- published: 27 Aug 2008
- views: 1485083
- author: LateNightUnderground
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Australia
Australia (
/əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finland
i/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
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GE Building
The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA. Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC. At 850 feet (259 m) tall, the 70-story building is the 10th tallest building in New York City and the 33rd tallest in the United States. Some of the building's nicknames include The Slab and 30 Rock. The latter is derived from its address which is at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
The building was completed in 1933 as part of the Rockefeller Center. The noted Art Deco architect Raymond Hood led a team of Rockefeller architects. It was named the RCA Building for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America, formed in 1919 by General Electric. It was the first building constructed with the elevators grouped in the central core. During construction, photographer Charles Clyde Ebbets took the famous photograph Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper on the 69th floor. National Broadcasting Company, also owned by General Electric, leased space in the building.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] (
listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Philippines
The Philippines
i/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ or /ˈɑrlənd/; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. The population of the state was 4.59 million in 2011. It is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president serving as head of state. In the 1937 constitution, the name of the state is given as simply "Ireland". The Constitution of Ireland (Article 4) and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 provides that the "Republic of Ireland" (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is "the description of the state".
Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations. A developed country with the seventh highest Human Development Index, Ireland is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.
The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921 in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.
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Sweden
Sweden (i/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsværjɛ] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund.
At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.4 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city.
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, practicing "non-participation in military alliances during peacetime and neutrality during wartime". However, Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda (pronounced /vɨˈɡoʊdə/; born February 24, 1921) is an American movie and television actor who appeared in such movies as The Godfather and Good Burger. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975 to 1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to June 1978 on ABC. Vigoda was also appearing on Barney Miller at the same time as he was on Fish during the 1976–1977 TV season; at the start of the 1977–1978 season, his character retired from the police force and left Barney Miller to focus full time on the spinoff.
Following an erroneous report of his death in 1982, and another in 1987, Vigoda has been the subject of running gags about whether he is alive or dead. A website was mounted and a Firefox extension was written solely to report on Vigoda's status. Good naturedly, he made regular appearances on television shows to make fun of the error. In February 2010, Vigoda appeared with fellow octogenarian Betty White in a widely seen and well-liked Superbowl ad for Snickers candy bars.
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Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician and film producer. After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office. He is best known for his comedic roles, such as in the films Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Waterboy (1998), Big Daddy (1999), and Mr. Deeds (2002), though he has ventured into more dramatic territory. In 1999, Sandler founded Happy Madison, a film and television production company that has produced numerous films and developed the 2007 television series Rules of Engagement.
Adam Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents, Stanley, an electrical engineer, and Judy Sandler, a nursery school teacher. When he was five, his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he attended Manchester Central High School. He found he was a natural comic, and nurtured his talent while at New York University by performing regularly in clubs and on campuses. Sandler graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1988.
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Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler /ˈpoʊlər/ (born September 16, 1971) is an American actress, comedienne, producer and writer. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she had a minor role in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is currently the lead of NBC's comedy Parks and Recreation. She has been nominated twice for both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on Saturday Night Live, and for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Parks & Recreation. For the latter series she also received a 2012 Golden Globe Award nomination.
Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Eileen Frances (née Milmore) and William Grinstead Poehler, both teachers. She is a distant cousin of author Stephen King and U.S. senator Scott Brown, through shared New England ancestry. Poehler was raised Catholic.
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Andrew Daly
Andrew "Andy" Daly (born April 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and writer, perhaps best known for playing Principal Terrence Cutler in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down.
Daly was born in Mount Kisco, New York and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood, New Jersey in 1989 and then attended Ithaca College, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Drama.
After college, Daly moved to New York City where he performed, along with Andy Secunda, in the sketch comedy duo The Two Andys, which appeared at the 1999 Aspen Comedy Festival. He was also a part of the Mainstage company at Chicago City Limits, NY's longest running show, as an improvisational actor.
When the Upright Citizens Brigade relocated to New York from Chicago in 1996, Daly was one of the first New Yorkers to study improvisation with the group and performed in many of the earliest shows produced by the UCB. He was a member of the long-form improvisation group The Swarm, which was assembled and directed by Amy Poehler.
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Andy Blitz
Andrew "Andy" Blitz (born June 28, 1971) is an American comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy and writing work on the late-night talk show Late Night with Conan O’Brien, where he earned 7 Emmy nominations. Blitz was born in New York City, grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey and graduated from Columbia University in 1994. He began his work on Late Night in 1999. His best known sketches on the show include Andy traveling to India to NBC's computer help center to get his computer fixed, Conan and Andy hunting for an apartment in New York and Andy's inept, chanting sports fan. Since leaving Late Night, Blitz has written and appeared in the sketch shows Human Giant and Important Things with Demetri Martin. He is currently a contributing writer and consultant producer on the Adult Swim series Eagleheart starring Chris Elliott and produced by Conan O'Brien. Blitz continues to perform stand-up comedy in New York and Los Angeles.
Blitz is the brother of filmmaker Jeffrey Blitz, who is best known for directing the 2002 documentary Spellbound and the 2007 film Rocket Science.
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Andy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS. He is also known for his voice work in the Madagascar films and for starring in the sitcoms Quintuplets, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and Andy Barker, P.I..
Richter, the third of four children, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His mother, Glenda Swanson (née Palmer), was a kitchen cabinet designer, and his father, Laurence R. Richter, taught Russian at Indiana University for more than 32 years. Richter was raised in Yorkville, Illinois. He is of Swedish and German descent. In high school, he was elected Prom King.
In the late 1980s, Richter attended Columbia College Chicago as a film major. While at Columbia he learned the basics of comedic acting and writing by starring in numerous student films and videos. After leaving Columbia in 1988 Richter worked as a production assistant on commercial shoots in Chicago. In 1989, he began taking classes at Chicago's Improv Olympic. His quick wit and acting skills catapulted him from student to "House Performer" within a year. Richter branched out working with "The Comedy Underground" and the Annoyance Theater.
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Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (Armenian: Արամ Խաչատրյան; Russian: Ара́м Ильи́ч Хачатуря́н; June 6 [O.S. May 24] 1903 – May 1, 1978) was a prominentSoviet Armenian composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music. He is most famous for the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from his ballet Spartacus, and for the "Sabre Dance" from his ballet Gayane and the adagio from the same ballet, much used in films since its first use in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was born in Tiflis, Imperial Russia (now Tbilisi, Georgia) to a poor Armenian family. His father was a bookbinder. In his youth, he was fascinated by the music he heard around him, but at first he did not study music or learn to read it.
In 1920, when Armenia was declared a Soviet republic, Khachaturian joined a propaganda train touring Armenia, populated by Georgian-Armenian artists. The following year he travelled to Moscow to join his brother, the stage director of the Second Moscow Art Theatre. Although he had almost no musical education, Khachaturian showed such great talent that he was admitted to the Gnessin Institute where he studied cello under Sergey Bychkov, and later Andrey Borysyak. In 1925 Mikhail Gnessin started a composition class at the Gnessin Institute, which Khachaturian joined.
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Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Bart was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name was an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989.
At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge, and the brother of Lisa and Maggie. Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons, including video games, The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons Ride, commercials, and comic books; he has also inspired an entire line of merchandise. In casting, Nancy Cartwright originally planned to audition for the role of Lisa, while Yeardley Smith tried out for Bart. Smith's voice was too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. Cartwright found that Lisa was not interesting at the time, so instead auditioned for Bart, which she thought was a better role. Hallmarks of the character include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence; his prank calls to Moe the bartender; and his catchphrases "Eat my shorts", "¡Ay, caramba!", and "Don't have a cow, man!"
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Bill Hader
William "Bill" Hader (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder, Adventureland, Paul, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
Hader was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Sherri and Bill Hader. He has two sisters, Katie and Kara. Hader attended Patrick Henry Elementary School, Edison Junior High, and Cascia Hall Preparatory School, before attending The Art Institute of Phoenix and Scottsdale Community College.
Hader's comedic aspirations eventually led him to Los Angeles where he joined the Second City, a comedy troupe that has been a training ground for many SNL cast members since the 1970s. He performed at iO West in Los Angeles. During his time at Second City and iO West, Hader worked as a production assistant on the DVD Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy and Collateral Damage, as well as an assistant on VH1's The Surreal Life.
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Bill Wendell
Bill Wendell (birth name: William Joseph Wenzel, Jr.) (March 22, 1924 – April 14, 1999) was an NBC television staff announcer for almost his entire professional career.
Born in New York City, Wendell served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and graduated from Fordham University with a degree in speech. He worked briefly with the DuMont Television Network before beginning his long association with NBC. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Wendell formed part of a fraternity of network staff announcers who held lifetime contracts; his colleagues were Don Pardo, Wayne Howell, Fred Facey, Bill McCord, Roger Tuttle and Howard Reig.
Wendell was a radio announcer on programs towards the end of the old-time radio era, but the majority of his announcing work was on television. He was a regular on the 1955-1956 version of The Ernie Kovacs Show, serving as the show's announcer, as well as a participant in sketches such as "Mr. Question Man" (a parody of The Answer Man). He also worked with Jack Benny, Bob Hope and other NBC personalities.
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Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk (born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his award winning appearances in Breaking Bad and The Larry Sanders Show and as co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked as a writer for such notable shows as Saturday Night Live, Get A Life, The Ben Stiller Show, and The Dennis Miller Show. In the mid-1990s, Odenkirk and David Cross created the Emmy-winning sketch comedy program Mr. Show, which ran for four seasons and ultimately became a cult success. In the early 2000s, Odenkirk discovered Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim and produced their television series Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. He has directed three films: 2003's Melvin Goes to Dinner, 2006's Let's Go to Prison, and 2007's The Brothers Solomon.
Odenkirk was born in Berwyn, Illinois, and was raised in nearby Naperville. He is one of seven children of Barbara and Walter Odenkirk, who was employed in the printing business. His brother is comedy writer Bill Odenkirk. Odenkirk is of half Irish descent. His parents later divorced, and Walter eventually died from cancer and was "pretty down on his luck" towards the end of his life. His father's battle with alcoholism would later influence Bob's decision to avoid alcohol almost completely. Odenkirk would later say that he grew up "hating" Naperville because "it felt like a dead end, like Nowheresville. I couldn’t wait to move into a city and be around people who were doing exciting things."
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Bob Saget
Robert Lane "Bob" Saget (born May 17, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and television host. Although he is best known for his family-friendly roles as Danny Tanner in Full House and the original host of America's Funniest Home Videos, Saget is also known for his very vulgar stand-up routine.
Saget was born in Philadelphia to Jewish parents. His father, Benjamin, was a supermarket executive, and his mother, Rosalyn, was a hospital administrator. Saget lived in Norfolk, Virginia, and Encino, California, before moving back to Philadelphia and graduating from Abington Senior High School. Saget originally intended to become a doctor, but his Honors English teacher, Elaine Zimmerman, saw his creative potential and urged him to seek a career in films.
He attended Temple University's film school, where he created Through Adam's Eyes, a black-and-white film about a boy who received reconstructive facial surgery, and was honored with an award of merit in the Student Academy Awards. He graduated with a B.A. in 1978. Saget intended to take graduate courses at the University of Southern California but quit a few days later. Saget describes himself at the time in an article by Glenn Esterly in the 1990 Saturday Evening Post: "I was a cocky, overweight twenty-two-year-old. Then I had a gangrenous appendix taken out, almost died, and I got over being cocky or overweight." Saget talked about his burst appendix on Anytime with Bob Kushell, saying that it happened on the Fourth of July, at the UCLASS Medical Center and that they at first just iced the area for seven hours before taking it out and finding that it had become gangrenous. Saget credits the band Autistico for getting him through the tough times.
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Bobby Moynihan
Robert M. "Bobby" Moynihan, Jr. (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor and comedian who is currently a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Moynihan was born and raised in Eastchester, New York and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1999 with a BFA in Acting. At Eastchester High School he was a part of the tech club and players club.
Before joining the cast of SNL, Moynihan had been performing as an improvisational comedian with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCBT) in New York City for nearly ten years. At UCBT he was a member of the improv sketch groups "Police Chief Rumble" and "The Stepfathers". Moynihan was also part of the sketch-comedy trio "The Buffoons" with comedians Charlie Sanders and Eugene Cordero. The trio performed regularly at UCBT for many years and were a featured act at Montreal's "Just For Laughs" Comedy Festival in 2007.
Moynihan has also frequently performed with the Derrick Comedy sketch group and appeared in many of their popular internet videos and various projects. He also filmed a supporting role in the group's feature film Mystery Team, which premiered at Sundance in 2009 before a limited theatrical release.
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Brian Stack
Brian Stack (born August 18, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on all three Conan O'Brien late-night talk shows, previously working on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and on O'Brien's current talk show, Conan on TBS.
Stack attended Catholic schools from grades 5-12, graduating from St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University, where he had worked at their radio station. He began doing improvisational comedy, or improv, in 1987 at the Ark Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, while attending graduate school at University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned his Master’s degree.
Stack became a sketch writer on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 1997, and served as a writer, actor and editor on the show and after O'Brien's move to the Tonight Show in 2009. Stack played many recurring characters on the show, most notably those clad in anachronistic or elaborate outfits, and was known for playing many characters with long beards and mustaches, such as God, Zeus, Socrates, Gandalf, and The Interrupter. Stack makes occasional appearances on the Tonight Show, such as when he played an NRA spokesman who intimates violence to accomplish his agenda.
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Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.
Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.
Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry and worked, among other vocations, as a bus driver, although he was frequently unemployed; his surname is Dutch for jump stone. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zerilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full time; she took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.
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Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do. As a result of his "tough guy" image, an Internet phenomenon began in 2005 known as Chuck Norris facts, ascribing various implausible or even impossible feats to Norris.
Norris appeared in a number of action films, such as Way of the Dragon in which he starred alongside Bruce Lee, and was The Cannon Group's leading star in the 1980s. He next played the starring role in the television series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 2001.
Norris is a devout Christian and politically conservative. He has written several books on Christianity and donated to a number of Republican candidates and causes. In 2007 and 2008, he campaigned for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who was running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. In the 2012 election he endorsed former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Norris also writes a column for the conservative website WorldNetDaily.
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Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.
Dana Carvey was born in Missoula, Montana, the son of Billie, a schoolteacher, and William Carvey, a high school business teacher. Carvey is the brother of Brad Carvey, the engineer/designer of the Video Toaster. The character Garth Algar (from the movie Wayne's World) is a loosely based portrayal of Brad. Carvey was raised Lutheran. When he was three years old, his family moved to San Carlos, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He received his first drum kit at an early age. He attended Tierra Linda Junior High in San Carlos, Carlmont High School in Belmont, California (where he was a member of the Central Coast Section champion Cross Country team), College of San Mateo in San Mateo, California, and received his Bachelor's degree in communications from San Francisco State University.
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Dave Foley
David Scott "Dave" Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown. He also frequently appears on The Late Late Show on CBS.
Foley, the third of four children, was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, the son of Mary, a homemaker, and Michael Foley, a steam-fitter.
After dropping out of high school, Foley pursued standup comedy for about a year in the Toronto Second City Training Centre where he began taking improv classes. There, he met Kevin McDonald, who got him a job with him as an usher at a local art house movie theatre. Together, they formed the original The Kids in the Hall.
In October 1989, The Kids in the Hall debuted on TV, with a cast of Foley, McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Some of Foley's famous characters include Hecubus, one of the Sizzler sisters, the A. T. & Love boss, Bruno Puntz Jones, Mr. Heavyfoot, Jocelyn, and Lex. The show ended in April 1994.
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David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States of America.
Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in syndication.
In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.
Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973), was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (née Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.
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Dino Stamatopoulos
Dino Stamatopoulos is an American television comedy writer, actor and producer who has worked on Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He is also the creator of the Adult Swim programs Moral Orel and Mary Shelley's Frankenhole. Stamatopoulos also played the recurring role of "Star-Burns" on the NBC comedy series Community.
