Brien
Born April 18, 1963 (age 45)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.[1]
Medium Television
Nationality American
Years active 1985—present
Genres Improvisational comedy, Sketch comedy, Physical comedy, Surreal humor, self-deprecation
Influences Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Woody Allen, David Letterman, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Brooks, Bob Newhart, Bill Murray
Spouse Elizabeth Ann Powell (2002—present) (2 children)
Notable works and roles Writer for The Simpsons (1992—1993)
Host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
(1993—2009)
Host of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
Website Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1989 Saturday Night Live
2007 Late Night with Conan O'Brien[2]
Background
O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, the son of Ruth (née Reardon), an attorney, and Thomas Francis O'Brien, a physician and professor of medicine, both Irish Catholic.[4][5] He is the third of six children. Later, in a Late Night episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated.
Education
O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as managing editor of the school newspaper and interned for Rep. Barney Frank.[6] After graduating as valedictorian in 1981,[7] he entered Harvard University.
At Harvard, O'Brien lived in Holworthy Hall during his freshman year, [8] and Mather House during his three upper-class years. He graduated magna cum laude in 1985 with an A.B. in History and Literature.[9] His senior thesis concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.[10]
Throughout college O'Brien was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the Lampoon's president, making him the second person ever to serve as president twice, and the first person to have done so since the 1920s.[citation needed]
Also, while attending Harvard, classmate Damon Krukowski of the band Galaxie 500, used O'Brien's drum kit in many of the band's early recordings.[citation needed]
In 2008, he received an honorary degree in Actuarial Science from Ball State University.[11]
Career
O'Brien in the offices of the Simpsons writers in 1992.
Television writer
O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's Not Necessarily the News.[12] He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings.
In January 1988, Saturday Night Live's executive producer Lorne Michaels hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on SNL, he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers," the latter of which was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz.[13] O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch "Nude Beach" with Robert Smigel, a sketch in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times.
While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987-1988 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue, in Chicago, with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called, Happy Happy Good Show. While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly was roommates with Jeff Garlin.[14] In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.
O'Brien, like many SNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season, gaining notice for the sketch Moleculo.
O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot Lookwell, starring Adam West. The pilot aired on NBC in 1991. The pilot never went to series, but it became a cult hit. It was later screened at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret, featuring an extended interview with O'Brien and rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.
From 1991 – 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons,[13] credited as writer or co-writer of four episodes.[15] Of all the episodes he wrote, he considers "Marge vs. the Monorail" to be his favorite.[13] Years later, in his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000,[16] O'Brien credited The Simpsons with "saving" him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his hiring for that show.[17] As of 2004, O'Brien's office at The Simpsons was being used as storage.[18] Along with that episode he has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block", "Homer Goes to College", and "Treehouse of Horror IV" on which he wrote the episode wrap-arounds. He produced several episodes of seasons 4 and 5 as well, meaning he would frequently contribute to scripts from those seasons.
[edit] Late Night
On April 25, 1993, Lorne Michaels suggested O'Brien try out to be David Letterman's successor as host of Late Night with David Letterman, with Andy Richter signed on to be his sidekick. O'Brien auditioned on the set of The Tonight Show, where he interviewed Mimi Rogers and Jason Alexander.[19] O'Brien resigned his position on The Simpsons, despite his contract not having expired.[19]
Premiering on September 13 of that same year, Late Night with Conan O'Brien received generally unfavorable critical reviews for the first 2 to 3 years after its debut. O'Brien himself, a total unknown among the general public before being named host, was seen by many as not being worthy of the program. NBC even poked fun at this perception in a radio ad which aired shortly before the show's debut and had O'Brien relaying an anecdote where someone recognized him on the street and said, "Look, honey, there's the guy who doesn't deserve his own show!" Another source of criticism was the fact that O'Brien himself appeared to be very nervous and awkward during the show's early days. As a self-deprecating nod to this, the original opening sequence for Late Night With Conan O'Brien was animated and featured a caricature of O'Brien who sweated and pulled at his collar nervously.
The show remained on multi-week renewal cycles while NBC decided its fate. By 1996-97, O'Brien's writing and comedic style was thought to have improved,[citation needed] and he began to develop a growing fan base, especially with high school and college students, as well as the respect of critics and his peers.[citation needed] O'Brien would later poke fun at the first three years of the show when on his 10th Anniversary Special, Mr. T appeared to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he's actually been on the air for ten years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool...but you've only been funny for seven!"
Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the Late Night writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy 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 the Late Night writing staff won the Writers 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 for Late Night.
On the first episode after the September 11th attacks, O'Brien told a story of how he went to pray for the first time since just after he had been announced as the host of Late Night, eight years prior. O'Brien was reported to have been shaken up and talked about a need to have faith.[20]
O'Brien in Helsinki, Finland in February 2006.
After meeting Finnish actor/director Lauri Nurkse on October 11, 2005, O'Brien discovered that he was popular in Finland and began a long-running joke that he resembles the first female President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to the recurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland" and his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland and appeared on several television shows, and met President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special.
O'Brien ad libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on December 4, 2006, after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate web-cam site. NBC opted to purchase the website domain name for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that someone might register the domain name and post content with which NBC would not wish to be associated, or that people would get upset and sue NBC when they found out the website is fictional.[21] NBC now owns the rights to www.hornymanatee.com for 10 years, as per Conan O'Brien. According to O'Brien, it was decided that, since NBC owned the name, they might as well create the website. Late Night has since developed an actual website, which now has received millions of hits, reaching 4 million page views in four days. People send in "horny manatee" artwork, poems, and other content. According to the Alexa website ranking system, Hornymanatee.com has had over 10 million web hits.
A popular recurring bit on the show was Pale Force, a series of animated episodes in which comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness." As Gaffigan introduced each new episode, O'Brien protested the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak and impotent.
As of October 2005, Late Night with Conan O'Brien had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers.[22]
In 2004, O'Brien negotiated a new contract with NBC. As part of the deal, NBC announced that O'Brien would be taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009. Leno stated on the show that he wanted to avoid a repeat of the controversy and hard feelings that resulted when he was chosen by NBC to host the Tonight Show over David Letterman.[citation needed] On July 21, 2008, NBC announced that O'Brien's first Tonight Show would be on June 1, 2009.[23]
O'Brien is an avid guitarist and music listener. When Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as a musical guest, O'Brien joined the 17 piece band along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests Jimmy Fallon & Thomas Haden Church and played acoustic guitar and contributed backup vocals for the song, "Pay Me My Money Down".
During the writer's strike in 2008, Conan O'Brien staged a feud with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) over a dispute about which of the three were responsible for giving Mike Huckabee's campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee a "bump." This fight crossed over all three shows.[24]
On the June 13, 2008, episode of Late Night, O'Brien simply walked out at the start of the show. Instead of his usual upbeat antics and monologue, O'Brien announced that he had just received news about the sudden death of his good friend, fellow NBC employee and frequent Late Night guest Tim Russert. O'Brien proceeded to show two clips of his favorite Russert Late Night moments.[25]
On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The show consisted of a compilation of previous "Late Night" clips, and was co-hosted by O'Brien's former sidekick, Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by thanking a list of people that helped him get to that point in his career. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.
[edit] Emmy Host
O'Brien hosted the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006 to critical acclaim.[26] He had previously hosted the Primetime Emmys in 2002, and co-hosted in 2003.
[edit] Voice work and guest appearances
O'Brien appeared as a character in the 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, voiced by Brent Spiner. O'Brien later appeared in South Park in the episode "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?". In 2006, he voiced himself in a short South Park scene as part of the opening of the 2006 Emmy Awards. In 2005, he provided the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln in the audiobook version of Assassination Vacation.
He appeared in another late-night talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast (SGC2C), in Episode 77: Fire Ant, in which he and Space Ghost argue about a number of topics, including whether or not anyone actually watches SGC2C. Space Ghost later quips, "Well, that's very stupid, and you won't make it in television," an obvious parody of early reviews of O'Brien's show. A short time later, Space Ghost leaves the interview in order to follow a fire ant that bit him. As Space Ghost is crawling out of the studio, O'Brien gripes that "For all these people know, my show is a cop show on Fox or something!" Space Ghost replies, "Isn't it?"
O'Brien made an appearance on Robot Chicken: Star Wars, and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, on June 17, 2007 as the voice of the bounty hunter Zuckuss. In a parody of Late Night, Zuckuss hosts a talk show called "Late Night with Zuckuss. O'Brien's "Fake Celebrity Interviews" segment was even spoofed when Zuckuss did a "fake interview" with Emperor Palpatine. Typical of Conan's fake interviews, the fake Palpatine made a fool of himself; the implication was that the actual Palpatine was not pleased, as, in the final moments of the sketch, the Death Star can be seen approaching through a window in Zuckuss' studio, aiming and firing – then there is a "Technical Difficulties" test pattern. He also appeared in Season one on the show in two roles. First as a pizza delivery man who is not aware of his customer's sexy advances; and as a wrestling announcer with historical figures as pro wrestlers.
On the hit TV show 30 Rock O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan", Conan appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on Late Night, despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.
O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the US version of The Office. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believed that he spotted someone that looks like former SNL cast member Tina Fey, but mistakes another woman for her. In the meantime, Conan has a quick walk-on and the camera-crew informs Michael when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey look-alike.
O'Brien starred in one of Bud Light's Super Bowl XLIII commercials as himself. In the ad, O'Brien agrees to do a Bud Light commercial where he dresses and acts suggestively and says "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!" The spot is only supposed to air in Sweden, but ends up being broadcast on the Jumbotron in New York City's Times Square. Two guys who spot O'Brien then mock him by saying "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!". Super Bowl XLIII aired on NBC, O'Brien's network.
O'Brien will be a guest star on a future episode of the Nick Jr. animated show The Backyardigans, providing the voice of Santa Claus. The episode is scheduled to air later in the show's upcoming fourth season.[27]
[edit] Television writer/producer (2002–present)
In 2002, Conan helped write and produce Andy Richter Controls the Universe, a comedy series that ran for two seasons. It was cancelled mostly due to poor ratings.
