It’s the end of an era (another one). Conan O’Brien is putting his late-night talk show host persona to bed tonight after 28 years of making America laugh its ass off.
That’s right, the redheaded Irishman isn’t completely going off the air, luckily, or this would be a much sadder occasion. He’s simply switching networks after completing his 10th season of Conan on TBS tonight, a show that lived in obscurity after his NBC snub from the network (and, of course, Jay Leno) more than a decade ago. Now he’s hopping over to HBO Max for a weekly variety series, the likes of which we can only imagine.
In honor of O’Brien’s epic run on late-night television, we’ve rounded up 10 of the greatest skits and scenes to remember him by. Relive the hilarity and appreciate his comedic creativity anew with these unforgettable moments.
Cover Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Stringer (Getty Images)
Conan Moments
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Cactus Chef
A cactus chef playing Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Star the Fire” on flute? We don’t get it, either. But it’s the kind of nonsensical humor Conan is known – and beloved – for.
Photo: YouTube
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The Bugatti Veyron Sketch
Conan mocks NBC’s large budget – and takes revenge for the cancellation of his show – with a $1.5 million sketch featuring a Bugatti disguised as a mouse and the Rolling Stone’s “Satisfaction” as a soundtrack.
Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images (Getty Images)
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Conan Runs Across the U.S.
Conan hit the ground running – literally – for his cold open debut on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
Photo: YouTube
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Civil War Reenactment
Conan pretends to be a Civil War soldier with dreams of heading to Hollywood to become a talk show host. Hilarity ensues.
Photo: YouTube
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Old-Time Baseball
Rocking mutton chops and a striped hat, Conan stopped by Old Bethpage Village Restoration — circa 1865 — to partake in America's favorite pastime.
Photo: YouTube
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Wonder Woman Workout
Conan joined forces with Gal Gadot for a Wonder Woman-level workout. Suffice to say, 35 minutes of sweat-inducing exercise was not as effective for Conan as six months of hardcore super hero training was for Gadot. (And she looks better doing it.)
Photo: YouTube
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The Parrot of Whom We Shall Not Speak
Will Ferrell appeared on the show with a parrot named Professor Feathers on his shoulder, and stubbornly refused to talk about it, making this one of the funniest interviews Conan ever attempted to do.
Photo: YouTube
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Cake-Eating Bust
Conan discovered some of his employees had a “Foodie” email list – and he was not CCed. (Blasphemy!) So he set them up with an ice cream cake in the conference room and watched security camera footage to see the "rats coming to nibble at the cheese."
Photo: YouTube
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The Missing Mug
Conan played detective to help an employee find her missing Gigolos mug -- and discovered that his staff was made up of a bunch of weirdoes.
Photo: YouTube
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Student Driver
Conan recruited Ice Cub and Kevin Hart to help him “teach” staffer Diana Chang how to drive. The unlikely combo – and camaraderie – of the comedians and Chang made this clip Team Coco’s most watched of all time.
Photo: YouTube