While at Ridgewood High School (Illinois), Stamatopoulos wrote for his school variety show and was astounded he could get laughs with the material he had written. While attending Columbia College Chicago he performed a duo act with comedian Andy Dick, in which Stamatopoulos played a ventriloquist and Dick played a dummy under the influence of sleeping pills.
Stamatopoulos had written a spec script for a Simpsons episode, just out of love for the show, and Andy convinced him to submit it to The Ben Stiller Show, which got him hired. He met and worked with Bob Odenkirk. After Stiller's show was canceled, he moved to New York and joined the writing staff of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, also with Odenkirk. During the '90s he wrote for Late Show with David Letterman, The Dana Carvey Show and Mr. Show with Bob and David. In 2000 Dino and Robert Smigel pitched Comedy Central a spin-off of Smigel's TV Funhouse SNL cartoons which would be a half-hour sketch comedy show. TV Funhouse premiered on 2000 and was canceled after one season. He later joined the writing staff on Mad TV.
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Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered States in 1980. Afterwards, she starred in her breakout role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She quickly became one of Hollywood's most recognized child actresses, going on to establish herself in mainly comic roles.
Following a turbulent childhood which was marked by drug and alcohol abuse and two stints in rehab, Barrymore wrote the 1990 autobiography, Little Girl Lost. She successfully made the transition from child star to adult actress with a number of films including Poison Ivy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side, and Everyone Says I Love You. Subsequently, she established herself in romantic comedies such as The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates.
In 1995, she and business partner Nancy Juvonen formed the production company Flower Films, with its first production the 1999 Barrymore film Never Been Kissed. Flower Films has gone on to produce the Barrymore vehicle films Charlie's Angels, 50 First Dates, and Music and Lyrics, as well as the cult film Donnie Darko. Barrymore's more recent projects include He's Just Not That into You, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Everybody's Fine and Going the Distance. A recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Barrymore appeared on the cover of the 2007 People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful issue.
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Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as host of the U.S. version of the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC.
Carey has appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. As of 2012, he hosts the television game show The Price Is Right. He is interested in a variety of sports, has worked as a photographer at U.S. National Team soccer games, is a minority owner of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC and a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Carey has written an autobiography, Dirty Jokes And Beer: Stories Of The Unrefined, detailing his early life and television career.
Carey was the youngest of Lewis and Beulah Carey's three sons and raised in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. When he was eight years old, his father died from a brain tumor. According to his autobiography, he was born with six toes on his right foot and he played the cornet and trumpet in the marching band of James Ford Rhodes High School, from which he graduated in 1975. Drew is of Scottish heritage from both parents.[citation needed]
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Ellie Kemper
Elizabeth Claire "Ellie" Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and writer best known for her role as Erin Hannon in NBC's The Office.
Kemper was born on May 2, 1980, in Kansas City, Missouri, the second of four children born to Dorothy Ann (née Jannarone) and David Woods Kemper. She is the granddaughter of Mildrid Lane Kemper, the namesake of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis, for which the family donated $5 million. Ellie Kemper's father was chairman and chief executive officer for Commerce Bancshares, a bank holding company founded by the Kemper family (her paternal great-great-grandfather was banker William Thornton Kemper, Sr.). She is also the older sister of television writer Carrie Kemper. Kemper is of Italian (from her maternal grandfather) and German descent. The family moved to St. Louis when Ellie was five years old. She attended the Conway School in the St. Louis suburb of Ladue and then high school at John Burroughs School, where she developed an interest in theater and improvisational comedy. One of her teachers was actor Jon Hamm, with whom she appeared in a school play.
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Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling (born November 29, 1949) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show.
Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms such as Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter. He made a successful stand-up performance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and became a frequent guest-host on the show. Shandling was for a time considered the leading contender to replace Carson (other hopefuls were Joan Rivers, David Letterman and David Brenner). In 1986 he created It's Garry Shandling's Show, for the pay cable channel Showtime. It was nominated for four Emmy Awards (including one for Shandling) and lasted until 1990. His second show, The Larry Sanders Show, which began airing on HBO in 1992, was even more successful. Shandling was nominated for 18 Emmy Awards for the show and won in 1998, along with Peter Tolan, for writing the series finale.
During his three-decade career, Shandling has been nominated for 19 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, along with many other awards and nominations.
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George Wendt
George Robert Wendt III (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor, best known for the role of Norm Peterson on the television show Cheers.
Wendt was born in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, the son of Loretta M. (née Howard) and George Robert Wendt, a navy officer and realtor. His maternal grandfather was photographer Tom Howard. He is of German and Irish descent. He attended Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He was expelled from the University of Notre Dame after a semester with a 0.00 GPA and later attended the Jesuit Rockhurst College in Kansas City, where he graduated with a B.A. in economics.
Wendt is a 1975 alumnus of The Second City, which he discovered shortly after college. A viewing had inspired him to join and on his first day of employment, he showed up promptly at 11:30 am as he was instructed. The woman working there handed him a broom and said "Welcome to the theater, kid"; thus, his first job in show business was sweeping the floors. Second City was also where he met his future wife, Bernadette Birkett, who played Cliff's Halloween date in the third season of Cheers and later in the series played the voice of Norm's never-seen wife, Vera.
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Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.
Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of Suzanne, a homemaker, and Edward Kinnear, a career diplomat who worked for the US State Department. He has two brothers, James and Steven. When he was a child, the Kinnear family moved around frequently, from Beirut to Athens, part of a group sometimes referred to as the "Foreign Service Brats". While a student at the American Community Schools in Athens, Greg Kinnear first ventured into the role of talk show host with his radio show "School Daze With Greg Kinnear". Returning to the United States for a college education, he attended the University of Arizona, where he graduated in 1985 with a degree in broadcast journalism. At Arizona, Greg was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.
Kinnear hosted a short-lived game show, College Mad House, which was spun off from the kids' show, Fun House. Later he would become the creator, co-executive producer, and host of Best of the Worst which aired from 1990 to 1991. In 1991, Kinnear became the first host of Talk Soup, which he did until 1995, when he left the show for the NBC late-night talk show, Later with Greg Kinnear (1994).
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Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg, having scored all but one of his films since 1979.
He has also composed a few concert works including one opera, The Fly, based on the plot (though not his score) of Cronenberg's 1986 film premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 2 July 2008., a short piece Fanfare for the Wanamaker Organ and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and a short overture for the Swiss 21st Century Symphony Orchestra.
Shore is a three-time winner of the Academy Award, and has also won three Golden Globe Awards and four Grammy Awards. He is the uncle of film composer Ryan Shore. Shore serves on the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Berklee College of Music.
Shore was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of Bernice (née Ash) and Mac Shore. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston after graduating from Forest Hill Collegiate Institute. From 1969 to 1972, he performed with the group Lighthouse. In 1970 he was the music director of Lorne Michaels and Hart Pomerantz's short-lived TV program The Hart & Lorne Terrific Hour. Shore wrote the music for Canadian magician Doug Henning's magical/musical Spellbound in 1974, and he was the musical director for Lorne Michaels' hugely influential late-night NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1980, appearing in many musical sketches, including Howard Shore and His All-Nurse Band, and dressed as a beekeeper for a John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd performance of the Slim Harpo classic I'm a King Bee. Shore also suggested the name for The Blues Brothers to Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
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Jack McBrayer
Jack McBrayer (born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He gained national exposure for his characters on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He is best known for portraying Kenneth Parcell on the television series 30 Rock, a role for which he received an Emmy nomination in 2009.
McBrayer was born in Georgia and studied theater at the University of Evansville.
McBrayer worked at Second City and iO from 1995 to 2002, an experience that introduced him to 30 Rock creator Tina Fey and prepared him "100 percent" for his role in her show.
From 2002-2004, McBrayer appeared in over 80 sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, often lampooning his own Southern upbringing by playing stereotypical hillbilly characters. On August 10, 2007 and September 20, 2008 he made a cameo appearance on Late Night playing his character (Kenneth Parcell) from 30 Rock. During the first appearance, O'Brien remarked to him, "I thought you were above this now." McBrayer also reprised his Kenneth the Page role twice (November 24, 2009 and January 13, 2010) after O'Brien's switch to The Tonight Show, and has appeared on Conan's Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour at stops in Eugene, Oregon, Universal City, California (on the Universal Studios lot where O'Brien taped Tonight), and the final tour stop in Atlanta, in his home state of Georgia.
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Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962. Time magazine's obituary noted that: "His fans would remember him as the fellow who split talk show history into two eras: Before Paar and Below Paar."
Paar was born in Canton, Ohio, the son of Howard and Lillian M. Paar. He moved with his family to Jackson, Michigan, 30 miles south of Lansing, as a child. As a child he had a stuttering problem which he conquered. He contracted tuberculosis when he was 14, and left school at 16.
He first worked near home as a radio announcer at WIBM in Jackson and later as a humorous disc jockey at Midwest stations, including WJR in Detroit, WIRE in Indianapolis, WGAR in Cleveland and WBEN in Buffalo. In his book P.S. Jack Paar, he recalled doing utility duty at WGAR in 1938 when Orson Welles broadcast his famous simulated alien invasion, The War of the Worlds over the CBS network (and affiliate WGAR). Attempting to calm possible panicked listeners, Paar announced, "The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?"
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James Lipton
James Lipton (born September 19, 1926) is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994. He is also a pilot and member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
James R. Lipton was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Betty (née Weinberg), a teacher, and Polish-born journalist Lawrence Lipton. Noted as the author of the popular Beat Generation chronicle, The Holy Barbarians, Lawrence Lipton was a graphic designer, a columnist for the Jewish Daily Forward and a publicity director for a movie theater.
A 1944 graduate of Central High School, Lipton portrayed Dan Reid on WXYZ-Radio's The Lone Ranger. Moving to New York, he initially studied to be a lawyer, and turned to acting only to finance his education. He wrote for several soap operas, Another World, The Edge of Night, Guiding Light, Return to Peyton Place and Capitol, as well as acting for over ten years on Guiding Light. In 1951, he appeared in the Broadway play The Autumn Garden by Lillian Hellman. He portrayed a shipping clerk turned gang member in Joseph Strick's 1953 film, The Big Break, a crime drama.
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James Wormworth
James Wormworth is an American drummer and percussionist. Wormworth is a member of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band on the TBS late night comedy program, Conan. Wormworth often filled in for Max Weinberg during the band's run as The Max Weinberg 7 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien while Weinberg toured with Bruce Springsteen. Wormworth joined the band as a full time member when O'Brien became the host of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Wormworth has taken over for Max Weinberg as the band's full time drummer on O'Brien's TBS talk show Conan, as Weinberg is no longer a part of the band.
Wormworth has a strong preference toward playing the drums with his feet completely bare, as exhibited when he wore a full suit with bare feet while playing on television with the Max Weinberg 7.
He is the brother of bass guitarist Tracy Wormworth.
In 2012, Wormworth appeared in the documentary film, No One But Me, discussing jazz musician, Annie Ross.
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Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo ( /dʒəˈniːn ɡəˈrɒfəloʊ/; born September 28, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, progressive political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to participate regularly in New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.
Garofalo was born in Newton, New Jersey, the daughter of Joan and Carmine Garofalo. Her mother was a secretary, in the petrochemical industry, who died of cancer when Janeane was 24. Her father is a former executive at Exxon. Garofalo was raised as a conservative Catholic and is of Italian and Irish descent. She grew up in various places, including Ontario, California, Madison, New Jersey and Katy, Texas. Garofalo is quoted as having disliked life in Houston because of the heat and humidity and the emphasis on prettiness and sports in high school.
While studying history at Providence College, Garofalo entered a comedy talent search sponsored by the Showtime cable network, winning the title of "Funniest Person in Rhode Island." Her original gimmick was to read off her hand, which was not successful in subsequent performances. Dreaming of earning a slot on the writing staff of the TV show Late Night With David Letterman, she became a professional standup upon graduating from college with degrees in History and American Studies. She struggled for a number of years, working briefly as a bike messenger in Boston.
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Jason Alexander
Jason Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, director, producer, writer, singer, and comedian. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on Seinfeld, appearing from 1989 to 1998. He also has had an active career on the stage, appearing in several Broadway musicals including Jerome Robbins' Broadway in 1989, for which he won the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical. He appeared in the Los Angeles production of The Producers with Martin Short. He is the Artistic Director of "Reprise! Broadway's Best in Los Angeles," where he has directed several musicals. Alexander is also an avid poker player.
Alexander was born Jay Scott Greenspan in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Jewish parents Ruth Minnie (née Simon), a nurse and health care administrator, and Alexander B. Greenspan, an accounting manager. He has a half-sister, Karen Van Horn, and a half-brother, Michael Greenspan. Alexander grew up in Livingston, New Jersey and is a 1977 graduate of Livingston High School. Alexander had a very wheezy voice growing up, primarily because of his asthma. He attended Boston University but left the summer before his senior year, after getting work in New York City. He was later given an honorary degree in 1995. He is a practiced magician, and only switched to acting as a career when he realized that he was unlikely to succeed as a magician.
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Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950) is an American stand-up comedian and television host.
From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.
James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran and a lawyer.
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Jerry Vivino
Jerry Vivino (born January 8, 1954 in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American musician. He is currently a member of the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night program Conan. He was also a member of The Tonight Show Band, the house band on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and its predecessor, Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC.
Vivino provides saxophone, woodwinds and vocals.
Vivino is the younger brother of longtime New Jersey TV host Floyd Vivino, a.k.a. Uncle Floyd, and Max Weinberg 7 bandmate Jimmy Vivino, the current band leader of the Basic Cable Band. His daughter, Donna, is a theatre actress and singer.
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Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and producer. Carrey has received four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning two. Known for his highly energetic, slapstick performances, he has been described as one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood.
Carrey first gained recognition in 1990 after landing a recurring role in the sketch comedy In Living Color. His first leading roles in major productions came with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Mask (1994), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). In 1997, he gave a critically acclaimed performance in Liar Liar, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. He then starred in the critically acclaimed hits The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999), both garnering him two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor.
In 2000, he gained further recognition for his portrayal of the The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Three years later, Carrey starred in the major blockbuster film Bruce Almighty (2003). The following year he starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), for which he received another Golden Globe nomination in addition to a BAFTA Award nomination. He then starred in popular productions Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Yes Man (2008), A Christmas Carol (2009), and Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011).
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Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. (born September 19, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC. Prior to that he appeared in several films, and was best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998–2004.
James Thomas Fallon, Jr., was born in Brooklyn, New York. Jimmy is the son of Gloria and James Fallon, Sr., who is a Vietnam War veteran. His family later settled in Saugerties, New York, while his father worked at IBM in nearby Kingston, New York. He is of Irish descent. As a child, he and his older sister, Gloria, would reenact the “clean parts” of Saturday Night Live that his parents had taped for him. Fallon was such a fan of Saturday Night Live that he made a weekly event of watching it in his dormitory during college. In his teens, he impressed his parents with different impersonations, the first being of James Cagney. He was also musically inclined, and started playing guitar at age 13. He would go on to mix comedy and music in contests and shows.
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Jimmy Pardo
Jimmy Pardo (born James Ronald Pardo, Jr., July 28, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and host of the popular comedy podcast Never Not Funny. He is married to fellow comedian Danielle Koenig. They live in Los Angeles with their son Oliver. He is not related to the famed TV announcer Don Pardo.
Pardo was born in Chicago, Illinois and spent his first 8 years living on the south side, eventually moving to the south suburbs of Chicago. He spent his grade school years living in Hometown, Illinois. In 1980, his family moved to Oak Forest, Illinois where he attended Oak Forest High School. In 1986, he moved to Pasadena, California to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He attended for one year, then returned to Chicago to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.