In 2004, O'Brien had to apologize to Canadians for engaging in Quebec bashing, something which some felt to be racist towards Francophones. [28]
On March 7, 2006, NBC announced a new adventure/comedy series entitled Andy Barker, P.I.. O'Brien was executive producer and also co-wrote the pilot. The show starred O'Brien's former sidekick Andy Richter. After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007.[29]
"USA Network has handed out a 90-minute, cast-contingent pilot order to the medical-themed "Operating Instructions" from Conan O'Brien's production banner. O'Brien will serve as an Executive Producer through his Conaco label. The script comes from "Just Shoot Me" veterans Judd Pillot and John Peaslee, who will also executive produce."[30]
[edit] Personal life
Conan O'Brien with his wife Liza in 2007
O'Brien's long-time friend is Father Paul B. O' Brien, with whom he founded Labels Are For Jars,[31] an anti-hunger organization based in Lawrence, MA. The two are not related.
O'Brien once was in a relationship with Lisa Kudrow until O'Brien decided to move to New York to pursue a television show. O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann 'Liza' Powell (who prior was dating actor Eric Schaeffer) in 2000 when she appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in an advertising skit involving Foote, Cone & Belding.[32] The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their January 12, 2002 marriage in Powell's Seattle hometown. O'Brien and Powell have a daughter Neve (born October 14, 2003)[33] and son Beckett (born November 9, 2005).[34]
O'Brien repeatedly affirms his Irish Catholic heritage on his show. On a 2009 episode of Inside the Actor's Studio he told how both sides of his family moved here from Ireland in the 1850's and only married other Irish Catholics. He says his lineage is 100% pure Irish Catholic.
O'Brien donated $500 to the Senate campaign of Christopher Dodd in 1997 and again in 2004.[35]
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War." He grew the beard in support for his writers, but shortly after shaved it off.
Recently, O'Brien purchased a $10.5 million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California in preparation of his move there in 2009 from New York City to work his new job hosting The Tonight Show at Universal Studios Hollywood.[36][37]
[edit] Subject of stalking
It was reported that since September 2006 that O'Brien had allegedly been stalked by the Father David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, had been sending O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker" and coming in contact with O'Brien's parents. Ajemian sent a letter to O'Brien, frustrated that he had been denied a spot in the Late Night audience. He stated in his letter to O'Brien that he flew to New York, "in the dimming hope that you might finally acknowledge me." He also stated in another letter that, "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans??? You owe me big time pal." Ajemian also seemed to have made a death threat to O'Brien in another letter; saying, "Remember Frank Costello once dodged a bullet in your building and so can you." Ajemian then tried to forcefully enter a taping of Late Night, but was caught and arrested. He was previously warned by the NBC security team to stay away from the studio. After a psychological evaluation, he was deemed fit to stand trial. He has since been bailed out of jail.[38] He was then reported missing by his father around 3:15 PM EST on November 10, 2007. He was found and underwent evaluation at a hospital. It is known that the two had attended Harvard University at the same time. He was found fit to stand trial on April 4, 2008.
On April 8, 2008, Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking, stating that "he never meant to cause anxiety or to upset anyone." He was ordered to pay a $95 USD court charge, and was also required to sign a two-year restraining order, barring him from coming near O'Brien.[39]
On September 11, 2008, Ajemian checked himself out of his treatment at a hospital against the wishes of his cardinal, Seán Patrick O'Malley. Cardinal O'Malley then released a statement, saying that because he violated his Cardinal's wishes, Ajemian can no longer serve as a priest in the Catholic Church.[40]
[edit] Comedy and mannerisms
On Late Night, O'Brien has become known for his more active and spontaneous hosting style. He starts off every show by saying, "We have a great show for you tonight." His stage habits include, but are not limited to, mime, self-deprecation, dramatic expressions, various impressions, use of awkward pauses or responses and moving his hair and scalp back and forth. He frequently makes fun of and interacts with the audience. He commonly makes light of his own appearance including his hairstyle, his pale skin, his clumsiness and his height.
One of his trademarks is to perform the "string dance." He also does impressions of celebrities; among the most common are Arnold Schwarzenegger (where he pretends to bite off a piece of an imaginary sausage, only because his "Arnold always eats a sausage"), Donald Trump, whom he vaguely resembles, which generally includes the phrase, "You're fired," and Larry King where he circles both eyes with his fingers (to represent eyeglasses) and pretends to pull suspenders on his chest.
I'm being interrupted so read the rest. I'll continue my thoughts later.
Birth name Conan Christopher O'Brien
Born April 18, 1963 (age 45)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.[1]
Medium Television
Nationality American
Years active 1985—present
Genres Improvisational comedy, Sketch comedy, Physical comedy, Surreal humor, self-deprecation
Influences Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Woody Allen, David Letterman, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Mel Brooks, Bob Newhart, Bill Murray
Spouse Elizabeth Ann Powell (2002—present) (2 children)
Notable works and roles Writer for The Simpsons (1992—1993)
Host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
(1993—2009)
Host of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009)
Website Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1989 Saturday Night Live
2007 Late Night with Conan O'Brien[2]
Background
O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, the son of Ruth (née Reardon), an attorney, and Thomas Francis O'Brien, a physician and professor of medicine, both Irish Catholic.[4][5] He is the third of six children. Later, in a Late Night episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated.
Education
O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as managing editor of the school newspaper and interned for Rep. Barney Frank.[6] After graduating as valedictorian in 1981,[7] he entered Harvard University.
At Harvard, O'Brien lived in Holworthy Hall during his freshman year, [8] and Mather House during his three upper-class years. He graduated magna cum laude in 1985 with an A.B. in History and Literature.[9] His senior thesis concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.[10]
Throughout college O'Brien was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the Lampoon's president, making him the second person ever to serve as president twice, and the first person to have done so since the 1920s.[citation needed]
Also, while attending Harvard, classmate Damon Krukowski of the band Galaxie 500, used O'Brien's drum kit in many of the band's early recordings.[citation needed]
In 2008, he received an honorary degree in Actuarial Science from Ball State University.[11]
Career
O'Brien in the offices of the Simpsons writers in 1992.
Television writer
O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's Not Necessarily the News.[12] He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings.
In January 1988, Saturday Night Live's executive producer Lorne Michaels hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on SNL, he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers," the latter of which was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz.[13] O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch "Nude Beach" with Robert Smigel, a sketch in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times.
While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987-1988 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue, in Chicago, with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called, Happy Happy Good Show. While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly was roommates with Jeff Garlin.[14] In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.
O'Brien, like many SNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season, gaining notice for the sketch Moleculo.
O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot Lookwell, starring Adam West. The pilot aired on NBC in 1991. The pilot never went to series, but it became a cult hit. It was later screened at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret, featuring an extended interview with O'Brien and rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.
From 1991 – 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons,[13] credited as writer or co-writer of four episodes.[15] Of all the episodes he wrote, he considers "Marge vs. the Monorail" to be his favorite.[13] Years later, in his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000,[16] O'Brien credited The Simpsons with "saving" him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his hiring for that show.[17] As of 2004, O'Brien's office at The Simpsons was being used as storage.[18] Along with that episode he has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block", "Homer Goes to College", and "Treehouse of Horror IV" on which he wrote the episode wrap-arounds. He produced several episodes of seasons 4 and 5 as well, meaning he would frequently contribute to scripts from those seasons.
[edit] Late Night
On April 25, 1993, Lorne Michaels suggested O'Brien try out to be David Letterman's successor as host of Late Night with David Letterman, with Andy Richter signed on to be his sidekick. O'Brien auditioned on the set of The Tonight Show, where he interviewed Mimi Rogers and Jason Alexander.[19] O'Brien resigned his position on The Simpsons, despite his contract not having expired.[19]
Premiering on September 13 of that same year, Late Night with Conan O'Brien received generally unfavorable critical reviews for the first 2 to 3 years after its debut. O'Brien himself, a total unknown among the general public before being named host, was seen by many as not being worthy of the program. NBC even poked fun at this perception in a radio ad which aired shortly before the show's debut and had O'Brien relaying an anecdote where someone recognized him on the street and said, "Look, honey, there's the guy who doesn't deserve his own show!" Another source of criticism was the fact that O'Brien himself appeared to be very nervous and awkward during the show's early days. As a self-deprecating nod to this, the original opening sequence for Late Night With Conan O'Brien was animated and featured a caricature of O'Brien who sweated and pulled at his collar nervously.
The show remained on multi-week renewal cycles while NBC decided its fate. By 1996-97, O'Brien's writing and comedic style was thought to have improved,[citation needed] and he began to develop a growing fan base, especially with high school and college students, as well as the respect of critics and his peers.[citation needed] O'Brien would later poke fun at the first three years of the show when on his 10th Anniversary Special, Mr. T appeared to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he's actually been on the air for ten years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool...but you've only been funny for seven!"
Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the Late Night writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy 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 the Late Night writing staff won the Writers 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 for Late Night.
On the first episode after the September 11th attacks, O'Brien told a story of how he went to pray for the first time since just after he had been announced as the host of Late Night, eight years prior. O'Brien was reported to have been shaken up and talked about a need to have faith.[20]
O'Brien in Helsinki, Finland in February 2006.
After meeting Finnish actor/director Lauri Nurkse on October 11, 2005, O'Brien discovered that he was popular in Finland and began a long-running joke that he resembles the first female President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to the recurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland" and his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland and appeared on several television shows, and met President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special.
O'Brien ad libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on December 4, 2006, after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate web-cam site. NBC opted to purchase the website domain name for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that someone might register the domain name and post content with which NBC would not wish to be associated, or that people would get upset and sue NBC when they found out the website is fictional.[21] NBC now owns the rights to www.hornymanatee.com for 10 years, as per Conan O'Brien. According to O'Brien, it was decided that, since NBC owned the name, they might as well create the website. Late Night has since developed an actual website, which now has received millions of hits, reaching 4 million page views in four days. People send in "horny manatee" artwork, poems, and other content. According to the Alexa website ranking system, Hornymanatee.com has had over 10 million web hits.
A popular recurring bit on the show was Pale Force, a series of animated episodes in which comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness." As Gaffigan introduced each new episode, O'Brien protested the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak and impotent.
