Coco Says Farewell
The late night soap opera is finally over.
Conan O'Brien taped the last episode of his 7-month run of hosting The Tonight Show, and it was reportedly a sombre affair as many staffers were saying their goodbyes to each other during commercial breaks. The crowd chanted his name at the onset and gave him numerous standing ovations, and he implored them to sit down, pointing at his watch saying: "We really have to go."
"Ladies and Gentleman, we have exactly one hour to steal every single item in this studio," is how he started his monologue. "The terms of my settlement say that I can't host another show for 7 months. So ladies and gentlemen, next week look forward to the 'Andy Richter show' with his sidekick, me!"
At another point, he was confused about whether a sketch was over and he joked: "We didn't rehearse today, because we didn't care. We've all been drinking."
Since this turmoil started two weeks ago, when O'Brien released a statement saying he wouldn't host the show if it was moved back to 12:05 a.m. to make way for a reinstated Jay Leno at 11:35, O'Brien has mercilessly made fun of NBC and its executives. But he actually did deliver a statement from his desk where he acknowledged his time at the network.
"Between my time at Saturday Night Live, The Late Night Show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I have worked with NBC for over twenty years. Yes, we have our differences right now and yes, we're going to go our separate ways. But this company has been my home for most of my adult life. I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible."
The final show guests included Tom Hanks, Neil Young and Will Ferrell - who was O'Brien's guest on his inaugural Tonight Show episode - and he joined the band on guitar, while Ferrell sang Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" accompanied by Beck and Ben Harper on pedal steel. Steve Carrell (The Office) was a surprise guest and conducted a mock exit interview with the host.
NBC will air Tonight Show reruns until the Vancouver Olympics start on Feb. 12. While O'Brien is losing his dream job and is walking away with a $45 million settlement (U.S.) - of which he personally gets $32.5 million - in some ways he's benefited a great deal from the late night controversy. His ratings have soared, but even more importantly, after mostly lacklustre reviews since moving into the earlier slot, the conflict has helped him get his mojo back, making him an even hotter commodity as he decides where he's going to make his next move. He reportedly has a number of suitors, with MTV, TNT and Fox all being cited as interested parties.
Leno will be reinstalled as the host of The Tonight Show on March 1, after the Vancouver Olympics, and he has been saying his show will mix aspects of the current show and his old show. While O'Brien has been depicted as the victim during this conflict, Leno has been portrayed as the villain, with other hosts like Jimmy Kimmel and Letterman gleefully piling on.
Leno will be going into full rehab mode, and already has two upcoming opportunities. He's been tapped as the host of the annual White House correspondent's dinner in April and is scheduled to appear on Oprah next Thursday.
The spectacular Neil Young:
Will Ferrell:
MORE COWBELL:
Conan's super fly leg kick rock star move:
Conan's final speech:
Before we end this rodeo, a few things need to be said. There has been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can’t say about NBC. To set the record straight, tonight I am allowed to say anything I want. And what I want to say is this: between my time at Saturday Night Live, The Late Night Show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I have worked with NBC for over twenty years. Yes, we have our differences right now and yes, we’re going to go our separate ways. But this company has been my home for most of my adult life. I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible.
Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium, and I will fight anyone who says I don’t. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for seven months, I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I’ve had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-11 parking lot, we’ll find a way to make it fun.
And finally, I have to say something to our fans. The massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming. The rallies, the signs, all the goofy, outrageous creativity on the internet, and the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain to be in our audience, made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.
To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism, for the record, it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen
Neil Young's touching performance (while it stays on youtube):
Click to viewSome talented folks stopped by to accompany the musically gifted Conan in a beautiful rendition of Free Bird:
Clips for all of you Conan fans via Gawker
More clips over at Huffington Post
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