In late 1988, Pardo started performing at open microphones at various venues around Chicago, including "The Roxy", "The Last Laugh" and "The Comedy Cottage". The plethora of successful comedy clubs in the area at that time meant Pardo started earning money almost immediately, allowing him to quit his day job as a sales rep for MCA Records. In addition to his comedy CDs Uno and Pompous Clown, in 2007 Pardo appeared on the comedy compilation CD Comedy Death-Ray. Pardo is also featured on The Bob and Tom Show's comedy collection As Big As a Hat.
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Jimmy Vivino
Jimmy Vivino (born January 10, 1955 in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American guitarist, keyboard player, singer, producer, and music director. He is best known as the leader of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night program Conan. He was also a member of The Tonight Show Band, the house band on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and its predecessor, Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC. Vivino has also played with many rock bands, which most recently has included being a member of Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux.
He is the younger brother of longtime New Jersey TV host Floyd Vivino, a.k.a. Uncle Floyd, and Basic Cable Band bandmate Jerry Vivino.
Vivino grew up in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where he attended Glen Rock High School. He had an interest in music from a young age. He began working in New York clubs in the early 1980s and in 1984 was musical director of the play Leader of the Pack. Later he led "Jimmy Vivino and the Black Italians" and worked with Al Kooper. Kooper considered Vivino to be one of his "discoveries" and had him as musical director for fifteen years. Later Vivino "took over" his "The Rekooperators" which Kooper stated made him proud. Vivino did much of the orchestration for the Max Weinberg Seven from 1993 onward. On the October 19, 2010 Vivino was named bandleader of the Conan show, replacing previous leader Max Weinberg. The group is called The Basic Cable Band.
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Joel Godard
Joel Clinton Godard, Jr. (born March 31, 1938 in Milledgeville, Georgia) is an American television presenter, best known as the announcer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien during its entire 16-year run from 1993 to 2009.
Godard attended Emory University, and earned his A.B. in 1960 with a double major in chemistry and pre-med. He was accepted into the school's medical program, but instead chose to try a career in the entertainment industry. Around 1968, Godard worked three jobs at the same time while living in Macon, Georgia: analyzing electroplating solutions at Maxson Electronics; acting as a news anchor and "stand-up weatherman" for WMAZ-TV; and as a licensed pilot for Lowe Aviation. He served as a production assistant at WMAZ radio in 1970.
During the early 1980s, Godard had roles in the made-for-TV movie Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and the TBS soap opera The Caitlins. In the 1980s and 1990s, Godard made voiceover appearances on Saturday Night Live, NBC Nightly News, and Issues and Answers. Around 1986, he became an NBC staff announcer. Godard has been the voice of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2000.
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John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne (1988–1997) for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993.
Goodman was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His mother, Virginia Roos (née Loosmore), was a store clerk and waitress who worked at Jack and Phil's Bar-B-Que, and his father, Leslie F. Goodman, was a postal worker who died of a heart attack in 1954. He has a sister, Elisabeth Horvath, and a brother, Leslie.
Goodman went to Affton High School, where he played football and dabbled in theater. He then won a football scholarship to Southwest Missouri State University, now called Missouri State University. He pledged the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, but was not formally initiated until several years later. Later he discovered Southwest Missouri's drama program. He studied there with actors Kathleen Turner and Tess Harper. After a college injury ended his football career, he decided to become a professional actor, leaving Missouri for New York in 1975.
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John Lurie
John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American actor, musician, painter, director and producer. He is co-founder of The Lounge Lizards, a jazz ensemble. Lurie has acted in 19 films including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and he produced and starred in Fishing with John, a 1991 television series. In 1996 his soundtrack for Get Shorty was nominated for a Grammy Award. For five years he appeared in the HBO television show Oz.
Suffering from chronic Lyme disease since 2000, Lurie refocused his attention on painting, his first major show in May 2004, in New York City. His primitivist art works have shown in galleries around the world. His painting Bear Surprise became an internet meme in Russia in 2006.
Lurie was born in Minneapolis. Before marriage, his mother had been a painter and art teacher in Liverpool. Lurie was raised alongside two siblings, his brother Evan and his sister Liz. The family moved to New Orleans when John was six, later, they moved to Worcester, Massachusetts. In high school, Lurie played basketball and harmonica. He jammed on harmonica with Mississippi Fred McDowell, and with Canned Heat around 1968. He played harmonica in a band from Boston, but it did not work out. He switched to guitar and then saxophone.
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John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer ( /ˈmeɪ.ər/ MAY-ər; (born October 16, 1977) is an American pop and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following, and he now lives in New York City. His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland."
Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. The blues influence can be heard throughout his 2005 live album Try! with the John Mayer Trio and his third studio album Continuum, released in September 2006. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". He released his fourth studio album, Battle Studies, in November 2009. His fifth album, Born and Raised, was released on May 22, 2012. He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and 20 million albums worldwide.
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Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host and comedian, known for thirty years as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). Carson received six Emmy Awards, the Governor Award, and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Johnny Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.
Although his show was already successful by the end of the 1960s, during the 1970s Carson became an American icon and remained so until his retirement in 1992. He adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests, an approach pioneered by Arthur Godfrey and previous Tonight Show hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar. Late night hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Fallon have all cited Carson's influence on their late-night talk shows, which resemble his in format and tone.
Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, in the year 1925, to Homer Lloyd "Kit" Carson, a power company manager, and Ruth Hook Carson, who was of Irish descent. He grew up in the nearby towns of Avoca, Clarinda, and Red Oak in southwest Iowa before moving to Norfolk, Nebraska, at the age of eight. At the age of twelve, Carson found a book on magic at a friend's house and immediately purchased a mail-order magician's kit. He debuted as "The Great Carsoni" at fourteen and was paid $3; many other performances at local picnics and country fairs followed.
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Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003), was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music icon, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—as well as blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal led to Cash being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice; for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for his rebelliousness, coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor; for providing free concerts inside prison walls; and for his dark performance clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally started his concerts by saying, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." and usually following it up with his standard "Folsom Prison Blues".
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Jon Glaser
Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Glaser (born June 20, 1968) is an American actor, comedian and television writer based out of New York City. He is best known for his work as a writer and sketch performer for many years on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, as well as for creating and starring in the Adult Swim series Delocated.
Glaser was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 20, 1968. Glaser is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he performed in the sketch comedy troupes Comedy Company and Just Kidding with Jon Hein, he is a five-time Emmy nominee with the writing staff of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He has appeared in the movies Pootie Tang, School for Scoundrels, and Be Kind Rewind, and he has guest-starred on comedy programs such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Wonder Showzen, Bob's Burgers and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He was also a lead voice actor in several animated comedy programs such as Stroker and Hoop, Freak Show, and Lucy the Daughter of The Devil.
Glaser is the creator and star of the live-action Adult Swim series Delocated, about "Jon", a man in the witness protection program with his own reality show. The show finished its third season on April 5, 2012. Glaser's Delocated character, "Jon" was also featured as a DJ on an Adult Swim-themed radio station in the video game Saints Row: The Third. In February 2012, Glaser appeared as the spokesman in a series of Subway commercials playing his Delocated character.
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Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian. He is widely known as host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program that airs on Comedy Central.
Stewart started as a stand-up comedian, but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host his own show on MTV, called The Jon Stewart Show, and then hosted another show on MTV called You Wrote It, You Watch It. He has also had several film roles as an actor. Stewart became the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central in early 1999. He is also a writer and co-executive-producer of the show. After Stewart joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, resulting in his sixteen Emmy Awards.
Stewart has gained acclaim as an acerbic, satirical critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular those of the US media networks such as CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his "fake news" desk. Stewart agrees, saying that neither his show nor his channel purports to be anything other than satire and comedy. In spite of its self-professed entertainment mandate, The Daily Show has been nominated for news and journalism awards. Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, which was one of the best-selling books in the U.S. in 2004 and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race released in 2010.
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Julie Scardina
Julie Scardina (born July 10, 1957) is Animal Ambassador for SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove, zoological parks. She was formerly curator of animal training for SeaWorld of California. Scardina is perhaps best known for her regular appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, monthly Today animal information segments and weekly segments on Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures.
Scardina is a professional animal trainer and educator, who graduated from San Diego State University with a major in psychology and a minor in biology, after attending a program at Moorpark College in Exotic Animal Training and Management. She has worked for years with killer whales, as well as dolphins, sea lions and many other animals at the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks.
Scardina is a board member of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, which supports conservation education, habitat protection, species research and animal rescue and rehabilitation around the globe. She travels to many of these projects throughout the world and is also involved with many other conservation organizations and efforts, such as the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders where she serves on the board and acts as a mentor to up and coming environmental leaders.
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Kevin Dorff
Kevin Dorff (born August 2, 1966) is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a writer and sketch performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Dorff co-starred as "Mike the Federal Agent" on the first season of the Adult Swim series Delocated with his former Late Night colleague Jon Glaser. His character was written off the show at the start of season two, as Dorff was in Los Angeles writing for the The Tonight Show at the time, while Delocated is filmed in New York City. Dorff returned to work on Delocated as a writer in season three.
Dorff has made guest appearances on television programs such as TV Funhouse, Nick Swardson's Pretend Time, Important Things with Demetri Martin, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and The Office.
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Larry King
Larry King (born November 19, 1933) is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards. He began as a local Florida journalist and radio interviewer in the 1950s and 1960s and became prominent as an all-night national radio broadcaster starting in 1978. From 1985-2010, he hosted the nightly interview TV program Larry King Live on CNN.
King was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger in Brooklyn, New York City, to an Austrian immigrant Edward Zeiger, a restaurant owner and defense plant worker, and his wife Jennie Gitlitz, a garment worker, who emigrated from Belarus. King grew up in a religiously observant Jewish home, but in adulthood became an agnostic.
King's father died at 44 of heart disease, and his mother had to go on welfare to support her two sons. His father's death greatly affected King, and he lost interest in school. After graduating from high school, he worked to help support his mother. From an early age, however, he had wanted to go into radio. King is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM (born November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-Americantelevision producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.
Michaels was born Lorne David Lipowitz in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of Florence (née Becker) and Henry Abraham Lipowitz, a furrier. He was the eldest of the Lipowitz children. He has a sister, Barbara Lipowitz, who currently resides in Toronto, and a brother, Mark Lipowitz, who died from a brain tumor. Michaels attended the Forest Hill Collegiate Institute in Toronto and graduated from University College, University of Toronto, where he majored in English, in 1966. Michaels began his career as a writer and broadcaster for CBC Radio. He moved to Los Angeles from Toronto in 1968 to work as a writer for Laugh-In and The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show. He starred with Hart Pomerantz in The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, a Canadian comedy series which ran briefly in the early 1970s. During the late 1960s, Michaels married Rosie Shuster, who later worked with him on Saturday Night Live as a writer. She was the daughter of Frank Shuster, one half of the famous comedy team, Wayne and Shuster. Michaels and Shuster were divorced in 1980.
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Mark Pender
Mark "The Loveman" Pender (born Kansas City, Missouri, August 21, 1957) is a trumpet player and vocalist who has played with Southside Johnny, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen. Since 1993 he has performed on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien as a member of The Max Weinberg 7 and The Tonight Show Band. He is currently performing on Conan as a member of the Basic Cable Band. He is also a member of The Miami Horns, leads his own band, The Mark Pender Band, and plays regularly with La Bamba & The Hubcaps.
As a member of The Miami Horns he has toured and/or recorded with, among others Diana Ross, Gary U.S. Bonds, Joe Cocker, Darlene Love, Robert Cray and Bon Jovi. As an individual he has sessioned with David Bowie, They Might Be Giants, Buster Poindexter and Blackmore's Night.
Mark Pender graduated in 1975 from Grandview Senior High School in Grandview, Missouri. In the mid 1970s, while still in Kansas City, Pender played with Mass Transit and saxophonist Stephen Harvey. This band played a fusion of R&B, jazz and disco. He also played with the Inner City Orchestra from 1977 until 1979. This gave him the opportunity to play with the likes of Jay McShann, Joe Turner, Ella Fitzgerald and Gladys Knight & the Pips. He would also occasionally front the band on trumpet and vocals. Pender and Harvey also played regularly at the Mutual Musicians Foundation. It was there they first met the jazz organist Charles Earland. In 1979, Pender and Harvey accepted Earlands offer to join his touring band. The tour finished in Newark, New Jersey. Pender opted to stay while Harvey returned to Kansas City where he was tragically murdered on November 5, 1980.
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Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor and comedian known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000.
Besser was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas to parents Diane and Sandy Besser. His father was Jewish and his mother was Christian, and Besser is an atheist. He is also half German and French on his mothers side. Besser's grandfather's cousin was Joe Besser of The Three Stooges.
Besser is a founding member of Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), which started out as a Chicago sketch and improv comedy group in 1991, earning a cult following from the start. Original members included Ian Roberts, Ali Farahnakian, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, and Horatio Sanz. In 1996, the UCB relocated to New York City. In NYC, they made three seasons of their sketch-comedy series Upright Citizens Brigade on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000. The cast consisted of Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. It originally included a voice-over by Del Close. Nearly 10 years since its cancellation, the show continues to maintain a large following and is often hailed as one of the great cult sketch shows. Comedy Central has released the first two seasons on DVD, it is not known when the third and final season will be released.
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Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Weinberg grew up in suburban New Jersey and began drumming at an early age. He attended college planning to be a lawyer but got his big break in music in 1974 when he won an audition to become the drummer for Springsteen. His powerful but controlled playing on albums such as Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A. stabilized the E Street Band sound and Weinberg became a mainstay of Springsteen's long concert performances. Springsteen dissolved the band in 1989 and Weinberg spent several years considering a law career and trying the business end of the music industry before deciding he wanted to continue with drumming.
In 1993, Weinberg got the role as bandleader of The Max Weinberg 7 for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Weinberg's drums-driven jump blues sound and his role as a comic foil prospered along with the show, giving him a second career. In 1999, Springsteen reformed the E Street Band for a series of tours and albums; Weinberg worked out an arrangement that allowed him to play with both O'Brien and Springsteen. In 2009, Weinberg moved to the short-lived Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien as leader of Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band. After that ended, he formed and toured with a new ensemble, the Max Weinberg Big Band, and in 2010 chose not to follow O'Brien to the new Conan show.
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Meg White
Megan Martha "Meg" White (born December 10, 1974) is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.
Megan Martha White was born in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan to Walter Hackett White, Jr. and Catherine White. She grew up in the Detroit area with her parents and sister Heather.
Meg's then-husband Jack White spent much of the 1990s hopping from band to band. Meg first tried playing drums in 1997. In Jack's words, "When she started to play drums with me, just on a lark, it felt liberating and refreshing. There was something in it that opened me up." The two then began calling themselves The Red and White Stripes (because Meg favored peppermint candies) and soon played their first gig at the Gold Dollar in Detroit. In keeping live performances to three basic elements, Jack did the guitar and vocal work while she played drums.
Jack White has declared her to be the key component in the White Stripes' sound. In reference to her "primal" approach to drumming, she remarked, "That is my strength. A lot of drummers would feel weird about being that simplistic."
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Mike Huckabee
Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won (behind both John McCain and Mitt Romney). He won the Iowa Republican caucuses. Huckabee exited the race as McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee after winning the delegate-rich winner-take-all states of Florida, California, and New York.
Huckabee is the author of several best selling books, an ordained Southern Baptistminister, musician and a public speaker. He is also an ABC Radio political commentator. He and his wife, Janet, have been married for over 37 years and have three grown children: John Mark, David, and Sarah. Janet Huckabee was an unsuccessful candidate for Arkansas Secretary of State in 2002.
Huckabee currently hosts the Fox News Channel talk show Huckabee. Starting April 2, 2012 he will host The Mike Huckabee Show from noon until 3 pm weekdays for Cumulus Media Networks.
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Mimi Rogers
Miriam "Mimi" Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.
Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C. Spickler, a civil engineer.[citation needed]
Her early roles included a 1981 appearance in Hill Street Blues as a love interest for officer Andy Renko (Charles Haid), Blue Skies Again with Harry Hamlin in 1983, and playing the daughter of Hoyt Axton in the TV series The Rousters (1983–1984) starring Chad Everett and Jim Varney. Rogers' breakthrough role was opposite Tom Berenger in Someone to Watch Over Me (1987). She starred in a religious drama The Rapture (1991) as well as Full Body Massage (1995). She appeared in sci-fi films such as Lost in Space (1998) as well as the television series The X-Files (1998–1999) as Diana Fowley. She appeared as the mother of Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), and in the final season of Dawson's Creek (1998) she played the mother of Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams). In 2006 she starred in a Fox sitcom, The Loop, and in 2010 guest starred in long-running animated sitcom King of the Hill. Also made an appearance as the mother of a child smitten with Alan's son, Jake, on one episode of "Two and a Half Men".
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Nipsey Russell
Julius "Nipsey" Russell (September 15, 1925 – October 2, 2005) was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid. His appearances were distinguished in part by the short, humorous poems he would recite during the broadcast. These lyrics became so closely associated with Russell that Dick Clark, Bill Cullen, Betty White, and others regularly referred to him as "the poet laureate of television." He also had a leading role in the film version of The Wiz as the Tin Man. Russell was also a frequent guest on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Russell went to Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta and attended the University of Cincinnati for one semester in 1943. He served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II, enlisting as a private on June 27, 1941, and returning from Europe in 1945 as a second lieutenant. He got his start in the 1940s as a carhop at the Atlanta drive-in The Varsity, where he increased the tips he earned by making customers laugh. He was discovered after he began performing in nightclubs in the 1950s. He subsequently made many "party albums," which were essentially compilations of his stand-up routines.
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Paul Provenza
Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957) is an actor, comedian, filmmaker, and self-professed skeptic currently based in Los Angeles.
Provenza was born and grew up in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx, New York City, and graduated in 1975 from the Bronx High School of Science. In high school, he started performing stand-up comedy, making his stage debut at age 17 at the original The Improv in Manhattan. He continued performing while attending the University of Pennsylvania, taking a year's leave of absence to study in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. While at RADA, he joined a classical repertory theatre group, becoming one of few Americans to perform the role of Romeo on the London stage. He graduated in 1979 from the University of Pennsylvania, the year it awarded its first Theatre Arts degree. At Penn, he wrote for the Pennsylvania Punch Bowl and was a cast member of the Mask and Wig Club, where he has returned numerous times to perform in the annual Intercollegiate Comedy Festival.
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Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM (/ˈʃeɪfər/, born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian-American musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.
Shaffer was born and raised in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada, the son of Shirley and Bernard Shaffer, a lawyer. Shaffer was raised in a Jewish family. As a child, Shaffer had lessons on the piano, and moved on to playing the organ by his teenage years, in a band (Fabulous Fugitives) with his schoolmates in Thunder Bay. Later he performed with the "Flash Landing Band" at different venues around Edmonton and the Interior of B.C. Educated at the University of Toronto, he began playing with jazz guitarist Tisziji Muñoz, performing in bands around the bars there, where he found an interest in musicals, and completed his studies, with a B.A. degree in Sociology in 1971.
Shaffer began his music career in 1972 as the musical director for the Toronto production of Godspell, starring Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas and Andrea Martin. He went on to play piano for a Broadway show called The Magic Show in 1974, then became a member of the house band on NBC's popular Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program from 1975 to 1980 (except for a brief departure in 1977). Though Shaffer was at the piano and appeared to be directing the band's actions, Howard Shore was credited as SNL's musical director, eventually turning the actual conducting of the band to sax player Howard Johnson. Shaffer also regularly appeared in the show's sketches, notably as the pianist for Bill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer character, and as Don Kirshner.
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Reggie Watts
Reggie Watts (born March 23, 1972) is a Brooklyn-based comedian and musician. His shows are mostly improvised and consist of stream of consciousness stand-up in various shifting personae, mixed with loop pedal-based a cappella compositions. He performs regularly on television, radio, and in live theater. His comic skills come into play in improvisational performance, as well as performance of written music.
Born in Germany as Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts, Watts is the only child of Christiane and Charles Alphonso Watts; his mother is French and his father is African-American. His father was an officer in the United States Air Force and the family lived in Germany and Spain before relocating to Great Falls, Montana, where Watts was raised and graduated from Great Falls High School. Watts also took piano and violin lessons from the age of five until he was 16.
Watts moved to Seattle at age 18 where he briefly attended the Art Institute of Seattle before eventually studying jazz at Cornish College of the Arts. He went on to play in a number of Seattle bands of wildly varying styles/genres, including Hit Explosion, Swampdweller, Action Buddy, Chiarrscuro, Clementine, Smell No Taste, Wayne Horvitz 4+1 Ensemble, Das Rut, Synthclub, Elemental, Eyvand Kang Seven Nades, Free Space, etc. He became the front man for soul, rock, and hip hop group Maktub, with whom he has recorded five albums.
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Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine. He is also the creator and star of Childrens Hospital, which is currently airing new episodes on the Adult Swim network.
Corddry was born and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts. He is the son of Robin (née Sullivan) and Steven Corddry, who was a Massachusetts Port Authority official. He is the older brother of actor Nate Corddry. Corddry and his brother are both Eagle Scouts from Troop 19, located in Weymouth.
After graduating from Weymouth North High School in 1989, Corddry went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. According to an interview in the UMass Amherst alumni magazine, Corddry planned to study journalism when he arrived in fall 1989. He stuck with the major for just two days. English became his official major instead, but by his sophomore year, he focused much of his attention on drama classes and plays including Torch Song Trilogy, Ten Little Indians, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Romeo and Juliet, and Reckless. While at UMass, Corddry pledged the Theta Chapter of Theta Chi fraternity. He graduated in 1993.
wn.com/Rob_Corddry -
Rob Riggle
Robert Allen "Rob" Riggle, Jr. (born April 21, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and United States Marine Corps Reserve officer. He is best known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show from 2006–2008, as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2004–2005, and for his comedic roles in films such as The Hangover, The Other Guys, The Lorax, 21 Jump Street, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, and Step Brothers.
Riggle was born in Louisville, Kentucky and raised in Overland Park, Kansas, where he attended Shawnee Mission South High School. He later graduated from the University of Kansas, in 1992, with a B.A. in Theater and Film, and is a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He went on to earn a Master of Public Administration degree from Webster University in 1997.
Riggle is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and served in Liberia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. He is currently a public affairs officer with the New York City Public Affairs unit and is a recipient of the Combat Action Ribbon. Riggle joined the Marines in 1990 after getting his pilot's license, intending to become a Naval Aviator, but left flight school in order to pursue his comedy career. He has referred to his military experiences on The Daily Show, often when acting as the show's "Military Analyst", publicly stating he could kill any other member of the show.
wn.com/Rob_Riggle -
Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.
Smigel was born to a Jewish family in New York City. His father is Dr. Irwin Smigel, DDS, "The Father of Cosmetic Dentistry", and the founder and president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics. He attended and graduated from NYU.
Smigel began developing his comedic talent at The Players Workshop in Chicago, where he studied improvisation with Josephine Forsberg. Fellow students included Bob Odenkirk. Smigel was also a member of the Chicago comedy troupe "All You Can Eat" in the early 1980s.
Smigel first established himself as a writer on Saturday Night Live by joining the writing staff when Lorne Michaels returned as executive producer for the 1985-1986 season. Smigel was hired after then-SNL producers Al Franken and Tom Davis saw Smigel in a Chicago sketch show. After the 1985-1986 season proved to be a disappointment with critics, in the ratings, and with Brandon Tartikoff (who was planning to have SNL canceled by the last episode of season 11 due to its sliding ratings), Michaels fired most of the cast and writers, retained the cast and writers who were standouts during the otherwise dismal season (Smigel being one of them), and hired new ones for the 1986-1987 season. This is when Smigel began to write more memorable sketches, including one where host William Shatner urged worshipful attendees at a Star Trek convention to "get a life." Smigel rarely appeared on screen; although, he was credited as a feature player in the early 1990s and has played a recurring character in the Bill Swerski's Superfans sketches.
wn.com/Robert_Smigel -
Scott Healy
Scott Healy is a Los Angeles-based keyboardist and composer best known as the keyboardist for the Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band on Conan on TBS. His long association with O'Brien dates back to the original Late Night with Conan O'Brien show, and the subsequent The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Currently he is active on both coasts as a jazz and rock keyboardist, a session pianist, organist and accordionist, and a composer, arranger and producer. His performing and recording credits include many of the greats in rock, blues, R&B and jazz, including Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, BB King, Jackson Browne, Levon Helm, Son Seals, Hubert Sumlin, Max Weinberg, Branford Marsalis, and Tony Bennett. He also is currently pursuing other projects including scoring feature films, producing records, and leading his ten-piece jazz group, The Scott Healy Tentet. His composing and arranging credits include the Portland Maine Symphony Orchestra, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and the Mel Lewis Orchestra, as well as recording artists Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera. He has received awards from BMI, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the "Distinguished Artist" award from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. He scored the New York City Torchlight award-winning film Digging for Dutch and has had numerous films shown at major festivals around the country.
wn.com/Scott_Healy -
Scott Thompson
Scott Thompson (born June 12, 1959) is a Canadian television actor and comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.
Thompson, originally named John Scott Thompson after his uncle and later changed for the stage, was born in North Bay, Ontario and grew up in Brampton. He is the second oldest of five boys. He attended Brampton Centennial Secondary School and was a witness of the 1975 Centennial Secondary School massacre. He enrolled in York University but in his third year was asked to leave for being "disruptive". He joined the comedy troupe The Love Cats, where he met Mark McKinney.
In March 2009, Thompson was diagnosed with B-cell non-Hodgkins gastric lymphoma. He completed six rounds of chemotherapy and one month of radiation and is now cancer-free.
In 1984, he became a member of The Kids in the Hall. That troupe's series aired starting 1989 on the CBC in Canada and on HBO in the United States, but moved to CBS for the fourth and fifth seasons. Openly gay, Thompson became best-known on the show for his monologues as the "alpha queen" socialite Buddy Cole, as well as his appearances as Queen Elizabeth II. He also appeared regularly on The Larry Sanders Show and made numerous guest appearances on other television series, including Politically Incorrect, The Late Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Train 48. Thompson was also the host of a reality television program in Canada called My Fabulous Gay Wedding. Thompson defended Mordecai Richler's novel Cocksure in Canada Reads 2006.
wn.com/Scott_Thompson -
Steve Allen
Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen (December 26, 1921 - October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He graduated to become the first host of The Tonight Show, where he was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. Thereafter, he hosted numerous game and variety shows, including The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, The New Steve Allen Show, and was a regular panel member on CBS' What's My Line?
Allen was a "creditable" pianist, and a prolific composer, having penned over 14,000 songs,[citation needed] one of which was recorded by Perry Como and Margaret Whiting, others by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Les Brown, and Gloria Lynne. Allen won a Grammy award in 1963 for best jazz composition, with his song The Gravy Waltz. His vast number of songs have never been equaled. Allen wrote more than 50 books, has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Hollywood theater named in his honor The Steve Allen Theater.
wn.com/Steve_Allen -
Steve Higgins
Steve Higgins (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer and comedian. He is currently the announcer for the NBC late-night talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Higgins was previously best known as one of the stars and creators of the Comedy Central (formerly The Comedy Channel) sketch comedy series The Higgins Boys and Gruber. Since 1995, he's has a long-time association with Saturday Night Live in mostly behind-the-scenes roles as writer and producer. In the early 1990's, Higgins was a writer for the MTV programs Trashed and The Jon Stewart Show. He has been nominated for several Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program in 2008, both for his work on Saturday Night Live as a writer.
In addition to being a television series, The Higgins Boys and Gruber was also a sketch comedy trio featuring the Higgins brothers (Steve & David Anthony Higgins) and comedian Dave Gruber Allen. In 1989, Higgins performed at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois for HBO's One Night Stand television series, along with his brother Dave, and Gruber. With Nick Bakay, Higgins performed at the Girly Magazine Party show at Theatre/Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California in 1993, acting as "a sleazoid male chauvinist comedy duo who exchange off-color ethnic jokes and prance around in suits and ties like Steve Martin on acid". His brother, Dave, performed in the show as well in a separate act. Steve Higgins was praised for his ability of knowing "when to go over the top and when to rein it in", and how he was able to be "acutely tuned in to the comings and goings around them and know how to play off each other".
wn.com/Steve_Higgins -
Tarja Halonen
Tarja Kaarina Halonen ([tɑrjɑ kɑːrinɑ hɑlonen] ( listen); born 24 December 1943) was the 11th President of Finland, serving from 2000 to 2012. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency. In addition to her political career she had a long and extensive career in trade unions and different non-governmental organizations.
Halonen is a graduate of the University of Helsinki, where she studied law from 1963 to 1968. She was active in student politics and served as the Social Affairs Secretary and Organization Secretary of the National Union of Students from 1969 to 1970. In 1971 she joined the Social Democratic Party and worked as a lawyer in the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions until she was elected to parliament in 1979.
Halonen served in the parliament of Finland for six terms, from 1979 to 2000, representing the constituency of Helsinki. She also had a long career in the city council of Helsinki, serving there from 1977 to 1996. She started her campaign for the presidency at the beginning of 1999 after President Martti Ahtisaari announced that he would not stand for a second term in the office. She easily won her party's nomination, and eventually got 40% of the votes in the first round of the presidential elections, and 51.6% in the second, thus defeating the Centre Party's Esko Aho and becoming the 11th president of Finland.
wn.com/Tarja_Halonen -
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent DeBoer. The band's name is a play on the name of American pop artist Andy Warhol.
The band gained popularity after they were signed to Capitol Records and released their major label album debut ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down in 1997, featuring the popular single "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth". In 2001, the band rose to international attention after their song "Bohemian Like You" was featured in a Vodafone advertisement. The band have released nine studio albums to date.
The band was formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994 by Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Peter Holmström. Soon after, drummer Eric Hedford joined, and following an unsuccessful experiment with Taylor-Taylor's girlfriend on bass guitar, keyboardist Zia McCabe joined the band after Taylor-Taylor saw her working in a coffee house. Taylor-Taylor described the band's beginning as a group of friends who "needed music to drink to". The Dandy Warhols performed in bars throughout Portland and became well known for their nudity-filled live shows. At their first gig in 1994, they were approached by Tim/Kerr Records, who offered to pay for the recording of an album. The result was 1995's Dandys Rule OK, which combined elements of 1960s garage rock and 1990s shoegaze music.
wn.com/The_Dandy_Warhols -
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks is known for his roles in Philadelphia and as the title character in Forrest Gump, roles which won him two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor. Hanks is also known for his Oscar nominated roles in Big, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away.
Hanks' other acting roles include Apollo 13 as Jim Lovell, The Green Mile as Paul Edgecomb, Toy Story as Woody and Charlie Wilson's War as Charlie Wilson.
Hanks was born in Concord, California. His father, Amos Mefford Hanks (born in Glenn County, California, on March 9, 1924 – died in Alameda, California, on January 31, 1992), was an itinerant cook. His mother, Janet Marylyn (née Frager; born in Alameda County, California, on January 18, 1932), was a hospital worker. Hanks' mother is of Portuguese ancestry, while two of his paternal great-grandparents immigrated from Britain. Hanks's parents divorced in 1960. The family's three oldest children, Sandra (now Sandra Hanks Benoiton, a writer)[citation needed], Larry (now Lawrence M. Hanks, PhD, an entomology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Tom, went with their father, while the youngest, Jim, now an actor and film maker, remained with his mother in Red Bluff, California.[citation needed]
wn.com/Tom_Hanks -
Tom Shales
Thomas William "Tom" Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize. He also writes a column for the television news trade publication NewsPro, published by Crain Communications.
Shales was born in Elgin, Illinois, the son of Hulda Louise (née Reko) and Clyde LeRoy Shales. Shales's first professional job was with radio station WRMN, in Elgin at the age of 18. He served on the station's disc jockey, local news reporter, writer and announcer, on both the AM and FM bands. He later worked with Voice of America as a producer of broadcasts to the Far East.