As of October 2005, Late Night with Conan O'Brien had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers.[22]
In 2004, O'Brien negotiated a new contract with NBC. As part of the deal, NBC announced that O'Brien would be taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009. Leno stated on the show that he wanted to avoid a repeat of the controversy and hard feelings that resulted when he was chosen by NBC to host the Tonight Show over David Letterman.[citation needed] On July 21, 2008, NBC announced that O'Brien's first Tonight Show would be on June 1, 2009.[23]
O'Brien is an avid guitarist and music listener. When Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as a musical guest, O'Brien joined the 17 piece band along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests Jimmy Fallon & Thomas Haden Church and played acoustic guitar and contributed backup vocals for the song, "Pay Me My Money Down".
During the writer's strike in 2008, Conan O'Brien staged a feud with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) over a dispute about which of the three were responsible for giving Mike Huckabee's campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee a "bump." This fight crossed over all three shows.[24]
On the June 13, 2008, episode of Late Night, O'Brien simply walked out at the start of the show. Instead of his usual upbeat antics and monologue, O'Brien announced that he had just received news about the sudden death of his good friend, fellow NBC employee and frequent Late Night guest Tim Russert. O'Brien proceeded to show two clips of his favorite Russert Late Night moments.[25]
On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The show consisted of a compilation of previous "Late Night" clips, and was co-hosted by O'Brien's former sidekick, Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by thanking a list of people that helped him get to that point in his career. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.
[edit] Emmy Host
O'Brien hosted the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006 to critical acclaim.[26] He had previously hosted the Primetime Emmys in 2002, and co-hosted in 2003.
[edit] Voice work and guest appearances
O'Brien appeared as a character in the 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, voiced by Brent Spiner. O'Brien later appeared in South Park in the episode "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?". In 2006, he voiced himself in a short South Park scene as part of the opening of the 2006 Emmy Awards. In 2005, he provided the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln in the audiobook version of Assassination Vacation.
He appeared in another late-night talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast (SGC2C), in Episode 77: Fire Ant, in which he and Space Ghost argue about a number of topics, including whether or not anyone actually watches SGC2C. Space Ghost later quips, "Well, that's very stupid, and you won't make it in television," an obvious parody of early reviews of O'Brien's show. A short time later, Space Ghost leaves the interview in order to follow a fire ant that bit him. As Space Ghost is crawling out of the studio, O'Brien gripes that "For all these people know, my show is a cop show on Fox or something!" Space Ghost replies, "Isn't it?"
O'Brien made an appearance on Robot Chicken: Star Wars, and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, on June 17, 2007 as the voice of the bounty hunter Zuckuss. In a parody of Late Night, Zuckuss hosts a talk show called "Late Night with Zuckuss. O'Brien's "Fake Celebrity Interviews" segment was even spoofed when Zuckuss did a "fake interview" with Emperor Palpatine. Typical of Conan's fake interviews, the fake Palpatine made a fool of himself; the implication was that the actual Palpatine was not pleased, as, in the final moments of the sketch, the Death Star can be seen approaching through a window in Zuckuss' studio, aiming and firing – then there is a "Technical Difficulties" test pattern. He also appeared in Season one on the show in two roles. First as a pizza delivery man who is not aware of his customer's sexy advances; and as a wrestling announcer with historical figures as pro wrestlers.
On the hit TV show 30 Rock O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan", Conan appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on Late Night, despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.
O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the US version of The Office. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believed that he spotted someone that looks like former SNL cast member Tina Fey, but mistakes another woman for her. In the meantime, Conan has a quick walk-on and the camera-crew informs Michael when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey look-alike.
O'Brien starred in one of Bud Light's Super Bowl XLIII commercials as himself. In the ad, O'Brien agrees to do a Bud Light commercial where he dresses and acts suggestively and says "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!" The spot is only supposed to air in Sweden, but ends up being broadcast on the Jumbotron in New York City's Times Square. Two guys who spot O'Brien then mock him by saying "Vroom! Vroom! Party Starter!". Super Bowl XLIII aired on NBC, O'Brien's network.
O'Brien will be a guest star on a future episode of the Nick Jr. animated show The Backyardigans, providing the voice of Santa Claus. The episode is scheduled to air later in the show's upcoming fourth season.[27]
[edit] Television writer/producer (2002–present)
In 2002, Conan helped write and produce Andy Richter Controls the Universe, a comedy series that ran for two seasons. It was cancelled mostly due to poor ratings.
In 2004, O'Brien had to apologize to Canadians for engaging in Quebec bashing, something which some felt to be racist towards Francophones. [28]
On March 7, 2006, NBC announced a new adventure/comedy series entitled Andy Barker, P.I.. O'Brien was executive producer and also co-wrote the pilot. The show starred O'Brien's former sidekick Andy Richter. After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007.[29]
"USA Network has handed out a 90-minute, cast-contingent pilot order to the medical-themed "Operating Instructions" from Conan O'Brien's production banner. O'Brien will serve as an Executive Producer through his Conaco label. The script comes from "Just Shoot Me" veterans Judd Pillot and John Peaslee, who will also executive produce."[30]
[edit] Personal life
Conan O'Brien with his wife Liza in 2007
O'Brien's long-time friend is Father Paul B. O' Brien, with whom he founded Labels Are For Jars,[31] an anti-hunger organization based in Lawrence, MA. The two are not related.
O'Brien once was in a relationship with Lisa Kudrow until O'Brien decided to move to New York to pursue a television show. O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann 'Liza' Powell (who prior was dating actor Eric Schaeffer) in 2000 when she appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in an advertising skit involving Foote, Cone & Belding.[32] The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their January 12, 2002 marriage in Powell's Seattle hometown. O'Brien and Powell have a daughter Neve (born October 14, 2003)[33] and son Beckett (born November 9, 2005).[34]
O'Brien repeatedly affirms his Irish Catholic heritage on his show. On a 2009 episode of Inside the Actor's Studio he told how both sides of his family moved here from Ireland in the 1850's and only married other Irish Catholics. He says his lineage is 100% pure Irish Catholic.
O'Brien donated $500 to the Senate campaign of Christopher Dodd in 1997 and again in 2004.[35]
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War." He grew the beard in support for his writers, but shortly after shaved it off.
Recently, O'Brien purchased a $10.5 million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California in preparation of his move there in 2009 from New York City to work his new job hosting The Tonight Show at Universal Studios Hollywood.[36][37]
[edit] Subject of stalking
It was reported that since September 2006 that O'Brien had allegedly been stalked by the Father David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, had been sending O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker" and coming in contact with O'Brien's parents. Ajemian sent a letter to O'Brien, frustrated that he had been denied a spot in the Late Night audience. He stated in his letter to O'Brien that he flew to New York, "in the dimming hope that you might finally acknowledge me." He also stated in another letter that, "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans??? You owe me big time pal." Ajemian also seemed to have made a death threat to O'Brien in another letter; saying, "Remember Frank Costello once dodged a bullet in your building and so can you." Ajemian then tried to forcefully enter a taping of Late Night, but was caught and arrested. He was previously warned by the NBC security team to stay away from the studio. After a psychological evaluation, he was deemed fit to stand trial. He has since been bailed out of jail.[38] He was then reported missing by his father around 3:15 PM EST on November 10, 2007. He was found and underwent evaluation at a hospital. It is known that the two had attended Harvard University at the same time. He was found fit to stand trial on April 4, 2008.
On April 8, 2008, Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking, stating that "he never meant to cause anxiety or to upset anyone." He was ordered to pay a $95 USD court charge, and was also required to sign a two-year restraining order, barring him from coming near O'Brien.[39]
On September 11, 2008, Ajemian checked himself out of his treatment at a hospital against the wishes of his cardinal, Seán Patrick O'Malley. Cardinal O'Malley then released a statement, saying that because he violated his Cardinal's wishes, Ajemian can no longer serve as a priest in the Catholic Church.[40]
[edit] Comedy and mannerisms
On Late Night, O'Brien has become known for his more active and spontaneous hosting style. He starts off every show by saying, "We have a great show for you tonight." His stage habits include, but are not limited to, mime, self-deprecation, dramatic expressions, various impressions, use of awkward pauses or responses and moving his hair and scalp back and forth. He frequently makes fun of and interacts with the audience. He commonly makes light of his own appearance including his hairstyle, his pale skin, his clumsiness and his height.
One of his trademarks is to perform the "string dance." He also does impressions of celebrities; among the most common are Arnold Schwarzenegger (where he pretends to bite off a piece of an imaginary sausage, only because his "Arnold always eats a sausage"), Donald Trump, whom he vaguely resembles, which generally includes the phrase, "You're fired," and Larry King where he circles both eyes with his fingers (to represent eyeglasses) and pretends to pull suspenders on his chest.
Craig Ferguson
He did it Gangnum Style for a weeks. It was nice watching that cute censor lady dance too. Where did she go. I think that was a great bit to have on the show.
I try to watch the show daily. Lets do an awkward pause......... Want some fruit or a mouth organ?
I like Craig's conversation style. Except for the swearing being bleeped out the show is open to all ideas. Craig is polite to all but does speak his mind. He seems to be natural. Craig fits well in talk show format.
Born: May 17, 1962 (1962-05-17) (age 46) Glasgow, Scotland
Nationality: Scottish American
Genres: Observational comedy
Subject(s): everyday life, pop culture
Craig (born May 17, 1962) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, director and actor. He is the current host of CBS's The Late Late Show, a role which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2006.
Craig Ferguson played the office boss Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003 and is the author of the 2006 novel Between the Bridge and the River.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
Craig Ferguson
UK career
Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a punk band called "The Bastards from Hell." The band, later known as "Dreamboys," performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982.
Craig Ferguson got his start as a comedian in the United Kingdom, appearing on the alternative comedy circuit under the stage-name "Bing Hitler". A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s. In addition, a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.
Craig Ferguson toured the UK during the late '80s under his own name as a support act to Harry Enfield.
In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective. He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.
Craig Ferguson
After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson broke into television with appearances on Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show, his own show 2000 Not Out, and the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve.
In 1994 Craig played "Father Maclean" in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at The Union Chapel in London. After a spate of death threats the production was closed down after just ten performances.
Craig Ferguson
US career
After his show The Ferguson Theory, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond.
Craig Ferguson
His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, on The Drew Carey Show; he played that role from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents".
Craig Ferguson
During this time he also wrote and starred in three films: The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed and for which he won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. His other acting credits in films include Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, and Born Romantic.
Click here to see a great Craig Ferguson video clip.
Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show
In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on January 3, 2005. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ...He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience."
Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In April 2008, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson beat Late Night with Conan O'Brien for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.
