As I said yesterday… I can feel a change in late night dominance on the horizon. Who will it be? I’m not sure yet… but Letterman and Leno will certainly fade into the mist quicker than you think. Do I really think Kimmel and Ferguson will be new faces of the late night “war”? I hope not. Nothing against them… I’m just… well… you know… I’m on team Co-Co.
I have always been a fan of Conan. Sure, he’s sophomorically lame and nerdy… but so am I. And as I’ve grown… so has he. In fact, I think he has become increasingly more accessible over the years. And if you think about it, over the last 17 years America has watch Conan mature into someone who isn’t just talents… but someone who is remarkably mature and magnetic.
Folks, Conan was only 30 years old when he started hosting ‘Last Night’ in 1993. 30 years old! And, at the time, he wasn’t secure enough in his own talent to go it alone, so he insisted on having his best friend Andy Richter co-host. Eight years later, Andy left the show, proving Conan could bring the funny all by himself. Two years later Conan got married… a year later he became a dad… and two years after that he became a dad again. Over the last 17 years we’ve seen Conan mature. We’ve watched as he’s achieved more personal triumphs than professional triumphs. And as he’s grown he relates to his guests on a much deeper level.
On one of his finally Tonight Show episodes, which Serena and I watched religiously, Conan gave some unsolicited advice to a young starlet who had just gotten married, “Not that you asked or even care about my opinion and I don’t know if you are planning to have kids, but you should, kids are great… but I’m going to tell you what I tell all of my friends. Wait. Give yourself a little time to be together just the two of you. Just take some time and walk through an airport hand in hand as a couple a few times. My wife and I started our family right away… and we haven’t walked through an airport with dignity ever since.”
This line floored me and I completely understood where he was coming from… and it was hilarious. And this is just one example of how Conan has grown as a comedian.
No comments:
Post a Comment