Shales graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., where he was Editor-In-Chief of the student newspaper, The Eagle, for the 1966-1967 academic year, as well as the paper's movie critic.
Shales worked as Entertainment Editor at the Washington Examiner from 1968-1971. He joined the Washington Post as a writer in the Style section in 1972, was named chief television critic in July 1977, and was appointed TV Editor in June 1979. The Washington Post Writers Group has syndicated his column since 1979. Shales has written for the Washington Post for several decades, but is planning to leave the paper effective December 31, 2010.
wn.com/Tom_Shales -
Tommy Blacha
Thomas "Tommy" Blacha (born August 25, 1962) is an American comedy writer, working for shows such as Da Ali G Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Tommy is currently working on Metalocalypse as co-creator and voice actor with Brendon Small.
Blacha started as a local Chicago Comedy writer, where he met Andy Richter. Richter eventually landed Blacha a job with the Conan O'Brien show in 1993. Tommy worked on the Conan O'Brien show until 1999 writing bit pieces and developing such characters as "Gaseous Wiener" and "PimpBot5000".
After leaving the Conan O'Brien show, Blacha went on to work for WWE in 1999 as a Creative Director. At WWE he helped come up with new plotlines and stories for the company. This role put him in bit parts for the fights themselves, where while playing a medic he once ended up getting slammed into a table by the wrestler Kane. Tommy also participated in what was voted Monday Night Raw's worst moment, which was the delivery of Mae Young's hand baby.
During this time, Tommy was also doing work with TV Funhouse, an animation short for Saturday Night Live. He was part of the writing team as well playing the voice part of Hank and Whiskers. Some sources also list Tommy Blacha as a Producer for TV FunHouse. While there he wrote and produced the infamous "Black Sabbath" cartoon and the Oprah-bashing "Stedman: Secret Agent" cartoon with Andy Breckman.
wn.com/Tommy_Blacha -
Tony Randall
Tony Randall (February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor, comic, producer and director.
Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia (née Finston) and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer. He attended Tulsa Central High School.
Randall attended Northwestern University for a year before traveling to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He studied under Sanford Meisner and choreographer Martha Graham around 1935. As Anthony Randall, he worked onstage opposite stars Jane Cowl in George Bernard Shaw's Candida and Ethel Barrymore in Emlyn Williams's The Corn Is Green. Randall then served for four years with the United States Army Signal Corps in World War II, refusing an entertainment assignment with Special Services. Then he worked at the Olney Theatre in Montgomery County, Maryland before heading back to New York City. Prior to his appearance in "Candida", Randall worked as an announcer at radio station WTAG, Worcester MA.
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Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic performances in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.
Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Marguerite Cobb (née Wilcox) and Vincent Leonard Price, Sr., who was the president of the National Candy Company. His grandfather, Vincent Clarence Price, invented "Dr. Price's Baking Powder," the first cream of tartar baking powder, and secured the family's fortune.
Price attended St. Louis Country Day School. He was further educated at Yale in art history and fine art. He was a member of the Courtauld Institute, London. He became interested in the theatre during the 1930s, appearing professionally on stage for the first time in 1935.
He made his film debut in 1938 with Service de Luxe and established himself in the film Laura (1944), opposite Gene Tierney, directed by Otto Preminger. He also played Joseph Smith, Jr. in the movie Brigham Young (1940) and William Gibbs McAdoo in Wilson (1944) as well as a pretentious priest in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944).
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Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell (/ˈfɛrəl/; born July 16, 1967) is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the mid 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Stranger than Fiction, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and The Other Guys. He is considered a member of the "Frat Pack", a generation of leading Hollywood comic actors who emerged in the late 1990s and the 2000s, including Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Vince Vaughn, and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson.
Ferrell was born in Irvine, California, the son of Betty Kay (née Overman), a teacher who taught at Old Mill School elementary school and Santa Ana College, and Roy Lee Ferrell, Jr., a musician with The Righteous Brothers. His parents were both natives of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and moved to California in 1964; Ferrell has Irish ancestry. Ferrell has a younger brother, Patrick. When he was 8, his parents divorced. Ferrell said of the divorce, "I was the type of kid who would say, 'Hey Look at the bright side! We'll have two Christmases.'" The divorce was amicable and both parents were committed to their children. The biggest problem was Lee's line of work. As a person in show business, his paychecks were never steady and he was gone from home months at a time. Growing up in the environment made Ferrell not want to go into show business, but get a steady job.
wn.com/Will_Ferrell -
Will Forte
Orville Willis Forte IV, better known as Will Forte (born June 17, 1970), is an American actor, voice actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2002–2010 and for starring in the SNL spin-off film MacGruber, as well as for the role of Paul L'Astnamé, Jenna Maroney's cross-dressing boyfriend, on NBC's 30 Rock.
Forte was born in Alameda County, California, the son of Patricia C. (née Stivers) and Orville Willis Forte III. He was raised in Lafayette, California, and graduated from Acalanes High School and UCLA with a history degree. While at UCLA, he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
Forte joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2002 as a featured player. He was upgraded to full cast member the next season. Forte took over the role of then-president George W. Bush following the departure of Will Ferrell, a season with Chris Parnell in the role, and a brief half-season of Darrell Hammond playing the part. Forte featured as a number of recurring characters over the years, including The Falconer, MacGruber, Tim Calhoun, Mr. Dillon in the Gilly sketches, Greg Stink, and as one of the characters in the Song Memories sketches. Forte was often featured as a guest at the Weekend Update desk. He had several recurring Update characters, such as Tim Calhoun; He often appeared in musical Update bits, such as one of The Kelly Brothers, Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, and a member of reverse Bon Jovi band, Jon Bovi. On August 26, 2010, Forte announced that he would be leaving SNL after eight years on the show (2002–2010) to focus on other projects. On April 2, 2011 & May 12, 2012, he made a guest appearance on the show, reprising his role of Greg Stink.
wn.com/Will_Forte
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The Best Of Conan O'Brien
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:00
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Some of the greatest late night moments.
http://wn.com/The_Best_Of_Conan_O'Brien
Some of the greatest late night moments.
Rebel Wilson & Matt Lucas Are Upsetting The Neighbors - CONAN on TBS
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:24
- Updated: 02 Feb 2013
Who woulda thunk West Hollywood could hate late-night show tunes? More CONAN @ teamcoco.com
http://wn.com/Rebel_Wilson_Matt_Lucas_Are_Upsetting_The_Neighbors_CONAN_on_TBS
Who woulda thunk West Hollywood could hate late-night show tunes? More CONAN @ teamcoco.com
- published: 30 Aug 2012
- views: 589362
- author: teamcoco
Shane Mauss 1st tv appearance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:12
- Updated: 26 Jan 2013
Check out my TV debut
http://wn.com/Shane_Mauss_1st_tv_appearance
Muppet Faces of Death
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:46
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
From Conan O'Brian
http://wn.com/Muppet_Faces_of_Death
Late Night With Conan O'Brien - iPhone
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:12
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
I talk Conan on Twitter! You should follow me twitter.com
http://wn.com/Late_Night_With_Conan_O'Brien_iPhone
I talk Conan on Twitter! You should follow me twitter.com
- published: 29 Jul 2009
- views: 197256
- author: nguyend2
Conan Helps Writer Andy Blitz Find An Apartment in NYC
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:06
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Conan helps one of his writers find an apartment in NYC.
http://wn.com/Conan_Helps_Writer_Andy_Blitz_Find_An_Apartment_in_NYC
Conan helps one of his writers find an apartment in NYC.
- published: 25 Jan 2010
- views: 102569
- author: conanfan33
Theresa Andersson Birds Fly Away
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:57
- Updated: 27 Jan 2013
Live on COB 2009 02 04
http://wn.com/Theresa_Andersson_Birds_Fly_Away
Phoenix - Consolation Prizes(NBC Late Night - Conan O'Brien)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:03
- Updated: 29 Jan 2013
Phoenix - Consolation Prizes(NBC Late Night - Conan O'Brien)
http://wn.com/Phoenix_Consolation_PrizesNBC_Late_Night_Conan_O'Brien
Phoenix - Consolation Prizes(NBC Late Night - Conan O'Brien)
- published: 18 Oct 2008
- views: 148302
- author: okuyshiyabako
Late Night Blackout #1 (2003)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:19
- Updated: 30 Jan 2013
[14-Aug-2003]
http://wn.com/Late_Night_Blackout_1_2003
Russell Crowe on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 8/7/95
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:11
- Updated: 13 Jan 2013
Russell Crowe on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 8/7/95
http://wn.com/Russell_Crowe_on_Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien_8_7_95
Russell Crowe on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 8/7/95
- published: 02 Mar 2012
- views: 7004
- author: InflatableConan2
Uma Thurman on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 10/9/03
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:27
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Uma Thurman on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 10/9/03
http://wn.com/Uma_Thurman_on_Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien_10_9_03
Uma Thurman on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 10/9/03
- published: 09 Apr 2012
- views: 17662
- author: InflatableConan2
Flight of the Conchord 09-08-05 Live on Conan.avi
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:06
- Updated: 30 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/Flight_of_the_Conchord_09-08-05_Live_on_Conanavi
CONAN O'BRIEN, 12/28/94: "RUNAWAY WITH ANDY" (ABE VIGODA/CONEY ISLAND)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:48
- Updated: 19 Jan 2013
Vintage Conan, 12/28/94 - Robin Leach narrates "Runaway With Andy": Andy Richter and Abe Vigoda spend a fun-filled day at Coney Island - albeit a cold and rainy one at the end of December, 1994. They encounter guard dogs, Nathan's hotdogs and cheese fries, and try some fishing, among other activities. Abe wonders what he was thinking.
http://wn.com/CONAN_O'BRIEN,_12_28_94_RUNAWAY_WITH_ANDY_ABE_VIGODA_CONEY_ISLAND
Vintage Conan, 12/28/94 - Robin Leach narrates "Runaway With Andy": Andy Richter and Abe Vigoda spend a fun-filled day at Coney Island - albeit a cold and rainy one at the end of December, 1994. They encounter guard dogs, Nathan's hotdogs and cheese fries, and try some fishing, among other activities. Abe wonders what he was thinking.
- published: 26 Sep 2009
- views: 13539
- author: chalomirof63
Jimmy Carr's Second Appearance on Late Night with Conan OBrien
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:40
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
The British standup comic performs some funny material
http://wn.com/Jimmy_Carr's_Second_Appearance_on_Late_Night_with_Conan_OBrien
The British standup comic performs some funny material
- published: 03 May 2012
- views: 14914
- author: spamvigilante
Conan O'Brien - Andrew WK - 4/25/07
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:58
- Updated: 26 Jan 2013
Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Andrew WK. - (2007-04-25) He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy. As a musician, he is perhaps best known for the 2001 hit single "Party Hard", from the album I Get Wet.
http://wn.com/Conan_O'Brien_Andrew_WK_4_25_07
Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Andrew WK. - (2007-04-25) He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy. As a musician, he is perhaps best known for the 2001 hit single "Party Hard", from the album I Get Wet.
- published: 03 Nov 2012
- views: 8846
- author: BobbleheadConan2k
Dave Chappelle on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" & "Cooking with Carl Redding" - 3/14/01
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:30
- Updated: 02 Feb 2013
Dave Chappelle on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" & "Cooking with Carl Redding" - 3/14/01
http://wn.com/Dave_Chappelle_on_Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien_Cooking_with_Carl_Redding_3_14_01
Dave Chappelle on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" & "Cooking with Carl Redding" - 3/14/01
- published: 27 May 2012
- views: 46951
- author: InflatableConan2
Quentin Tarantino high on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:47
- Updated: 02 Feb 2013
Quentin Tarantino high on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"
http://wn.com/Quentin_Tarantino_high_on_Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien
Quentin Tarantino high on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"
- published: 27 Feb 2012
- views: 113736
- author: InflatableConan2
The Honorary Patronage of Conan O'Brien | University Philosophical Society
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 58:10
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Famous for hosting Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and most recently Conan, one of America's most successful television hosts ever has become an Honorary Patron of The Phil. Earlier in this career, Conan was a writer on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. A rare comedic talent, the Irish-American presided over undergraduate humour publication, Harvard Lampoon, while studying history and literature at Harvard University.
http://wn.com/The_Honorary_Patronage_of_Conan_O'Brien_|_University_Philosophical_Society
Famous for hosting Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and most recently Conan, one of America's most successful television hosts ever has become an Honorary Patron of The Phil. Earlier in this career, Conan was a writer on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. A rare comedic talent, the Irish-American presided over undergraduate humour publication, Harvard Lampoon, while studying history and literature at Harvard University.
- published: 12 Oct 2012
- views: 42309
- author: TCDPhil
Conan O'Brien at FAO Schwarz
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:00
- Updated: 02 Feb 2013
Late night with Conan O'Brien visits Conan O'Brien at FAO Schwarz
http://wn.com/Conan_O'Brien_at_FAO_Schwarz
Late night with Conan O'Brien visits Conan O'Brien at FAO Schwarz
- published: 17 Sep 2008
- views: 346522
- author: jesscob23
Dave Chappelle on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 2/16/99 - Pt. 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:31
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Dave Chappelle on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 2/16/99 - Pt. 1
http://wn.com/Dave_Chappelle_on_Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien_2_16_99_Pt_1
Dave Chappelle on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 2/16/99 - Pt. 1
- published: 26 May 2012
- views: 42896
- author: InflatableConan2
Vince McMahon on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 6/24/99
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:08
- Updated: 01 Feb 2013
Vince McMahon on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 6/24/99 Props to ConanObsessed for hooking this up! www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Vince_McMahon_on_Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien_6_24_99
Vince McMahon on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" - 6/24/99 Props to ConanObsessed for hooking this up! www.youtube.com
- published: 22 Jun 2012
- views: 26003
- author: InflatableConan2
Conan corrects Jennifer Garner
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:21
- Updated: 02 Feb 2013
Late Night with Conan O' Brien.
http://wn.com/Conan_corrects_Jennifer_Garner
Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Content on YouTube (Paley Center, 2007)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:14
- Updated: 23 Nov 2012
Host Conan O'Brien and his writers discuss how they feel about their content being available on websites like YouTube. ABOUT THE PALEY CENTER: In an era of rapid change in media and technology, the not-for-profit Paley Center for Media explores the evolving ways in which we create, consume, and connect through media. With locations in New York and Los Angeles, and the foremost public archive of television and radio programming, the Paley Center produces and curates programs, forums, and educational activities that engage the general public, industry professionals, and the creative community in an ongoing conversation about the impact of media on our lives. The Paley Center for Media is a hub of innovation and connection for entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers with its finger on the pulse of the next big thing in media. Go to www.paleycenter.org to learn more.
http://wn.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien_Content_on_YouTube_Paley_Center,_2007
Host Conan O'Brien and his writers discuss how they feel about their content being available on websites like YouTube. ABOUT THE PALEY CENTER: In an era of rapid change in media and technology, the not-for-profit Paley Center for Media explores the evolving ways in which we create, consume, and connect through media. With locations in New York and Los Angeles, and the foremost public archive of television and radio programming, the Paley Center produces and curates programs, forums, and educational activities that engage the general public, industry professionals, and the creative community in an ongoing conversation about the impact of media on our lives. The Paley Center for Media is a hub of innovation and connection for entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers with its finger on the pulse of the next big thing in media. Go to www.paleycenter.org to learn more.
- published: 12 Jan 2010
- views: 21723
- author: paleycenter
photo: AP / ESPN Images, Eric Lards Bakke
31 Jan 2013
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For Conan O'Brien's subsequent program, see The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. For Conan O'Brien's current program, see Conan (TV series).