Craig Ferguson
His success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he's the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show. One of Ferguson's writers on the show, Philip McGrade, said that Americans had warmed to his confessional style; commenting on Ferguson's greater success in the US, McGrade said that Americans were more receptive to working-class comics than were British audiences.
Craig Ferguson
Other projects
Ferguson is the writer/co-writer and actor of movies including The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed. He played the person who cannot be described as either gender in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on January 10, 2006. TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening.
Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River (ISBN 0-8118-5375-6) was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it." Publishers Weekly called it "a tour de force of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane."
Ferguson played Ted Truman in the indie film Trust Me. In the Red Dwarf episode "Confidence and Paranoia", he played "Confidence," a character who personified the concept.
In 2007 and 2008, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on July 4, broadcast nationally by CBS.
In 1994 he played Father Maclean in the London production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom by Daniel Abineri.
He continues to make standup appearances in Las Vegas and New York City even while his show continues. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, along with Howie Mandel and others.
Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the April 26, 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC where he delivered the line "shut the hell up New York Times, you sanctimonious, whining jerks."
Ferguson has signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs in fall 2009. The book, tentatively titled American on Purpose, will focus on "how and why [he] became an American" and cover his years as a punk rocker, a dancer, a bouncer and a construction worker.
Personal life
Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld.
His first visit to the United States was to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City, as a teenager; later, he lived in New York City, where he worked in construction in Harlem (when Samuel L. Jackson was a guest on his show, Craig joked that he "had to sprint through Harlem to the subway," to which Jackson responded that white people "are very welcome in Harlem!"), and according to Ferguson "used to be a bouncer at a cool club in New York called Save the Robots. That was the name of the club. I was the bouncer the first couple of weeks. I got fired. I was power crazed. I was acting like a gatekeeper from the Lord of the Rings."
Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother. His sister, Lynn Ferguson, is a successful comedian, presenter and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in Chicken Run. His brother, Scott, worked for STV, and is married to actress Teri Lally. His elder sister, Janice, is a successful businesswoman and fellowship member of IOSH.
Ferguson has married and divorced twice. From his second marriage he has one son, Milo, born in 2001. Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his son, along with his great-grandfather, Adam. He has been seen with Megan Wallace-Cunningham, an art dealer, since 2005 and has confirmed that she is his girlfriend.
A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since February 18, 1992. He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink for celebrating the holiday, he forgot to jump off the Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.
As mentioned on The Late Late Show on March 26, 2008, Ferguson holds an FAA student pilot certificate issued November 9, 2007.
Citizenship
During 2007, Ferguson used The Late Late Show as a forum for getting an honorary citizenship from every state in America. He received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Governors John Hoeven, Mark Sanford, Mike Rounds, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Jim Gibbons sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their states.
He received similar honors from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas, Hazard, Kentucky, Greensburg, Pennsylvania as well.
On the Tuesday, January 22, 2008, airing of The Late Late Show, Ferguson announced that he was scheduled to take his citizenship test in Los Angeles on Friday, January 25, 2008. The next Monday he announced that he received a perfect score, with footage of this shown as proof. Aware of the cameras, Ferguson gave tongue-in-cheek answers to some questions: for example, in response to a request to name the writer of The Star-Spangled Banner, he replied "Francis Scott Key... and Puff Daddy".
Ferguson became an American citizen on February 1, 2008. Clips from his citizenship ceremony were aired the following week during Monday night's airing of The Late Late Show on February 4, 2008.
Guest appearances
He has made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Rachael Ray, The Daily Show, The View, Loveline, Real Time with Bill Maher,The Dennis Miller Show and Million Dollar Password with Regis Philbin.
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For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
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Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Kim Kims Hakka Chinese Restaurant www.kimkim.ca
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
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I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
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I try to watch the show daily. Lets do an awkward pause......... Want some fruit or a mouth organ?
I like Craig's conversation style. Except for the swearing being bleeped out the show is open to all ideas. Craig is polite to all but does speak his mind. He seems to be natural. Craig fits well in talk show format.
Born: May 17, 1962 (1962-05-17) (age 46) Glasgow, Scotland
Nationality: Scottish American
Genres: Observational comedy
Subject(s): everyday life, pop culture
Craig (born May 17, 1962) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, director and actor. He is the current host of CBS's The Late Late Show, a role which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2006.
Craig Ferguson played the office boss Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003 and is the author of the 2006 novel Between the Bridge and the River.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
Craig Ferguson
UK career
Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a punk band called "The Bastards from Hell." The band, later known as "Dreamboys," performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982.
Craig Ferguson got his start as a comedian in the United Kingdom, appearing on the alternative comedy circuit under the stage-name "Bing Hitler". A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s. In addition, a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.
Craig Ferguson toured the UK during the late '80s under his own name as a support act to Harry Enfield.
In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective. He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.
Craig Ferguson
After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson broke into television with appearances on Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show, his own show 2000 Not Out, and the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve.
In 1994 Craig played "Father Maclean" in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at The Union Chapel in London. After a spate of death threats the production was closed down after just ten performances.
Craig Ferguson
US career
After his show The Ferguson Theory, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond.
Craig Ferguson
His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, on The Drew Carey Show; he played that role from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents".
Craig Ferguson
During this time he also wrote and starred in three films: The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed and for which he won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. His other acting credits in films include Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, and Born Romantic.
Click here to see a great Craig Ferguson video clip.
Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show
In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on January 3, 2005. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ...He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience."
Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In April 2008, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson beat Late Night with Conan O'Brien for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.
Craig Ferguson
His success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he's the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show. One of Ferguson's writers on the show, Philip McGrade, said that Americans had warmed to his confessional style; commenting on Ferguson's greater success in the US, McGrade said that Americans were more receptive to working-class comics than were British audiences.
Craig Ferguson
Other projects
Ferguson is the writer/co-writer and actor of movies including The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed. He played the person who cannot be described as either gender in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on January 10, 2006. TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening.
Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River (ISBN 0-8118-5375-6) was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it." Publishers Weekly called it "a tour de force of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane."
Ferguson played Ted Truman in the indie film Trust Me. In the Red Dwarf episode "Confidence and Paranoia", he played "Confidence," a character who personified the concept.
In 2007 and 2008, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on July 4, broadcast nationally by CBS.
In 1994 he played Father Maclean in the London production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom by Daniel Abineri.
He continues to make standup appearances in Las Vegas and New York City even while his show continues. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, along with Howie Mandel and others.
Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the April 26, 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC where he delivered the line "shut the hell up New York Times, you sanctimonious, whining jerks."
Ferguson has signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs in fall 2009. The book, tentatively titled American on Purpose, will focus on "how and why [he] became an American" and cover his years as a punk rocker, a dancer, a bouncer and a construction worker.
Personal life
Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld.
His first visit to the United States was to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City, as a teenager; later, he lived in New York City, where he worked in construction in Harlem (when Samuel L. Jackson was a guest on his show, Craig joked that he "had to sprint through Harlem to the subway," to which Jackson responded that white people "are very welcome in Harlem!"), and according to Ferguson "used to be a bouncer at a cool club in New York called Save the Robots. That was the name of the club. I was the bouncer the first couple of weeks. I got fired. I was power crazed. I was acting like a gatekeeper from the Lord of the Rings."
Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother. His sister, Lynn Ferguson, is a successful comedian, presenter and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in Chicken Run. His brother, Scott, worked for STV, and is married to actress Teri Lally. His elder sister, Janice, is a successful businesswoman and fellowship member of IOSH.
Ferguson has married and divorced twice. From his second marriage he has one son, Milo, born in 2001. Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his son, along with his great-grandfather, Adam. He has been seen with Megan Wallace-Cunningham, an art dealer, since 2005 and has confirmed that she is his girlfriend.
A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since February 18, 1992. He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink for celebrating the holiday, he forgot to jump off the Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.
As mentioned on The Late Late Show on March 26, 2008, Ferguson holds an FAA student pilot certificate issued November 9, 2007.
Citizenship
During 2007, Ferguson used The Late Late Show as a forum for getting an honorary citizenship from every state in America. He received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Governors John Hoeven, Mark Sanford, Mike Rounds, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Jim Gibbons sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their states.
He received similar honors from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas, Hazard, Kentucky, Greensburg, Pennsylvania as well.
On the Tuesday, January 22, 2008, airing of The Late Late Show, Ferguson announced that he was scheduled to take his citizenship test in Los Angeles on Friday, January 25, 2008. The next Monday he announced that he received a perfect score, with footage of this shown as proof. Aware of the cameras, Ferguson gave tongue-in-cheek answers to some questions: for example, in response to a request to name the writer of The Star-Spangled Banner, he replied "Francis Scott Key... and Puff Daddy".
Ferguson became an American citizen on February 1, 2008. Clips from his citizenship ceremony were aired the following week during Monday night's airing of The Late Late Show on February 4, 2008.
Guest appearances
He has made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Rachael Ray, The Daily Show, The View, Loveline, Real Time with Bill Maher,The Dennis Miller Show and Million Dollar Password with Regis Philbin.
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Car Repair
For the best car repair service go to Don's Auto Clinic at
1950 Ellesmere Rd #21 Scarborough ON, M1H 2V8 Phone: 416-438-9575
Make an appointment and don't worry about what kind of service you'll get because it's the best. I've been going there for at least 3 years. (Zane Ladhani---of Zane's Comedy Warehouse www.zanes-comedy-warehouse.com)
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Chinese Food
Kim Kims Hakka Chinese Restaurant www.kimkim.ca
Chinese Food is great and there are a lot of restaurants but if you want to go to one of the best chinese food restaurants in Toronto then go to Kim Kims at
Kim Kim Hakka Chinese Restaurant 1188 Kennedy Road Scarborough, ON M1P 2L1 416-757-8300 (Near Kennedy and Lawrence)
I ususally have the Curry Chicken on Rice but you'll be happy with whatever you order.
If you can't handle spicy food tell them when you order.
Don't ask for a discount because you won't need one.
Real Estate Services
The best real estate agents in Toronto are the Wright Sisters. They
are the right choice whether you're buying or selling property.