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | |
|---|---|
| 300px | |
| Format | Talk show, Variety show |
| Created by | Conan O'Brien |
| Presented by | Conan O'Brien |
| Starring | Conan O'Brien Andy Richter (1993–2000) |
| Narrated by | Joel Godard |
| Composer(s) | The Max Weinberg 7 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 2,725[1] |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lorne Michaels Jeff Ross Derek Bartley |
| Running time | 42–43 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Broadway Video Conaco Universal Media Studios (formerly NBC Productions/NBC Studios/NBC Universal Television Studio) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | September 13, 1993 – February 20, 2009 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993) |
| Followed by | Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009–present) |
| Related shows | The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) Conan (TBS; 2010–) |
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes[2] on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am Eastern/11:37 pm Central and 12:37 am Mountain in the United States. From 1993 until 2000, Andy Richter served as O'Brien's sidekick; following his departure, O'Brien was the show's sole featured performer. The show's house musical act was The Max Weinberg 7, led by E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg.
The second incarnation of NBC's Late Night franchise, O'Brien's debuted in 1993 after David Letterman, who hosted the first incarnation of Late Night, moved to CBS to host Late Show opposite The Tonight Show. In 2004, as part of a deal to secure a new contract, NBC announced that O'Brien would leave Late Night in 2009 to succeed Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show.[3][4] Jimmy Fallon began hosting his version of Late Night on March 2, 2009.[5]
Contents |
History[link]
Replacing David Letterman[link]
Upon Johnny Carson's retirement from The Tonight Show in 1992, executives at NBC announced that Carson's frequent guest-host Jay Leno would be Carson's replacement, and not David Letterman. NBC later said that Letterman's high ratings for Late Night were the reason they kept him where he was. Letterman was bitterly disappointed and angry at not having been given The Tonight Show job and, at Carson's advice, he left NBC after eleven years on Late Night. CBS signed Letterman to host his own show opposite The Tonight Show. He moved his show over to CBS virtually unchanged, taking most of the staff, skits, and comedy formats with him. However, NBC owned the rights to the Late Night name, forcing Letterman to re-christen his show Late Show with David Letterman.
NBC was not prepared to replace both Letterman and Late Night. Aside from the name, it needed to build a new show.[6] Both Dana Carvey and Garry Shandling declined to host it.[7] Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels was brought in to develop the new show[6] and comedians Jon Stewart, Drew Carey, and Paul Provenza auditioned to host.[7] Michaels suggested to O'Brien, an unknown writer for The Simpsons and former writer for Saturday Night Live, that he should audition for the job. Despite having "about 40 seconds"[8] of television-performance experience as an occasional extra on Saturday Night Live sketches, O'Brien auditioned for the show on April 13, 1993. His guests were Jason Alexander and Mimi Rogers, and the audition took place on the set of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[7] O'Brien was offered the show on April 26, and made his first meaningful television appearance later that day when Leno introduced him on Tonight.[8] On the final episode of his 16-year run, O'Brien stated that he "owed his career to Lorne Michaels."
Debut[link]
O'Brien's Late Night debuted on September 13, 1993, with Andy Richter chosen as O'Brien's sidekick. The premiere episode featured John Goodman (who received a "First Guest" medal for his appearance), Drew Barrymore, and Tony Randall. The episode featured a cold open of O'Brien's walk to the studio with constant reminders that he was expected to live up to Letterman, parodying a popular sentiment expressed in the media at the time. After seeming to be unaffected by the comments, O'Brien arrives at his dressing room and cheerfully prepares to hang himself. However, a warning that the show is about to start causes him to abandon his plans.[6]
O'Brien's inexperience was apparent and the show was generally considered mediocre by critics in terms of the host's ability. The Chicago Sun-Times' Lon Grankhe called O'Brien "nervous, unprepared and generally geeky"[9] and Tom Shales wrote "As for O'Brien, the young man is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He has dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. He's one of the whitest white men ever."[10] The originality and quality of the comedy, however, led by original head writer Robert Smigel, was widely praised. Although O'Brien benefited by comparison from the quick critical and commercial failure of the fellow new late-night The Chevy Chase Show,[6] NBC only offered short-term contracts, 13 weeks at a time[7] and once for six weeks, as widely reported by the press at the time.[6] O'Brien was reportedly almost fired at least once in this period, but NBC had no one to replace him. According to Smigel, "We were basically canceled at Conan, and then they changed their minds in August of ’94, gave us a reprieve."[11]
According to O'Brien a network executive told him, in regards to Andy Richter, he'd "never succeed until I ‘got rid of that big fat dildo.’ That was the tone of the conversations between us and the network." It was widely expected that the host of Talk Soup, Greg Kinnear would take over the role, but Kinnear turned down the opportunity and decided to pursue a career in acting.[12] Stars like Tom Hanks agreed to appear on Late Night, which boosted audience awareness. Even Letterman, who admired O’Brien’s comic sensibility, appeared as a guest to register his support. O'Brien's performance style improved through experience and he began to receive more favorable reviews and ratings the following year.[13] With the ratings gradually improving over the course of two years, Late Night reached a new level of critical and commercial success in 1996. Tom Shales officially recanted his previous critical review with the headline "I was wrong", and O'Brien received his first Emmy writing nomination, which he has gone on to receive every year since.
1996–2000[link]
In 2000, Richter left Late Night (although on good terms) to pursue his acting career, a move that emotionally affected O'Brien, as evidenced by Richter's last show. The show's comedy bits and banter had usually depended on O'Brien's interaction with Richter. O'Brien's wacky non sequitur comedy became more pronounced as he played all of his comedy and commentary directly to the audience and Max Weinberg instead of towards Richter.
2001–2009[link]
In 2002, when time came to renew his contract, O'Brien had notable offers from other networks to defect.[14] O'Brien decided to re-sign with NBC, however, joking that he initially wanted to make a 13-week deal (a nod to his first contract). He ultimately signed through 2005, indicating that it was symbolic of surpassing Letterman's run with 12 years of hosting.[14]
In 2003, O'Brien's own production company, Conaco, was added as a producer of Late Night. The show celebrated its 10th anniversary, another milestone that O'Brien said he wanted to achieve with his 2002 contract. During the anniversary show, Mr. T handed O'Brien a chain with a large gold "7" on it.
O'Brien: But Mr. T, we've been on the air for ten years!
Mr. T: I know that, fool! But you only been funny for seven![15]
Mr. T: I know that, fool! But you only been funny for seven![15]
O'Brien's last season on Late Night attracted an average of 1.98 million viewers, compared to 1.92 million viewers for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.[16]
Production[link]
Humor[link]
The show was known for its wacky and absurd sophomoric comedic sensibility that is edgier than most other talk shows. Like his Late Night predecessor, David Letterman, the show's humor also had a streak of biting sarcasm and irony. According to Robert Smigel, who served as head writer in 1993, the show's comedic approach was to focus on being different from David Letterman:
"I set down a lot of rules, some of which were crazy, but ultimately it forced us to come up with a lot of original stuff. We had the added bonus of being Letterman’s replacement."
Typically O'Brien would play the 'straight man' role to the general absurdity of the comedy, treating the material or wacky nature of the sketches with sincerity. The show had an unusual quantity of comedy and original content rather than other talk shows such as Late Show with David Letterman or The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that relied heavily on recurring segments and 'found' humor. The show was particularly unique in the lack of 'found' humor to derive content from i.e. most content being scripted as opposed to Letterman's Small Town News or Jay Leno's headlines that used this "found humor". O'Brien would often playfully chide his audience for an underwhelming or overly enthusiastic response to his jokes.
Particularly in the early years, comedic sketches overtook all segments on the show, occasionally even interrupting guest interviews and O'Brien's monologue. Frequently sketches would randomly begin without introduction, such as during banter between Richter and O'Brien. A lot of the humor had a fantasy-like quality to it, where inanimate objects would talk or silly characters would disrupt the show. Sometimes a short story would emerge in these sketches with a resolution culminating in a song. Generally, throughout the later years, original sketches, ideas and characters were constantly being introduced, rather than relying heavily on a few recurring segments like other past and current talk shows. There still were quite a number of recurring segments, but again, a much higher quantity than a typical talk show.
(See List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches for an extensive list)
The Max Weinberg 7[link]
The show's house band was The Max Weinberg 7, led by drummer Max Weinberg, who also served as a sounding board for O'Brien on the show (more so after Andy Richter's departure). The other six members were Mark Pender on trumpet, Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Mike Merritt on bass, Jerry Vivino on saxophone and brother Jimmy Vivino on guitar, and Scott Healy on keyboards. James Wormworth served as backup drummer when Weinberg went on tour with Bruce Springsteen. With the departure of Andy Richter, Max Weinberg assumed a bigger role as an interlocutor for O'Brien's jokes. One common running gag was Max's awkwardness on camera and his apparent lack of chemistry with Conan. Weinberg was often used in sketches as well, which usually revolved around his purported sexual deviance (mostly a penchant for bedding barely legal groupies), although long running sketches also spoofed Max's lack of knowledge of current affairs.
"LaBamba" was also used as the butt of many of Conan's jokes. These humorous sketches usually revolved around LaBamba's sizeable mustache, his poor acting skills, and his alleged inability to read written music. Mark Pender would often sing songs on the topic of a current event which ended with him screeching uncontrollably and climbing the risers into the audience. All members of the 7 had successful side careers as studio musicians.
As is common in the talk show format, the Max Weinberg 7 performed the show's opening and closing themes, played bumpers into and out of commercial breaks (they actually played through the entire break for the studio audience), and a short piece during O'Brien's crossover to his desk after his monologue (except for several months beginning in April 2008, where a commercial break was inserted at that point). The show's opening theme was written by Howard Shore and John Lurie (a finalist for the job as band leader). The show's closing theme was called "Cornell Knowledge", and was lifted from Jerry and Jimmy Vivino's first album together. However, on Late Night, it was played at a much quicker tempo than the album version.
The band played a wide variety of songs as bumpers—usually popular music from a variety of eras. Weinberg sometimes took extended leaves of absence to tour with Bruce Springsteen as the drummer for his E Street Band. During his absence, temporary replacement drummers were hired (most commonly James Wormworth), and the band was led by Jimmy Vivino ("Jimmy Vivino and the Max Weinberg 7").
Joel Godard[link]
Joel Godard, a long-time announcer for NBC shows, was the show's announcer and a frequent comedy contributor. These comedy bits usually revolved around Godard's supposed homosexual fetishes, deviant sexual habits, substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies. The humor came in part from Godard's delivery. No matter how depressing or deviant the topic being discussed was, he always did so in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice and with a huge smile plastered on his face. Several sketches ended with Godard apparently committing suicide in his announcer's booth. When Andy Richter left the show in 2000, Joel Godard became more common among sketches, with Andy Richter no longer around for bits.
Writing staff[link]
In the first few seasons of the show the writing staff consisted of several now-prolific comics including Robert Smigel as the head writer, Bob Odenkirk, Louis C.K., Tommy Blacha and Dino Stamatopoulos. Smigel left his position as head writer of the show in 1995 to pen several movies[11] but continued to appear on the show to do bits as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the 'Satellite Interviews'. Jonathan Groff took over his position until replaced by Mike Sweeney in 2001.
Members of the show's writing staff frequently appeared in sketches on the show. Among the most prolific were: Brian McCann (Preparation H Raymond, FedEx Pope, The Loser, Airsick Moth, Jerry Butters, Awesome Dave, Funhole Guy, Bulletproof Legs Guy, Adrian "Raisin" Foster, S&M Lincoln, etc.), Brian Stack (Hannigan the Traveling Salesman, Artie Kendall the Ghost Crooner, The Interrupter, Kilty McBagpipes, Fan-tastic Guy, Clive Clemmons, Frankenstein, Ira, Slipnut Brian, etc.), Jon Glaser (Segue Sam, Pubes, Awareness Del, Wrist Hulk, Ahole Ronald, Gorton's Fisherman, Jeremy, Slipnut Jon, etc.), Kevin Dorff (Coked-up Werewolf, Jesus Christ, Mansy the half-man/half-pansy, Joe's Bartender, Todd the Tiny Guy, etc.), and Andy Blitz (Awful Ballgame Chanter, Vin Diesel's brother Leonard Diesel, Slipnut Andy, Chuck Aloo aka the star of the 24 spin-off series 60). Blitz went so far as to travel to India for one bit in which he carried his computer through the streets of India to get technical support firsthand from the telephone representative at NBC's technical help center.
Sketch actors and cameo appearances[link]
Late Night employed a number of sketch actors, many of whom were frequently reused in different roles in different episodes. Several years before joining the cast of Saturday Night Live, Amy Poehler often appeared as a regular in many sketches, though she was best remembered for playing the recurring role of Andy Richter's Conan-obsessed teenage sister, Stacy. Other notable comedians such as Jack McBrayer, Rob Riggle, Rob Corddry, H. Jon Benjamin, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh and Andrew Daly also frequently appeared as sketch actors on the show for several years. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (created and voiced by original head writer Robert Smigel) began as part of a sketch on Late Night. Celebrities such as Dr. Joyce Brothers, Nipsey Russell, Abe Vigoda, James Lipton, Bob Saget and William Preston as the character, Carl 'Oldy' Olsen, also made frequent cameo appearances in comedy sketches on the show at different periods. One of the show's graphic designers, Pierre Bernard was featured in several sketches, such as: "Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage", and "Nerding It Up For Pierre".
Celebrity guests of the night would also occasionally appear in sketches either during their interviews or during the earlier comedy segments, e.g. in "in the year 2000" (which always included the participation of a celebrity guest after Andy Richter left the show) or a sketch where Conan would pretend to write in his diary while an attractive female guest was there. Quite rare for a talk show, sometimes interviews began normally but turned into sketches with both the guest and Conan participating, usually when the guest was a "friend of the show".
Costumed characters[link]
Unusual for a late night talk show, Late Night made frequent use of various costumed characters such as The Masturbating Bear, Robot on a Toilet, and Pimpbot5000. The humor in these sketches often derived from the crude construction of the characters' costumes as well as the absurdist nature of their conceptions. For example, Pimpbot5000 was a 1950s-style robot who dressed and acted in the manner of an exaggerated blaxploitation pimp, while The Masturbating Bear was a man in a bear costume wearing an oversized diaper who would inevitably begin to fondle himself to the tune of Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" when brought on stage. Many of these characters did little more in their appearances than walk across the stage or be wheeled out from behind the curtain, but some had extensive sketches on the show.
Appearances in other shows[link]
The show made a cameo appearance in the Sesame Street special Elmopalooza, where Conan was interviewing two aliens while Big Bird was passing by them carrying a video tape.
The show also made an appearance on The Simpsons in the episode "Bart Gets Famous", where Conan interviews a now famous Bart.
Production[link]
Late Night was a production of Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video (and, since 2003, O'Brien's Conaco). It was taped in Studio 6A in the GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Next to the door were framed pictures of Letterman, Carson, Jack Paar and Steve Allen, each of whose groundbreaking late-night shows originated from studio 6A or 6B (where Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is currently taped).[17] The studio holds just over 200 audience members. It was taped at about 5:30 pm as an uninterrupted hour-long program, with the band playing music through the portions that would be filled by commercials.Generally, shows were taped at 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.
The show's format consisted of an opening monologue from O'Brien, followed by various "desk bits". These generally included several brief sketches, recurring segments, or some other form of comedy. Typically O'Brien would play the 'straight man' role to the general absurdity of the comedy, treating the material or wacky nature of the sketches with sincerity. In the show's second and fourth segments, O'Brien interviewed two celebrity guests, between which, in the third segment, O'Brien listed the next night's/week's guests. There was often a comedy bit as well during this segment. The show's fifth segment was usually reserved for a musical or stand-up comedy performance, or occasionally another guest interview. The show's final segment was usually a quick "goodnight" and the closing credits, which sometimes featured part of a bit from earlier in the show. Quite rare for a talkshow, frequently comedy segments would also spill into the interviews, typically when a guest was a 'friend'of the show.