Lindsay & Melanie Wright Sales Representatives
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen Street East Toronto ON M4E 1G2
Office: (416) 699-9292 Toll Free: 1-866-921-9292 Fax: (416) 699-8576
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American Dad
American Dad
Format: Animated Sitcom
Created by: Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker, and Matt Weitzman
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Rachael MacFarlane, and Dee Bradley Baker
No. of seasons: 4
No. of episodes: 72
Production Company (s): Fuzzy Door Productions, Underdog Productions, 20th Century Fox Television
Original Run: February 6, 2005 to present
American Dad is an animated cartoon produced by Under Dog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions for 20th Century Fox Television. In my opinion it is appropriate for people 18 to … well dying. Seth MacFarlane and two writers from Family Guy created the show. The two writers from Family Guy are Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman. The main characters are a husband, a wife, a son, and two odd characters, not like your cousin Amy, but odd. The pilot for the show aired on FOX on February 6, 2005, 30 minutes after the end of Super Bowl XXXIX. I don’t read Roman so you do the math. The first time I saw Roman Numerals I thought they were created for the adult film industry. …..back to the show. The regular series started airing May 1, 2005, after the season premiere of Family Guy. The main character, Stan Smith, is a CIA agent. The show is about him and his adventures, which often involves most of the family and other characters.
Ratings
The show did get renewed for a fifth season (not exactly at the time of writing) but it did not do as well as Family Guy or The Simpsons in ratings.
Opening sequence
The show starts with a similar opening for each show but with theme changes. You can see YouTube.com for some of the opening sequences. You might have to go to the official site for the show or the networks that air the show to see more.
Crossovers with Family Guy
Certain characters and locations have been featured in select episodes of Family Guy, another animated comedy created and produced by Seth MacFarlane.
Main Cast
Seth MacFarlane as Stan Smith and Roger the Alien
Wendy Schaal as Francine Smith
Scott Grimes as Steve Smith
Rachael MacFarlane as Hayley Smith
Dee Bradley Baker as Klaus
American Chopper
‘American Chopper’ ending after 10 years — EXCLUSIVE
By James Hibberd
Comments 201Add a comment
After ten years, Discovery Channel is ending American Chopper.
The Teutuls are going to build their final bikes on the network next month. One of Discovery’s most popular programs, American Chopper helped pioneer the “docusoap” reality genre and inspired a surge of gear-head shows. Chopper‘s run will conclude with the previously announced four-way bike build-off special titled The Revenge airing live from Las Vegas on Dec. 11.
“After 10 years and 233 episodes of incredible, riveting reality television, American Chopper will be ending its run,” says Eileen O’Neill, group president, Discovery and TLC Networks. “This series was one of the very first family-based reality programs on television. Special thanks to Pilgrim Studios for over a decade of great producing. The Teutuls have given us really innovative bike builds and real drama since 2002. We wish both Orange County Choppers and Paul Junior Designs the best.”
The series had a simple format — a father and son building custom motorcycles amid frequent infighting. Yet nothing about the show’s colorful history has been straight forward. American Chopper has changed networks, switched names and was previously cancelled, only to rise again.
“I have mixed emotions,” executive producer Craig Piligian tells EW.com. “It’s had a great run. We had a lot of ups and downs. There’s been so much that’s happened to this family over the last 10 years. We’ve seen them grow to a huge motorcycle shop. We’ve seen them fight bitterly. We’ve seen them sue each other. And recently we’ve seen them come together to open up a new business. I think the show has come full circle.”
American Chopper premiered as a Discovery Channel special in 2002, then launched as a regular series a few months later. In 2008, Discovery moved the show to its sister channel TLC. A couple years passed, then behind-the-scenes warring between Senior and Junior prompted TLC to outright cancel the show. Parties soon made up and in 2010 the company re-ordered the program as American Chopper: Junior vs. Senior. The series later reverted to its original title and switched back to Discovery.
“This was the first family docusoap,” Piligian says. “They put on display, for all to see, what really happens in a tight family business, warts and all. I’m really proud they were so open and honest.”
Paul Senior and Junior’s spirited attitudes helped make the show engaging for fans, but could also make things difficult behind the scenes. At one point when shooting the current final season, Piligian fired Junior and kicked him off the set. “It’s a very tumultuous relationship, not only between the father and son, but between us as well,” Piligian says. “Junior and I would have it out, and at one point awhile back, I said, ‘We’re done with you.’” The two reconciled and Junior returned to work shortly thereafter.
Given the show’s on-again, off-again history, one has to wonder: Is this really the end? Could American Chopper rise again in a year or two?
“American Chopper was cancelled before and we came back even stronger,” Piligian says. “It’s been a resilient, powerful show. Right now they’re telling me it’s cancelled. I can only comment: ‘Who knows what the future holds.’”
Here’s a preview of Monday’s episode, below. The live bike-building special includes Paul Teutul Senior and Junior will face-off against Outlaw Garage star Jesse James and Discovery Channel’s Fast ‘N Loud stars Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman in a competition event.
********
American Chopper: Senior vs Junior Premiering on Thursday, Aug 12 (2011) at 9PM ET/PT on TLC. Have you been watching? It looks like senior wants to get back together with Junior. Senior has even email Junior. Junior emailed or was it texted condolences when Senior's dog, Gus, died. Junior won the court case but it still hasn't settled anything. I think they'll be friends again but who knows? They both realized that they're getting older and life is short. I hope they work things out.
Here's another thought ..... maybe Senior and Junior are already getting along but they are putting on a good show for television.
I always thought that Coke and Pepsi were friends and were just playing like they were competing. The prices for each are usually the same so it doesn't look like they are competing. I'm gonna Google that!
American Chopper
Category: American show: The Series Category: Reality Television
Category: Motorcycle Category: pg13 Number of Seasons: 4
Number of Episodes: 108 Cast: Paul Teutul, Sr. (Owner, Operator, Senior Manager of Orange County Choppers), Paul Teutul, Jr. (Senior fabricator), part of management staff, (kids might be reading this) disturber) Michael Teutul (General Assistant and American Chopper class clown) He does whatever his dad let's him do and then he helps disturb the (kids might be reading this) Rick Petko (Fabricator, Metal Specialist) Vince (Fabricator, Wiring Specialist) Jason Pohl (The computer guy. He helps the staff design what they want to build by making paper templates or representations of parts.) Mike Rowe (Announcer--the guy from Dirty Jobs) Paul (Senior) Teutul and his two sons are contracted by celebrities and businesses and charities to make theme-based choppers (custom motorcycles).
American Chopper
They have built a cycle for Shaq, .......(list to come) Paul (Senior) is a by-the-book type of guy but he can also cause his own chaos. Paul (Junior), the oldest of two sons at the shop, is often portrayed as lazy and irresponsible. The youngest son, Mike "Mikey" is a fun-loving free spirit. He is a constant source of humour. Often times when Senior and Junior are arguing about something Mikey will come and do something silly to diffuse the situation.
American Chopper
The other shop workers include Vince and Rick. There is a student builder who works at Orange County Choppers on and off. Nubby is the contracted painter. He is responsible for painting the parts of the cycle according to the chosen theme. (There is a third son who makes appearances on the show. He has his own steel business).The father and the sons take time out every so often to destroy stuff for fun or for demolition so new stuff can be built. One of my favourite episodes is the one when Mikey gets his pickup truck stuck in his dad's swamp. His dad has a hilarious time getting Mikey unstuck. He asks one of his assistants to hook a winch to Mikey's truck to pull him out. When it's time to pull Senior tells Mikey to stay in the truck and steer. On Seniors say so the assistant starts pulling carefully but then Senior yells at his to go as fast as possible and not to stop until he says so. Mikey gets the ride of his life as he is pulled backward and bumped around wildly. Senior gets a chuckle out of this whole incident. Mikey is understandably shaken but not surprised because he knows how his dad thinks. Hopefully Mikey learned his lesson.......
Another fun episode that stands out is when Junior takes Senior for a ride in a golf cart and ends the ride by smashing the cart into the back of the warehouse. Senior is shaken but is laughing the whole way through. He knows how Junior thinks and was not surprised by the way things ended.
One time when it was decided that Mikey needed a new car because his car wasn't winter safe or just safe at all a few of the staff members took turns trying to run his old car into the ground. I believe it was Vince who tried to drive the car like a maniac and smash the car up a little. After that anyone who could get at the car with a tool did. They beat the .........(kids might be reading this) out of the car. (E-Mail me if you want some suggestions for words that might fit.)
Back to the story. Senior offers to take Mikey to the car dealer and make sure he gets a good deal. They wanted to trade in Mikey's car and get a pickup truck. They could have towed Mikey's car in the conventional way but no!!!!!!!!..... Mikey and his friend sat in his car which was hooked up to Senior's Hummer. Then when all was set Senior proceeded to drag them to the dealership. Mikey and his friend both feared for his life as they both watch as senior continued to drag them to the dealer. They got there safely and Senior teaches Mikey how to bargain. After Mikey and the salesman exchange pieces of paper with figures on them Senior breaks out into laughter and ends up surprised when the salesman accepts their terms. Junior proudly drives his truck back to the shop.--If you see the episode you will see how funny it is. Oh by the way the show is on at least once a week. Check your local listings. (There might or might not have been someone in the car with Mikey--I will have to check) The Father takes his two sons and sometimes the staff to trade shows or other events around the United States and even in other countries. They had some fun and funny adventures in France and England and some other places. They start of trying to learn stuff and they end up on many misadventures. The is a Learning Channel documentary television series produced by Pilgrim Films & Television Inc. The story is based around Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. (Paulie).
American Chopper
Paul Senior and Junior are always fighting. They have different ways of working and have different ways of scheduling work. Senior is by the book and strict; Junior is laid back. They both get the work done but hate each other's methods of getting to the end. When they were working out of the same shop they did end up getting the work done by the deadline. They even acknowledge each other's contributions. I think I heard them apologize to each other for giving each other grief.
American Chopper was originally on the Discovery Channel. It moved to TLC on December 28, 2006 beginning with and 18-hour marathon. It's first season on TLC premiered on Jan 18, 2007.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
American Chopper
The main cast of American Chopper (when Senior and Junior were in the same shop) went to Brazil and met the Brazilian President, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.
On American Chopper Senior is foreman and supervises the builds and has built motorcycles himself. Mikey was (at OCC) the janitor and webmaster. He was the class clown and helped the staff relieve tension. He does that at Junior's shop now. Mikey has experience working with metal from working at Orange County Ironworks with his other brother.
American Chopper documents the personal and promotional activities of Paul Senior's and Paul Junior's staff ranging from magazine photo shoots to family holidays and custom bike shows.