During the live tapings, and prior to the show,[citation needed] there was an audience warm-up, during which the audience watched a montage of highlights from the show, and staff writer Brian McCann greeted the audience (this task was formerly undertaken by head writer Mike Sweeney). McCann delivered a few jokes, told the audience what to expect, and finally introduced the band and then O'Brien. O'Brien then thanked the audience for coming, meeting as many audience members as he could. He would often then do a musical number with the band to pump up the audience (Burning Love was one standard). After the show was finished taping, O'Brien sang the "End of the Show Song", which never aired on Late Night, although in February 2009, a short video of it was posted on Late Night Underground.[18]
File:Conan widescreen.jpg
O'Brien poking fun at the show's new HDTV widescreen format.
The End of the Show Song finally did reach air on January 21, 2010, his penultimate show as Tonight Show host. It also was aired on the March 29, 2012 episode of Conan. The tradition of singing The End of the Show Song has continued, un-aired as usual, on Conan.
Broadcast[link]
Late Night began broadcasting in 1080i ATSC on April 26, 2005, with a downscaled letterboxed NTSC simulcast (unlike The Tonight Show, whose NTSC simulcast is fullscreen). O'Brien celebrated the conversion to the widescreen HDTV format with jokes throughout the week.
On December 6, 2005 Late Night with Conan O'Brien segments began selling on the iTunes Store. Most segments were priced at $1.99, as were most episodes of other shows, with "special" best-ofs and other longer segments priced at $9.99. In December, 2007 NBC stopped selling all its television shows on iTunes, but the network returned it to iTunes in September 2008 after NBC and Apple worked out a new agreement. The show was offered free at Hulu.com and the NBC website but is now unavailable on the Internet due to the 2010 Tonight Show conflict.
Special episodes[link]
Remote pieces and episodes shot on location[link]
Remote pieces shot on location were a recurring staple on Late Night, but occasionally, entire episodes were shot on location, usually during sweeps months. The first vacation for the show was a week-long stint of shows in Los Angeles the week of November 9–12, 1999. This was the only location week for the show while Andy Richter was with the show, and the only time the show's theme was altered for the week, with a more surf-style version of the show's normal theme (though the Toronto shows ended the normal theme with a piece of "O Canada"). The show was broadcast from NBC's L.A. studios and an L.A.-themed set was built, very similar in layout to the New York set.
From February 10–13, 2004, Late Night broadcast from the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Canada. The guests for these episodes were all Canadians (with the exception of Adam Sandler), and included such stars as Jim Carrey and Mike Myers. As the show was taped at a theater, unlike the trip to L.A., the set built was not like the show's standard set.
From May 9–12, 2006, the show made a similar venture to the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, taking cues from their previous trip to Toronto. Between April 30 – May 4, 2007, the show originated from the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco.
In a sketch called "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland", Conan mocked every nation in the world to see which ones he gets letters from. An announcer on the Finnish entertainment channel SubTV, which airs the show a couple of days after it is aired in the USA, asked people to defend Finland before Conan got to insult it, and the viewers in Finland began sending mail before the bit had even gotten to the letter F. Conan responded by assuming the Finnish "just couldn't wait" to be insulted and officially insulted Finland in the segment. An overwhelming number of postcards were supposedly received, which apparently "forced" Conan to give Finland a formal apology. Conan then went as far as to have the flag of Finland shown in the background during a speech and slandered the Finns' "hated" neighbor Sweden with a sign saying "Sweden Sucks!" printed over the flag of Sweden. It would seem that this chain of events led to elevated ratings in Finland and subsequently also sparked a special relationship with the viewers in Finland. Later when Conan was talking to audience members before the show, a group of fans visiting from Finland commented that he resembled their female president Tarja Halonen. Conan mentioned the resemblance on his show, even showing pictures of Halonen next to himself. When he discovered that Halonen was up for reelection he began making satirical commercials in support of Halonen and vowed to travel to Finland to meet her if she won re-election. When she did indeed win re-election in January 2006, Conan traveled to Finland and met with her. One episode, broadcast on March 10, 2006, was compiled mainly of footage from O'Brien's trip to Finland. In the episode, Conan greeted fans at the airport, participated in a Sami cultural ceremony, appeared on a Finnish talk show, and attempted to visit a fan who had written to him. The episode was not strictly taped as a live episode there, however, but was prefaced by an introduction by O'Brien taped in New York. The Finland episode came as the culmination of a long running joke on the show.
Aside from location shows, the show also did special one-shots in its early years. In 1995, one episode of the show was taped aboard a New York City ferry in New York Harbor. Dubbed "The Show on a Boat" by the showtunes-style song-and-dance number performed by a trio of "sailors" at the start of the show, O'Brien, Richter, the band and guests were all crammed onto the deck of the ferry. The show was taped at its normal afternoon time, while it was still light out.
Technical and production difficulties[link]
A more unexpected shoot occurred on October 10, 1996, when a five-alarm fire in Rockefeller Plaza rendered the 6A studios out of commission for the remainder of that week. The fire occurred on early Thursday morning, which left O'Brien's staff precious little time to assemble a show elsewhere. Pressed for time as 12:35 approached, O'Brien taped the show outside, after dark, despite the cold weather, on a makeshift set[19] with the Prometheus statue and 30 Rock serving as a backdrop. Furthering the unfortunate nature of the evening's circumstances was the final guest, Julie Scardina, who brought along wild animals, including birds that Conan explained had to be kept tied up, as they could not be freed outside. Earlier in the show, O'Brien and Richter walked into Brookstone (located in the lobby of Rockefeller Center), camera crew in tow, and bought a massaging leather recliner for the first guest, Samuel L. Jackson. The second of the two "fire shows", on Friday night, was taped in the Today Show studio, which was not affected by the fire.
During the Northeast Blackout of 2003, O'Brien and the staff taped a short 5-minute introduction explaining that the episode they had planned would not be taking place due to the blackout. Studio 6A was powered by a generator and lit by battery-powered floodlights. A standby show was aired in-progress after the intro. One of the scheduled guests that night, The Dandy Warhols, commandeered the studio's green room, where they stayed until they performed on the show the next night.
Gimmick episodes[link]
Other shows that were taped in the regular 6A studio were augmented by special gimmicks:
A lot of high-concept gimmick episodes were done in the early years of the show, such as a 1994 episode literally done in a giant hole, a 1994 show done entirely on a boat of the circle line or "Time Travel Week", four episodes from early 1996, where Conan and Andy (and the rest of the crew) "time-traveled" to a different point in time each night. Times and locations included The Civil War, Ancient Greece, The future, and The early '80s (featuring a cameo by David Letterman in the cold open, who occupied Conan's studio in 1983, cruelly brushing off Conan and Andy's attempt at explaining their presence in Letterman's dressing room by saying, "Why don't you two fellas go find a nice, warm place to screw yourselves? Security!").
In 1997, a special episode was taped in which the studio audience was composed solely of grade-school age children, primarily 5–10 years of age. Conan interacted with the children, encouraging them to boo whenever guest Dave Foley became too long-winded and boring.
A 2003 episode was re-shot entirely in clay animation several months after its first airing, including the opening credits and commercial bumpers. The episode's originally broadcast soundtrack was retained while the visuals were reproduced to mirror the original footage in a small-scale reproduction of the studio 6A.
On October 31, 2006, a similarly conceptualized Halloween episode was created from an episode which originally aired in May and featured Larry King, among other guests. Using a process the show called "Skelevision", all the visuals were re-shot with a Halloween motif, with human skeletons adorned with the clothing and accessories of the humans. This re-shoot was shot using the actual studio, and the puppeteers moved the skeletons with wires and cables while being visually obscured by green screen technology. Once again, the opening and bumpers were altered, this time including a model of a hearse winding through a foggy landscape and cemetery, and the voice of Bill Hader as Vincent Price in place of Joel Godard.
U2 exclusive[link]
File:U2 ConanO.jpg
O'Brien interviewing U2 on Late Night
The October 6, 2006 episode of Late Night was devoted entirely to the band U2, marking the first time in the show's then 12-year run that it had devoted an entire show to a single guest.[20] Jim Pitt, the talent executive in charge of booking acts for the show, remarked that in his 12 years of working for Late Night, U2 and Johnny Cash were the "dream artists" he'd tried, but never succeeded in getting.[20] The band performed three songs, two more than the customary one song, then had a lengthy interview with Conan.
Episodes during the 2007–2008 writer's strike[link]
After two months of being off-air, the first show to air during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike on January 2, 2008 featured a small musical segment at the beginning of the show detailing O'Brien's newly grown beard in a show of support for the striking writers. At the beginning of the January 28 episode, it was revealed that Conan had shaved his beard, which was followed with a similar musical segment.
Several times during the episodes produced during the writer's strike, O'Brien would kill time by spinning his wedding ring on his desk, which he previously only did during rehearsals. His personal best was 41 seconds, achieved during an un-aired rehearsal. After several unsuccessful on-air attempts to break his record, during the show originally broadcast on February 9, 2008, O'Brien broke his record for endurance ring spinning, setting a time of 51 seconds by coating his wedding ring with Vaseline and spinning it on a Teflon surface. The feat was accomplished with the help of MIT physics professor Peter Fisher.
Feud with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert[link]
Main article: Who Made Huckabee?
Early on in the later half of the 2007–2008 Writer's Guild strike, Conan O'Brien accused his show of being the sole cause of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's status in the polls, due to his use of the Walker Texas Ranger Lever while Chuck Norris was coincidentally sponsoring Huckabee. Stephen Colbert made the claim that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Huckabee's current success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Colbert's success because he had made mention of him on his show. In response, Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien, and in turn the success of Huckabee and Colbert. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three faux-pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with an all-out mock brawl between the three talk-show hosts.[21]
Anniversary episodes[link]
In 1996, a third anniversary episode was taped, though it aired in the regular 12:35/11:35 late night time slot. The show was composed of clips of the best of the first three years, and featured cameos from many former guests, including Janeane Garofalo, Scott Thompson, Tony Randall and George Wendt. Typical of O'Brien's style of comedy, he introduced his first guest (Wendt) by listing his notable achievements in television (particularly Cheers) then introduced each subsequent guest by repeatedly listing Wendt's achievements (insinuating that all of his guests for that night's show played the role of Norm on Cheers). In 1998, Late Night aired a fifth anniversary special in prime time, mostly consisting of clips from the first five years. It was taped in the Saturday Night Live studio, also in the GE Building. The special was later sold on VHS tape. In 2003, a similar tenth anniversary special was taped in New York City's famed Beacon Theatre and later made available on DVD.
The final episode[link]
Late Night with Conan O'Brien's last episode was recorded February 20, 2009, and aired shortly after midnight that next morning. The episode featured clips from past shows and a reflection on the show's sixteen-year-long run. John Mayer sent a farewell video message, singing a song about how Los Angeles is "going to eat [Conan] alive." In a short remote piece, Conan released regular contributor Abe Vigoda "into the wild," as he could not bring him to Los Angeles for the move to The Tonight Show. Will Ferrell made a surprise visit as George W. Bush, which quickly devolved into Ferrell tearing off his business suit to reveal an ill-fitting green leprechaun outfit that had been worn in a number of previous appearances on the show.[22]
Former sidekick Andy Richter joined O'Brien onstage for two segments, watching clips and reminiscing about the show.[22] Among the clips shown, O'Brien noted that his all-time favorite Late Night piece was when he attended a re-enactment of an American Civil War-era baseball game, played at a Long Island NY museum, Old Bethpage Village Restoration. During the course of the final week, O'Brien began violently dismantling and handing out pieces of the production set to the audience. In the final show, a large piece of the stage's frame was pulled down and chopped into pieces. O'Brien then promised to give each audience member in attendance a piece of the set.[22]
One of Conan's favorite bands, The White Stripes, performed a new, slower arrangement of their song "We're Going to Be Friends" based on Conan's lullaby rendition of the song, with drummer Meg White playing second guitar and singing along with vocalist/guitarist Jack White. The performance proved to be the band's last before their breakup in February 2011.[23] The program concluded with a visibly emotional O'Brien giving a farewell speech from behind his desk, thanking his fans, writers, producers, backstage crew, his family, the Max Weinberg 7, David Letterman, Joel Godard, Jay Leno, and Lorne Michaels, as well as a final assurance that he would not "grow up" as he moved to The Tonight Show.[22]
About 3.4 million viewers watched O'Brien's final episode of Late Night, the largest audience since the January 24, 2005 episode that followed Jay Leno's tribute to Johnny Carson.[24]
After the end of the series, the sixth floor studio at Rockefeller Center used for the show was remodeled for The Dr. Oz Show.[25]
Awards and nominations[link]
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26] |
| 1997 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26] |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won[26] | |
| 1998 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26] |
| 1999 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26] |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated[26] | |
| 2000 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26] |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won[26] | |
| 2001 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26] |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated[26] | |
| 2002 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26] |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won[26][27] | |
| 2003 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26][27] |
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won[26][27] | |
| 2004 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26][27] |
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated[26] | |
| 2005 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26][27] |
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| People's Choice Award | Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host | Nominated[26] | |
| Telvis Award | Special Telvis | Won[26] | |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won[26] | |
| 2006 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26][27] |
| Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for VMC Programming | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| PGA Award | Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television | Nominated[28] | |
| People's Choice Award | Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host | Nominated[26] | |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won[26] | |
| 2007 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Won[26][27] |
| Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for VMC Programming | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated[26] | |
| PGA Award | Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television | Nominated[28] | |
| 2008 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26][27] |
| Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for VMC Programming | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety, Music Series or a Special | Nominated[28] | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated[28] | ||
| 2009 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated[26][27] |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated[26] |
Set design[link]
The set of Late Night changed a few times cosmetically, but retained the basic structure used when Letterman occupied Studio 6A: the performance space at the viewer's left, and the desk area, to the viewer's right, where interviews were done. O'Brien did his monologue in the performance area, emerging at the start of each episode from the area where musical guests perform. The Max Weinberg 7 were in the corner made by the stage-right wall and the wall in front of the audience. The desk area had a desk for O'Brien, a chair and couch(es) to the viewer's left for guests (and originally Andy Richter), and a coffee table. Primarily, set changes involved the background behind the desk and chair and couch. On his final episodes, Conan took an axe to parts of the set, giving it out to audience members as souvenirs; not wanting to allow it to simply be thrown away.
International broadcasts[link]
| Country | TV Network(s) | Weekly Schedule (local time) |
|---|---|---|
 Israel |
Yes stars Comedy | 11:15 pm Weeknights |
 Australia |
The Comedy Channel | 11:15 pm Weeknights |
 Canada |
'A' | Simulcast with NBC |
 Finland |
Sub | Usually starts at 12:00 am Weeknights, otherwise starts during the following hour |
 Sweden |
TV4 Plus | Usually starts some time between 11:55 pm and 12:10 am Weeknights |
| The Middle East | Super Comedy | |
 Philippines |
JackTV | 4:00 pm 1st Telecast and 12:00 am encore Tuesdays to Saturdays |
| Latin America | I-Sat | 12:30 am Weeknights |
 Turkey |
e2 | 11:00 pm Tuesday–Friday |
 Portugal |
SIC Radical | |
 Ireland |
3e | Usually starts at 12:00 am Weeknights, otherwise starts during the following hour |
CNBC Europe used to air Late Night with Conan O'Brien on weeknights from 11:45 pm–12:30 am CET, with weekend editions on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:45 pm–10:30 pm CET. However in March 2007, CNBC Europe decided to show only the weekend editions, and drop the weeknight editions, to make way for more business news programmes in their weeknight schedules.
On the week of August 4, 2008, however, CNBC Europe has discontinued showing the NBC Nightly News, which for many years was shown live from America in a 12:30 am–1:00 am CET slot. Late Night with Conan O'Brien has now replaced NBC Nightly News in the 12:30 am–1:00 am slot. The weeknight editions are a 30-minuted condensed version of the show. The show follows the weeknight condensed version of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno which airs at 12:00 am CET.