By James Hibberd
Comments 201Add a comment
After ten years, Discovery Channel is ending American Chopper.
The Teutuls are going to build their final bikes on the network next month. One of Discovery’s most popular programs, American Chopper helped pioneer the “docusoap” reality genre and inspired a surge of gear-head shows. Chopper‘s run will conclude with the previously announced four-way bike build-off special titled The Revenge airing live from Las Vegas on Dec. 11.
“After 10 years and 233 episodes of incredible, riveting reality television, American Chopper will be ending its run,” says Eileen O’Neill, group president, Discovery and TLC Networks. “This series was one of the very first family-based reality programs on television. Special thanks to Pilgrim Studios for over a decade of great producing. The Teutuls have given us really innovative bike builds and real drama since 2002. We wish both Orange County Choppers and Paul Junior Designs the best.”
The series had a simple format — a father and son building custom motorcycles amid frequent infighting. Yet nothing about the show’s colorful history has been straight forward. American Chopper has changed networks, switched names and was previously cancelled, only to rise again.
“I have mixed emotions,” executive producer Craig Piligian tells EW.com. “It’s had a great run. We had a lot of ups and downs. There’s been so much that’s happened to this family over the last 10 years. We’ve seen them grow to a huge motorcycle shop. We’ve seen them fight bitterly. We’ve seen them sue each other. And recently we’ve seen them come together to open up a new business. I think the show has come full circle.”
American Chopper premiered as a Discovery Channel special in 2002, then launched as a regular series a few months later. In 2008, Discovery moved the show to its sister channel TLC. A couple years passed, then behind-the-scenes warring between Senior and Junior prompted TLC to outright cancel the show. Parties soon made up and in 2010 the company re-ordered the program as American Chopper: Junior vs. Senior. The series later reverted to its original title and switched back to Discovery.
“This was the first family docusoap,” Piligian says. “They put on display, for all to see, what really happens in a tight family business, warts and all. I’m really proud they were so open and honest.”
Paul Senior and Junior’s spirited attitudes helped make the show engaging for fans, but could also make things difficult behind the scenes. At one point when shooting the current final season, Piligian fired Junior and kicked him off the set. “It’s a very tumultuous relationship, not only between the father and son, but between us as well,” Piligian says. “Junior and I would have it out, and at one point awhile back, I said, ‘We’re done with you.’” The two reconciled and Junior returned to work shortly thereafter.
Given the show’s on-again, off-again history, one has to wonder: Is this really the end? Could American Chopper rise again in a year or two?
“American Chopper was cancelled before and we came back even stronger,” Piligian says. “It’s been a resilient, powerful show. Right now they’re telling me it’s cancelled. I can only comment: ‘Who knows what the future holds.’”
Here’s a preview of Monday’s episode, below. The live bike-building special includes Paul Teutul Senior and Junior will face-off against Outlaw Garage star Jesse James and Discovery Channel’s Fast ‘N Loud stars Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman in a competition event.
********
American Chopper: Senior vs Junior Premiering on Thursday, Aug 12 (2011) at 9PM ET/PT on TLC. Have you been watching? It looks like senior wants to get back together with Junior. Senior has even email Junior. Junior emailed or was it texted condolences when Senior's dog, Gus, died. Junior won the court case but it still hasn't settled anything. I think they'll be friends again but who knows? They both realized that they're getting older and life is short. I hope they work things out.
Here's another thought ..... maybe Senior and Junior are already getting along but they are putting on a good show for television.
I always thought that Coke and Pepsi were friends and were just playing like they were competing. The prices for each are usually the same so it doesn't look like they are competing. I'm gonna Google that!
American Chopper
Category: American show: The Series Category: Reality Television
Category: Motorcycle Category: pg13 Number of Seasons: 4
Number of Episodes: 108 Cast: Paul Teutul, Sr. (Owner, Operator, Senior Manager of Orange County Choppers), Paul Teutul, Jr. (Senior fabricator), part of management staff, (kids might be reading this) disturber) Michael Teutul (General Assistant and American Chopper class clown) He does whatever his dad let's him do and then he helps disturb the (kids might be reading this) Rick Petko (Fabricator, Metal Specialist) Vince (Fabricator, Wiring Specialist) Jason Pohl (The computer guy. He helps the staff design what they want to build by making paper templates or representations of parts.) Mike Rowe (Announcer--the guy from Dirty Jobs) Paul (Senior) Teutul and his two sons are contracted by celebrities and businesses and charities to make theme-based choppers (custom motorcycles).
American Chopper
They have built a cycle for Shaq, .......(list to come) Paul (Senior) is a by-the-book type of guy but he can also cause his own chaos. Paul (Junior), the oldest of two sons at the shop, is often portrayed as lazy and irresponsible. The youngest son, Mike "Mikey" is a fun-loving free spirit. He is a constant source of humour. Often times when Senior and Junior are arguing about something Mikey will come and do something silly to diffuse the situation.
American Chopper
The other shop workers include Vince and Rick. There is a student builder who works at Orange County Choppers on and off. Nubby is the contracted painter. He is responsible for painting the parts of the cycle according to the chosen theme. (There is a third son who makes appearances on the show. He has his own steel business).The father and the sons take time out every so often to destroy stuff for fun or for demolition so new stuff can be built. One of my favourite episodes is the one when Mikey gets his pickup truck stuck in his dad's swamp. His dad has a hilarious time getting Mikey unstuck. He asks one of his assistants to hook a winch to Mikey's truck to pull him out. When it's time to pull Senior tells Mikey to stay in the truck and steer. On Seniors say so the assistant starts pulling carefully but then Senior yells at his to go as fast as possible and not to stop until he says so. Mikey gets the ride of his life as he is pulled backward and bumped around wildly. Senior gets a chuckle out of this whole incident. Mikey is understandably shaken but not surprised because he knows how his dad thinks. Hopefully Mikey learned his lesson.......
Another fun episode that stands out is when Junior takes Senior for a ride in a golf cart and ends the ride by smashing the cart into the back of the warehouse. Senior is shaken but is laughing the whole way through. He knows how Junior thinks and was not surprised by the way things ended.
One time when it was decided that Mikey needed a new car because his car wasn't winter safe or just safe at all a few of the staff members took turns trying to run his old car into the ground. I believe it was Vince who tried to drive the car like a maniac and smash the car up a little. After that anyone who could get at the car with a tool did. They beat the .........(kids might be reading this) out of the car. (E-Mail me if you want some suggestions for words that might fit.)
Back to the story. Senior offers to take Mikey to the car dealer and make sure he gets a good deal. They wanted to trade in Mikey's car and get a pickup truck. They could have towed Mikey's car in the conventional way but no!!!!!!!!..... Mikey and his friend sat in his car which was hooked up to Senior's Hummer. Then when all was set Senior proceeded to drag them to the dealership. Mikey and his friend both feared for his life as they both watch as senior continued to drag them to the dealer. They got there safely and Senior teaches Mikey how to bargain. After Mikey and the salesman exchange pieces of paper with figures on them Senior breaks out into laughter and ends up surprised when the salesman accepts their terms. Junior proudly drives his truck back to the shop.--If you see the episode you will see how funny it is. Oh by the way the show is on at least once a week. Check your local listings. (There might or might not have been someone in the car with Mikey--I will have to check) The Father takes his two sons and sometimes the staff to trade shows or other events around the United States and even in other countries. They had some fun and funny adventures in France and England and some other places. They start of trying to learn stuff and they end up on many misadventures. The is a Learning Channel documentary television series produced by Pilgrim Films & Television Inc. The story is based around Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. (Paulie).
American Chopper
Paul Senior and Junior are always fighting. They have different ways of working and have different ways of scheduling work. Senior is by the book and strict; Junior is laid back. They both get the work done but hate each other's methods of getting to the end. When they were working out of the same shop they did end up getting the work done by the deadline. They even acknowledge each other's contributions. I think I heard them apologize to each other for giving each other grief.
American Chopper was originally on the Discovery Channel. It moved to TLC on December 28, 2006 beginning with and 18-hour marathon. It's first season on TLC premiered on Jan 18, 2007.
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com
American Chopper
The main cast of American Chopper (when Senior and Junior were in the same shop) went to Brazil and met the Brazilian President, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.
On American Chopper Senior is foreman and supervises the builds and has built motorcycles himself. Mikey was (at OCC) the janitor and webmaster. He was the class clown and helped the staff relieve tension. He does that at Junior's shop now. Mikey has experience working with metal from working at Orange County Ironworks with his other brother.
American Chopper documents the personal and promotional activities of Paul Senior's and Paul Junior's staff ranging from magazine photo shoots to family holidays and custom bike shows.
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
(Press ESC to stop all the videos on the page so you can watch the videos on this page individually)
This Hour Has 22 Minutes Format: comedy
Created by: Mary Walsh
Starring Cathy Jones, Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder, Gavin Crawford, and Geri Hall
Country of origin: Canada
No. of episodes: 22-24 per season, 15 seasons
Original channel: CBC Original run: 1993 – Present
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials. Originally featuring Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh, the series featured satirical sketches of the weekly news and Canadian political events. The show's format is a mock news program, intercut with comic sketches, fake commercials and humorous interviews of public figures.
Its name is a parody of This Hour Has Seven Days, a CBC newsmagazine from the 1960s; the "22 Minutes" refers to the fact that a nominally half-hour television program is actually 22 minutes long to make room for commercials.
Jones and Walsh had previously worked together on the sketch comedy series CODCO, on which Thomey sometimes appeared as a guest. Mercer had been a notable young writer and performer on his own, touring several successful one-man shows of comedic political commentary.
Recognized with 24 Gemini Awards and 11 Canadian Comedy Awards, 22 Minutes is broadcast on the CBC Television network. It is taped before a studio audience in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Cast
Cathy Jones (1993– ) as anchor Sydney Dubizzenchyk (a reference to former CBC anchor Tina Srebotnjak, who had become the host of Midday in 1992) and various correspondents and sketch characters
Shaun Majumder (2003– ) as anchor Tucker T. Bartlett and various correspondents and sketch characters.
Mark Critch (2003– ), as anchor Bas MacLaren (in homage to two well-known Newfoundland radio announcers, Bas Jamieson and George MacLaren) and various sketch characters.
Gavin Crawford (2003– ), as anchor Gavin Cooper and various sketch characters.
Geri Hall (2007- ), served as a fill-in anchor in October & November 2004 and later in March 2007. Geri later became a permanent anchor in October 2007.
Former members
Rick Mercer (1993–2001) as anchor J.B. Dickson and various correspondents and sketch characters. Mercer left the show to devote more time to Made in Canada; after that show ended he launched Rick Mercer Report, a series very similar to 22 Minutes and Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Colin Mochrie (2001–2003) as anchor Anthony St. George and various correspondents and sketch characters. Mochrie left the show after two seasons to pursue his own projects and other movie roles. Mochrie guest starred on the January 27th, 2006 episode.
Mary Walsh (1993–2004) as anchor Molly McGuire and various correspondents and sketch characters. Walsh appeared less often in season 11 and left the series to pursue her film career and also continue to host Mary Walsh: Open Book, a CBC series in which she moderates a celebrity panel discussing books and literature.
Greg Thomey (1993–2005) as anchor Frank MacMillan and various correspondents and sketch characters. Thomey appeared less often in season 12. Thomey no longer appears on 22 Minutes as of 2006.
Substitute anchors/Special correspondents
Substitute news anchors on the series are people who "guest star" on the series for when series regulars are away (from Season 10 onwards).
Mark Farrell - (February 1999) Jonathan Torrens - (September/October 2002)
Dan Joffre - (February 2003) Jenifer Robertson - (November & December 2003)
Kathy Greenwood - (October & November 2004-)
Shauna MacDonald - (October 2005 - November 2005)
Tracy Dawson - March 10, 2006
Rebecca Northan - (November 2006 & March 2007)
Regular characters and segments
Talking to Americans
Rick Mercer tours the United States, talking to Americans as if from a Canadian news program, asking them about "Canadian issues." The object is to see how little some Americans know about their northern neighbours. The piece was so popular that the CBC had Mercer create a one-hour TV special based on the segment. It became the highest rated comedy special in Canadian television history when it aired on Canada Day, 2001. Some truly memorable bits include Rick Mercer getting Americans to say "Congratulations Canada on legalizing VCRs!" and getting a professor at Princeton University to sign a petition against the re-starting of the Annual Toronto Polar Bear Hunt. In an election 2000 segment, he convinced then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush that Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was named Jean Poutine and that he was supporting Bush's candidacy. The success of the CBC special got Mercer attention on numerous American media outlets, including ABC News Nightline. Mercer abandoned the concept after Sept. 11, 2001.
No Pun Intended
A Ludacris-ish Indian rapper/politician played by Shaun Majumder who frequently raps about election issues and what he will do if elected. Gavin Crawford as "Mark JacksonBabe Bennett
A 22 Minutes "sexual affairs correspondent" played by Cathy Jones, Babe is a sassy suffragette, 1940s style, who talks about sexual matters. She ends each segment by saying "I'm just goofin' around!"
Marg Delahunty
Mary Walsh crashes press conferences, hosts a "sleepover" for the nation's leading female (and gay) politicians, and threatens to "smite" the likes of politicians as "Marg Princess Warrior" (a loose parody of Xena).
Mark Jackson
22 Minute's Teenage correspondent that talks to politicians and who is played by Gavin Crawford. (The character is carried over from The Gavin Crawford Show.)
Bas MacLaren
A 22 Minutes correspondent portrayed by Mark Critch. He talks to politicians about current events and is also one of the 22 Minutes anchors.
Misses Enid & Eulalia
Two elderly women who talk about daily events (portrayed by Cathy Jones and Mary Walsh, respectively). Upon Walsh's departure from the show, Jones has appeared alone as Miss Enid. (The characters were normally introduced as "the Misses Enid and Eulalia", meaning "Miss Enid and Miss Eulalia", but this was frequently misunderstood by viewers as "Mrs. Enid" and "Eulalia" without an honorific.)
Streeters, aka The Rant
A weekly commentary on current events and political issues which quickly became the show's most famous feature by Rick Mercer in black and white presentations. This segment was later used in colour presentations on the Rick Mercer Report series.
Regular characters and segments continued
Max Pointy
A spoof of CBC personality Rex Murphy's political commentaries for The National, performed by Colin Mochrie. Max would start off with a legitimate political issue but end up on an unrelated and generally inane point by the end of his rant.
That Show Sucked!
with Ma and Eddie Reardon (portrayed by Mary Walsh & Greg Thomey) who make fun of TV shows, with Ma saying that whatever show that Eddie watches "Suck" and constantly demanding that he give her "the G.D. clickerbox".
The Quinlan Quints
four quintuplets (the fifth one went missing and has never been found) who live in Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador; portrayed by Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh (Colin Mochrie plays Mercer's quint role for seasons 9 and 10).
Inside Media Counter-spin
A satirical talk show with the host portrayed by Cathy Jones. The host makes blatantly stereotypical statements about her guests.
Panic Room with Betty Hope
Host Betty Hope (played by Cathy Jones) parodies Nancy Grace in "breaking news" style segments, in which she interviews someone knowledgeable about a given threat and then spins the facts to make them sound more dramatic and dangerous.
The Right Answer
Two commentators (played by Rick Mercer and Greg Thomey) debate various issues in the news. When one of them makes a point, they hit a chess timer.
The Special Eds
Mercer and Thomey portray two members of the RCMP - Special Constable Ed Cochrane and Special Constable Ed Codner - with questionable ethics.
Nathan Fielder On Your Side
Nathan is a reporter for 22 Minutes asking the strangest questions in one-on-one interviews, as well as questions you wouldn't expect to be asked in a TV interview. His segments usually start with a shot of people walking along a street. He talks almost exclusively in a monotone and has laughed once, to date. He also claims to be allergic to dogs.
Crawford's characters
Stuart McLean Based on the CBC personality.
Uwe Meyer a fashion correspondent that Gavin Crawford portrays. (The character is carried over from The Gavin Crawford Show.)
Gunter Wilson a computer whiz who hosts the segment "Computer Corner".
Natasha Stillwell Based on the former co-host of Discovery Channel's show Daily Planet.
Mark Jackson The teen correspondent of the program, has severe acne and is repeatedly picked on, also talks with a basic braces lisp.
Critch's characters
Rex Murphy Based on the CBC personality.
Danny Williams Based on the premier of Newfoundland & Labrador. On the October 16, 2007 episode, the real Danny Williams kicked him off and took over his seat in the news desk during the show's first segment.
Jones' characters
The Campbell Files With Sandy Campbell who talks about the entertainment industry
Joe Crow An Aboriginal environmental "correspondent" who talks about the environment and the Canadian government's relation with Native peoples. Each segments ends with Crow blowing out his campfire with a single puff.
Miss Enid
An elderly lady with plenty to say about many different issues.
Majumder's characters
Raj Binder
a sweaty soft-spoken Indian sports nerd portrayed by Shaun Majumder, who has also been used as a behind-the-scenes interviewer on Just For Laughs.
Ian Hanomansing Based on the CBC personality.
Mercer's characters
Billyatropia "Billy" Smithopolis An "outstanding" Canadian sports athlete. Billy has a fear of heights and, according to one skit, is the only Canadian going to the 2008 Olympic Games for sure.
Mochrie's characters
Max Pointy Based on CBC radio personality Rex Murphy
Peter Mansbridge Used in Mansbridge One on One parody skits, where "Peter" has insightful interviews with himself.
Thomey's characters
Jerry Boyle a Newfoundland separatist whose campaign slogan is "If you can mark an X, you're my kind of people!" The character was created as a recurring character on CODCO.
Ottawa Gargoyle
A gargoyle who sits on top of the Parliament buildings and satirizes politicians, occasionally throwing hot oil on them.
Tim MacMillan Foreign correspondent who's (almost) never where he's supposed to be. He's also Frank MacMillan's brother. His segments would open with a recurring style of dialogue. "Hello, Tim?" "HELLLOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" "Are you in Geneva?" [pause.] "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Walsh's characters
Connie Bloor
A 22 Minutes Prairie correspondent played by Mary Walsh, who reports from a donut shop. Introduced in each segment by the line: "She's flat as the prairies and twice as wide," she wears a tuque and earmuffs, and her speech is punctuated with a series of snorts. One of her recurring gags involves feeding paper printouts of celebrities and politicians through a paper shredder.
Dakey Dunn
A 22 Minutes "Male Correspondent" played by Mary Walsh, replete with gold chain, hairy chest, cigarette and beer, who regularly lays out a macho view of economic and cultural matters. This character was earlier used in the CODCO series. Dakey also once accosted Margaret Atwood at a book signing, reciting one of her most famous poems over and over again.
Famous stunts
Jean Poutine
1999-2000 - During the American election campaign of 2000, Rick Mercer approached Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush on a campaign stop in Michigan, asking for comment on the news that Bush had received the endorsement of Canadian prime minister "Jean Poutine". (The then-prime minister's name was Jean Chrétien, and he had not endorsed Bush — it is standard practice for the Canadian government not to endorse anyone in a foreign election.)
Bush accepted the endorsement with a short and grateful speech to the 22 Minutes cameras, which aired as part of the show's regular Talking to Americans feature. In his first official visit to Canada four years later, he joked that his "one regret" about the visit was that he'd "hoped to meet Jean Poutine."
Oilers vs Canadiens
2003-04 - Shaun Majumder, in character as "Raj Binder", was sent to report on the 2003 outdoors Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens old timers game, preceding the night's actual NHL regular season game, which was the first NHL game to be played outdoors (at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton). Raj actually sneaked into all the team photos, causing uproar from the event's unwitting organizers in the days after, when the photos were released to the press.
This Hour Has 22 Minutes Format: comedy
Created by: Mary Walsh
Starring Cathy Jones, Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder, Gavin Crawford, and Geri Hall
Country of origin: Canada
No. of episodes: 22-24 per season, 15 seasons
Original channel: CBC Original run: 1993 – Present
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials. Originally featuring Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh, the series featured satirical sketches of the weekly news and Canadian political events. The show's format is a mock news program, intercut with comic sketches, fake commercials and humorous interviews of public figures.
Its name is a parody of This Hour Has Seven Days, a CBC newsmagazine from the 1960s; the "22 Minutes" refers to the fact that a nominally half-hour television program is actually 22 minutes long to make room for commercials.
Jones and Walsh had previously worked together on the sketch comedy series CODCO, on which Thomey sometimes appeared as a guest. Mercer had been a notable young writer and performer on his own, touring several successful one-man shows of comedic political commentary.
Recognized with 24 Gemini Awards and 11 Canadian Comedy Awards, 22 Minutes is broadcast on the CBC Television network. It is taped before a studio audience in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Cast
Cathy Jones (1993– ) as anchor Sydney Dubizzenchyk (a reference to former CBC anchor Tina Srebotnjak, who had become the host of Midday in 1992) and various correspondents and sketch characters
Shaun Majumder (2003– ) as anchor Tucker T. Bartlett and various correspondents and sketch characters.
Mark Critch (2003– ), as anchor Bas MacLaren (in homage to two well-known Newfoundland radio announcers, Bas Jamieson and George MacLaren) and various sketch characters.
Gavin Crawford (2003– ), as anchor Gavin Cooper and various sketch characters.
Geri Hall (2007- ), served as a fill-in anchor in October & November 2004 and later in March 2007. Geri later became a permanent anchor in October 2007.
Former members
Rick Mercer (1993–2001) as anchor J.B. Dickson and various correspondents and sketch characters. Mercer left the show to devote more time to Made in Canada; after that show ended he launched Rick Mercer Report, a series very similar to 22 Minutes and Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Colin Mochrie (2001–2003) as anchor Anthony St. George and various correspondents and sketch characters. Mochrie left the show after two seasons to pursue his own projects and other movie roles. Mochrie guest starred on the January 27th, 2006 episode.
Mary Walsh (1993–2004) as anchor Molly McGuire and various correspondents and sketch characters. Walsh appeared less often in season 11 and left the series to pursue her film career and also continue to host Mary Walsh: Open Book, a CBC series in which she moderates a celebrity panel discussing books and literature.
Greg Thomey (1993–2005) as anchor Frank MacMillan and various correspondents and sketch characters. Thomey appeared less often in season 12. Thomey no longer appears on 22 Minutes as of 2006.
Substitute anchors/Special correspondents
Substitute news anchors on the series are people who "guest star" on the series for when series regulars are away (from Season 10 onwards).
Mark Farrell - (February 1999) Jonathan Torrens - (September/October 2002)
Dan Joffre - (February 2003) Jenifer Robertson - (November & December 2003)
Kathy Greenwood - (October & November 2004-)
Shauna MacDonald - (October 2005 - November 2005)
Tracy Dawson - March 10, 2006
Rebecca Northan - (November 2006 & March 2007)
Regular characters and segments
Talking to Americans
Rick Mercer tours the United States, talking to Americans as if from a Canadian news program, asking them about "Canadian issues." The object is to see how little some Americans know about their northern neighbours. The piece was so popular that the CBC had Mercer create a one-hour TV special based on the segment. It became the highest rated comedy special in Canadian television history when it aired on Canada Day, 2001. Some truly memorable bits include Rick Mercer getting Americans to say "Congratulations Canada on legalizing VCRs!" and getting a professor at Princeton University to sign a petition against the re-starting of the Annual Toronto Polar Bear Hunt. In an election 2000 segment, he convinced then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush that Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was named Jean Poutine and that he was supporting Bush's candidacy. The success of the CBC special got Mercer attention on numerous American media outlets, including ABC News Nightline. Mercer abandoned the concept after Sept. 11, 2001.
No Pun Intended
A Ludacris-ish Indian rapper/politician played by Shaun Majumder who frequently raps about election issues and what he will do if elected. Gavin Crawford as "Mark JacksonBabe Bennett
A 22 Minutes "sexual affairs correspondent" played by Cathy Jones, Babe is a sassy suffragette, 1940s style, who talks about sexual matters. She ends each segment by saying "I'm just goofin' around!"
Marg Delahunty
Mary Walsh crashes press conferences, hosts a "sleepover" for the nation's leading female (and gay) politicians, and threatens to "smite" the likes of politicians as "Marg Princess Warrior" (a loose parody of Xena).
Mark Jackson
22 Minute's Teenage correspondent that talks to politicians and who is played by Gavin Crawford. (The character is carried over from The Gavin Crawford Show.)
Bas MacLaren
A 22 Minutes correspondent portrayed by Mark Critch. He talks to politicians about current events and is also one of the 22 Minutes anchors.
Misses Enid & Eulalia
Two elderly women who talk about daily events (portrayed by Cathy Jones and Mary Walsh, respectively). Upon Walsh's departure from the show, Jones has appeared alone as Miss Enid. (The characters were normally introduced as "the Misses Enid and Eulalia", meaning "Miss Enid and Miss Eulalia", but this was frequently misunderstood by viewers as "Mrs. Enid" and "Eulalia" without an honorific.)
Streeters, aka The Rant
A weekly commentary on current events and political issues which quickly became the show's most famous feature by Rick Mercer in black and white presentations. This segment was later used in colour presentations on the Rick Mercer Report series.
Regular characters and segments continued
Max Pointy
A spoof of CBC personality Rex Murphy's political commentaries for The National, performed by Colin Mochrie. Max would start off with a legitimate political issue but end up on an unrelated and generally inane point by the end of his rant.
That Show Sucked!
with Ma and Eddie Reardon (portrayed by Mary Walsh & Greg Thomey) who make fun of TV shows, with Ma saying that whatever show that Eddie watches "Suck" and constantly demanding that he give her "the G.D. clickerbox".
The Quinlan Quints
four quintuplets (the fifth one went missing and has never been found) who live in Buchans, Newfoundland and Labrador; portrayed by Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh (Colin Mochrie plays Mercer's quint role for seasons 9 and 10).
Inside Media Counter-spin
A satirical talk show with the host portrayed by Cathy Jones. The host makes blatantly stereotypical statements about her guests.
Panic Room with Betty Hope
Host Betty Hope (played by Cathy Jones) parodies Nancy Grace in "breaking news" style segments, in which she interviews someone knowledgeable about a given threat and then spins the facts to make them sound more dramatic and dangerous.
The Right Answer
Two commentators (played by Rick Mercer and Greg Thomey) debate various issues in the news. When one of them makes a point, they hit a chess timer.
The Special Eds
Mercer and Thomey portray two members of the RCMP - Special Constable Ed Cochrane and Special Constable Ed Codner - with questionable ethics.
Nathan Fielder On Your Side
Nathan is a reporter for 22 Minutes asking the strangest questions in one-on-one interviews, as well as questions you wouldn't expect to be asked in a TV interview. His segments usually start with a shot of people walking along a street. He talks almost exclusively in a monotone and has laughed once, to date. He also claims to be allergic to dogs.
Crawford's characters
Stuart McLean Based on the CBC personality.
Uwe Meyer a fashion correspondent that Gavin Crawford portrays. (The character is carried over from The Gavin Crawford Show.)
Gunter Wilson a computer whiz who hosts the segment "Computer Corner".
Natasha Stillwell Based on the former co-host of Discovery Channel's show Daily Planet.
Mark Jackson The teen correspondent of the program, has severe acne and is repeatedly picked on, also talks with a basic braces lisp.
Critch's characters
Rex Murphy Based on the CBC personality.
Danny Williams Based on the premier of Newfoundland & Labrador. On the October 16, 2007 episode, the real Danny Williams kicked him off and took over his seat in the news desk during the show's first segment.
Jones' characters
The Campbell Files With Sandy Campbell who talks about the entertainment industry
Joe Crow An Aboriginal environmental "correspondent" who talks about the environment and the Canadian government's relation with Native peoples. Each segments ends with Crow blowing out his campfire with a single puff.
Miss Enid
An elderly lady with plenty to say about many different issues.
Majumder's characters
Raj Binder
a sweaty soft-spoken Indian sports nerd portrayed by Shaun Majumder, who has also been used as a behind-the-scenes interviewer on Just For Laughs.
Ian Hanomansing Based on the CBC personality.
Mercer's characters
Billyatropia "Billy" Smithopolis An "outstanding" Canadian sports athlete. Billy has a fear of heights and, according to one skit, is the only Canadian going to the 2008 Olympic Games for sure.
Mochrie's characters
Max Pointy Based on CBC radio personality Rex Murphy
Peter Mansbridge Used in Mansbridge One on One parody skits, where "Peter" has insightful interviews with himself.
Thomey's characters
Jerry Boyle a Newfoundland separatist whose campaign slogan is "If you can mark an X, you're my kind of people!" The character was created as a recurring character on CODCO.
Ottawa Gargoyle
A gargoyle who sits on top of the Parliament buildings and satirizes politicians, occasionally throwing hot oil on them.
Tim MacMillan Foreign correspondent who's (almost) never where he's supposed to be. He's also Frank MacMillan's brother. His segments would open with a recurring style of dialogue. "Hello, Tim?" "HELLLOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" "Are you in Geneva?" [pause.] "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Walsh's characters
Connie Bloor
A 22 Minutes Prairie correspondent played by Mary Walsh, who reports from a donut shop. Introduced in each segment by the line: "She's flat as the prairies and twice as wide," she wears a tuque and earmuffs, and her speech is punctuated with a series of snorts. One of her recurring gags involves feeding paper printouts of celebrities and politicians through a paper shredder.
Dakey Dunn
A 22 Minutes "Male Correspondent" played by Mary Walsh, replete with gold chain, hairy chest, cigarette and beer, who regularly lays out a macho view of economic and cultural matters. This character was earlier used in the CODCO series. Dakey also once accosted Margaret Atwood at a book signing, reciting one of her most famous poems over and over again.
Famous stunts
Jean Poutine
1999-2000 - During the American election campaign of 2000, Rick Mercer approached Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush on a campaign stop in Michigan, asking for comment on the news that Bush had received the endorsement of Canadian prime minister "Jean Poutine". (The then-prime minister's name was Jean Chrétien, and he had not endorsed Bush — it is standard practice for the Canadian government not to endorse anyone in a foreign election.)
Bush accepted the endorsement with a short and grateful speech to the 22 Minutes cameras, which aired as part of the show's regular Talking to Americans feature. In his first official visit to Canada four years later, he joked that his "one regret" about the visit was that he'd "hoped to meet Jean Poutine."
Oilers vs Canadiens
2003-04 - Shaun Majumder, in character as "Raj Binder", was sent to report on the 2003 outdoors Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens old timers game, preceding the night's actual NHL regular season game, which was the first NHL game to be played outdoors (at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton). Raj actually sneaked into all the team photos, causing uproar from the event's unwitting organizers in the days after, when the photos were released to the press.