In September 2008, CNBC Europe changed the weeknight schedules to include full uncut editions of Late Night with Conan O'Brien broadcast in the 11:45 am CET/10:45 pm GMT 45 minute time slot. This schedule usually runs from Tuesdays to Fridays. CNBC Europe decided to stop broadcasting Late Night as of January 1, 2009, a mere two months before Conan's last show as host. Instead of following The Tonight Show reruns on weekends, CNBC now broadcasts two Tonight Show episodes in a row.
See also[link]
- List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches
- List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien characters
- List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien episodes
- Pale Force
- The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
- List of late night network TV programs
References[link]
- ^ "Conan O'Brien: Inside the Actors Studio". Inside the Actors Studio. episode 7. season 14. 2009-01-26.
- ^ Late Night With Conan O'Brien; February 20, 2009
- ^ "Leno promises smooth transition to O'Brien". MSNBC. 2004-09-28. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6115643/. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ "Leno's last 'Tonight' announced". Associated Press. CNN. 2008-07-21. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20080724101827/http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/21/tv.nbc.tonight.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-21. "Leno's last show will be Friday, May 29, and O'Brien will start the following Monday, June 1, NBC executives told a Television Critics Association meeting Monday."
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (July 22, 2008). "For Jay Leno, Parting Is Such Sour Sorrow". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/21/AR2008072102806.html?hpid=entnews. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "The Battle for Late Night" A&E Network, April 27, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Rosenthal, Phil (2003-09-14). "Conan the contrarian". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20080314015546/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20030914/ai_n12516995. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ a b The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, May 29, 2009.
- ^ "Conan Pleads for Patience, Pity - He'll Surely Need It". Conanofthenight.com. 1993-09-15. http://www.conanofthenight.com/15-09-93-2.html. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ "Better Never Than Late; Conan O'Brien Not Worth A Hoot to the Night Owl". Conanofthenight.com. 1993-09-15. http://www.conanofthenight.com/15-09-93.html. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ a b Heisler, Steve Interview – Dana Carvey and Robert Smigel AV Club (June 15, 2009). Retrieved on 5-09-10.
- ^ Hirschberg, Lynn (May 24, 2009). "Heeeere's . . . Conan!!!". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24Conan-t.html?pagewanted=all.
- ^ "Rumors, Ratings Rise For O'Brien". Conanofthenight.com. 1994-10-07. http://www.conanofthenight.com/07-10-94.html. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ a b O'Brien, Conan (2003-08-13). "Conan O'Brien, latenight host". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2008-05-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20080503060108/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/interviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1954736. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ "10th Anniversary Special". Late Night with Conan O'Brien. 2003-09-14.
- ^ Freydkin, Donna (2009-02-25). "Fallon talking a blue streak to take over for Conan". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-02-25-jimmy-fallon_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ "CONAN O'BRIEN SIGNS OFF OF 'LATE NIGHT' FEBRUARY 20, 2009 AND JIMMY FALLON TAKES OVER MARCH 2, 2009". NBC.com. http://www.nbc.com/news/2009/01/15/conan-obrien-signs-off-of-late-night-february-20-2009-and-jimmy-fallon-takes-over-march-2-2009/. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ "TV Network for Primetime, Daytime and Late Night Television Shows - NBC Official Site". Latenightunderground.com. http://www.latenightunderground.com/2009/02/the-end-of-the-show-song.shtml. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ "Large View". NBCU Photobank. https://nbcuphotobank.com/sales/largeview.php?name=NUP_134573_0010.jpg&id=2197159&lbx=-1&return_page=searchResults.php&searchDisplay=S&searchAction=advSearch&searchVal=conan&page=5. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ a b "U2 takes over Conan O’Brien’s show". The Associated Press (via MSNBC). October 4, 2005. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9592911/. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ "Conan, Stewart, Colbert unite in mock feud". MSNBC. 2008-02-05. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23017599/. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ a b c d Entertainment Weekly article: "Conan O'Brien: His last 'Late Night' a triumph, no insult, highly comic, not a dog".
- ^ Ganz, Caryn (2009-02-20). "White Stripes’ Final "Late Night" Gig: Conan O’Brien on Special Relationship With Jack and Meg". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/02/20/white-stripes-final-late-night-gig-conan-obrien-on-special-relationship-with-jack-and-meg/. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (2009-02-27). "Seinfeld, NBC Renew Their Vows With 'The Marriage Ref'". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/26/AR2009022603677_pf.html. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ Battaglio, Stephen. "He Will Survive". TV Guide. November 7, 2011. Page 20.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Internet Movie Database staff (2010). "Awards for Conan O'Brien". Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc.. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005277/awards. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Conan O'Brien". NBC.com — The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. tonightshowwithconanobrien.com. 2010. http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/about/bios/. Retrieved 2010-01-15. [dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Internet Movie Database staff (2010). "Awards for "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"". Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106052/awards. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
Further reading[link]
- DeFrank, Ginny (2007). Marry me Conan O'Brien and other tales of well-planned self-delusion. University of Southern California. p. 608.
External links[link]
- Official website[dead link]
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien at the Internet Movie Database
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien at TV.com
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Andy Richter | |
|---|---|
 Andy Richter in mid 1997 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, in Gainesville, Florida. |
|
| Birth name | Paul Andrew Richter |
| Born | (1966-10-28) October 28, 1966 (age 45) Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Medium | Television, Film |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse | Sarah Thyre (1994–present) |
| Notable works and roles | Sidekick for Conan, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, & Late Night with Conan O'Brien |
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS. He is also known for his voice work in the Madagascar films and for starring in the sitcoms Quintuplets, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, and Andy Barker, P.I..
Contents |
Early life and career[link]
Richter, the third of four children, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His mother, Glenda Swanson (née Palmer), was a kitchen cabinet designer, and his father, Laurence R. Richter, taught Russian at Indiana University for more than 32 years.[1][2][3] Richter was raised in Yorkville, Illinois. He is of Swedish and German descent.[4] In high school, he was elected Prom King.[5]
In the late 1980s, Richter attended Columbia College Chicago as a film major. While at Columbia he learned the basics of comedic acting and writing by starring in numerous student films and videos. After leaving Columbia in 1988 Richter worked as a production assistant on commercial shoots in Chicago. In 1989, he began taking classes at Chicago's Improv Olympic. His quick wit and acting skills catapulted him from student to "House Performer" within a year. Richter branched out working with "The Comedy Underground" and the Annoyance Theater.
Richter's reputation earned him a writing job on the short-lived Jonathan Brandmeier television show.
In the early 1990s the Annoyance Theater hit gold when producer Jill Soloway staged The Real Live Brady Bunch with live, word-for-word performances of the '70s sitcom. The show was so popular that it attracted national attention and moved to New York City. Richter was not an original member of the cast but the actor who played "Mike Brady" in the Chicago cast opted not to go to New York. Richter asked Soloway if he could play "Mike" in New York and since Soloway had not cast a replacement, she agreed.[citation needed]
At the same time The Real Live Brady Bunch was playing in New York, two fellow Annoyance members (Beth Cahill and Melanie Hutsell, who played Marcia and Jan Brady in the "Real Live Brady Bunch" stage show) were hired as cast members on Saturday Night Live. With friends on SNL, Andy was able to get into the after-show parties where he met SNL writer Robert Smigel. Two years later, Smigel hired Richter for a new show he was producing, Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Originally hired as a writer, Richter was upgraded to Conan O'Brien's sidekick just weeks before the show began airing in 1993, after it became clear the two had a strong rapport, something Smigel noticed after sending Richter to join O'Brien on stage during a practice run-through when the production staff was testing lighting angles and sound.[6]
After seven years with the show, Richter departed from Late Night after his final show on May 26, 2000. He later said of the decision, "After seven years of being on the show, I got itchy. I have a philosophy that if you enjoy good fortune, rather than sit there and say, 'Oh, that's fine, this amount is good enough for me,' you should try and push it. You should see how much you can stretch your good fortune. And I was curious."[7]
Television work[link]
Series leads[link]
Richter left his post at Late Night in 2000 to pursue a career acting in films and television. His first major venture, Fox's Andy Richter Controls the Universe, was canceled after two mid-season runs. His next Fox sitcom, Quintuplets, lasted one season. His most recent television series was Andy Barker P.I., which was co-written and executively produced by Conan O'Brien. In the series Richter played an accountant who could not attract clients.[8] After a woman comes to his office thinking he is the former tenant, a private investigator, she asks him to find her husband who she thinks faked his death. Barker decides to pursue this job and becomes a private detective in earnest, and continues to do his accounting job, which seems to pick up as the series goes on. The series played on NBC, with all six episodes in the first season on NBC.com. The series was canceled after very poor ratings despite being named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007.[9]
[edit] The Tonight Show
On February 24, 2009 it was announced that Richter would be joining Conan O'Brien once again as the announcer for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in Los Angeles.[10] Richter frequently appeared in comedy sketches on the show and often commented and interacted with Conan during the opening monologue; he was also part of the show's writing staff. In mid-December 2009, Richter also began joining Conan on the couch during the celebrity interviews, much like he did in his former sidekick role on Late Night. Richter said he enjoyed having a steady paycheck again and not having to deal with production companies while developing television shows. Richter said, "Now I'm so happy to be back and making TV every night, not asking permission from somebody and waiting six months to get their sparklingly clear and cogent notes. And then wait another month for them to get back from Hawaii and say, 'Yes, now we can go make television.' I felt like a plumber who kept going into the building and saying, 'Can we put some pipes together?' and watching my wrenches gather dust."[7]
[edit] Conan
When Conan returned to the air as host of his self-titled TBS show, Richter followed. He again reprised his roles as announcer, writer, general sidekick and participant in comedy sketches. However he continues to be an adherant member in the success of Conan.
Other roles[link]
In October 2005, Richter appeared in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. In "The Old Man and the Sea", he played an annoying blind date that was teased and misled by Grace Adler, who only dated him to prove she was not a snob.[11]
Richter appears in the Fox series Arrested Development in the 2006 episode "S.O.B.s." He plays every member of a fictional group of identical Richter quintuplets, Donnie, Chareth, Rocky, Emmett, and himself.[12]
From 2006–2008 Richter had a recurring role as "Sad Dad" Stan in the TV show The New Adventures of Old Christine.[12]
He also provides the voice for the character Ben on the TV show The Mighty B!, Simon Cristini on True Jackson, VP,and the voice of the character Mort on the TV show The Penguins of Madagascar, both of which air on Nickelodeon.
Richter was considered to be a potential host of the classic Pyramid game show that was being developed for CBS, but was ultimately not picked up by the network.[13] Had the series been picked up, it would not have affected Richter's role on Conan. On May 18, 2011, TBS announced development of a possible new version of Pyramid, again to be hosted by Richter.[14]
In June 2010, he hosted the Team Coco Presents the Conan Writers Live comedy special for TBS at the Just for Laughs festival in Chicago. Richter hosted in place of O'Brien, who was still prohibited from hosting any television program until the fall of 2010.
Film work[link]
In addition to his television work, Richter has appeared in motion pictures such as Aliens in the Attic, Big Trouble, Elf, Seeing Other People, New York Minute, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, My Boss's Daughter, Scary Movie 2, Cabin Boy, Frank McKlusky, C.I, Pootie Tang, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, Lenny the Wonder Dog, and Dr. T & the Women.
Other appearances[link]
In July 2009, Richter played for the American League as a first baseman in the 2009 Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game. Representing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Richter hit a home run in the game.[15]
After the end of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Richter joined O'Brien on his Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, a stage show touring the United States and Canada over the spring of 2010. Richter served in his usual role as announcer/sidekick. Due to performing with O'Brien, Richter was forced to drop out of the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational, in which he was a semifinalist. Isaac Mizrahi replaced Richter in the tournament.[16] Richter also made an appearance on the Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life on Deck as, a non-religious hooded brother, Brother Theodore in the episode "Silent Treatment".
Personal life[link]
Richter is married to comedic actress and writer/author Sarah Thyre, and they have two children, William and Mercy. Thyre was part of the cast of the cult comedy series Strangers with Candy, on which Richter made frequent cameo appearances. Richter and Thyre also appeared together playing Hansel and Gretel in an episode of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy series on Comedy Central in 1998. Richter is also a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.
Filmography[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Cabin Boy | Kenny | ||
| 1996 | Good Money | Happy | ||
| 1998 | The Thin Pink Line | Ken Irpine | ||
| 1999 | Barenaked in America | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2000 | Dr. T & the Women | Eli | ||
| 2000 | Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 | Himself | Archive Footage | |
| 2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Eugene Wilson | ||
| 2001 | Pootie Tang | Record Executive | ||
| 2001 | Scary Movie 2 | Father Harris | ||
| 2001 | Wild Desk Ride | Himself/Host/Panelist | ||
| 2001 | Kids in the Hall: Same Guys, New Dresses | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2002 | Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2002 | Run Ronnie Run | Network Execuive #2 | ||
| 2002 | Martin & Orloff | Maitre 'D | ||
| 2002 | Big Trouble | Jack Pendick/Ralph Pendick | ||
| 2002 | Frank McKlusky, C.I. | Herb | ||
| 2002 | God Hates Cartoons | Drinky Crow | ||
| 2002 | The Cat Returns | Natoru | Voice (English version) | |
| 2003 | End of the Century | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2003 | My Boss's Daughter | Red Taylor | ||
| 2003 | Elf | Morris | ||
| 2004 | Sesame Street: Happy Healthy Monsters | Himself | ||
| 2004 | Death and Texas | Congressman Jack Levanyt | ||
| 2004 | New York Minute | Bennie Bang | ||
| 2004 | Seeing Other People | Carl | ||
| 2005 | The Aristocrats | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2005 | Madagascar | Mort | Voice | |
| 2005 | Lenny the Wonder Dog | Lenny | Voice | |
| 2006 | Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | Gregory | ||
| 2007 | The Procedure | T.J. | Short | |
| 2007 | Blades of Glory | Mountie | ||
| 2008 | Semi-Pro | Bobby Dee | ||
| 2008 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Mort | Voice | |
| 2008 | Prop 8: The Musical | Gay California Man | Short | |
| 2009 | The Arrested Development Documentary Project | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2009 | Aliens in the Attic | Uncle Nathan Pearson | ||
| 2011 | Conan O'Brien Can't Stop | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2012 | Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | Mort | Voice, Post-production | |
| 2012 | Halo 4 | Marine | Voice, Post-production |
References[link]
- ^ "Statement on the retirement of Laurence R. Richter", "Indiana.edu"
- ^ Andy Richter Biography (1966-)
- ^ Dietrich, Matthew (September 17, 1998). "Life as a Late-Night Sidekick". State Journal Register. http://www.afn.org/~ejw/andy/andy-sjr.html. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ohqFBpnRg Richter on Conan (April 13, 2012)
- ^ "Andy Richter > Biography". All Movie Guide. http://www.allmovie.com/artist/andy-richter-291658/bio.
- ^ Aisha Tyler (January 23, 2012). "Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler 31 with Andy Richter". http://traffic.libsyn.com/girlonguy/Richter_mxd_1-2.mp3. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ a b Sicha, Choire (May 31, 2009). "Los Angeles Times". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/31/entertainment/ca-conversation31. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ "Andy Barker, PI canceled", Variety.com, April 11, 2007
- ^ Flynn, Gillian (December 21, 2007). "Andy Barker, P.I.". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- ^ Andy Richter named announcer for NBC's 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'[dead link]
- ^ Will & Grace - "The Old Man and the Sea" at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b Andy Richter at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Andy Richter wrapping deal to host new version of 'Pyramid' for CBS", Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2010
- ^ "TNT and TBS Announce Extensive Slate of New Projects from Top Talents". The Futon Critic. May 18, 2011. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/05/18/tnt-and-tbs-announce-extensive-slate-of-new-projects-from-top-talents-561104/20110518turner01/. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Clouds give way to stars for softball game", Doug Miller, MLB.com, July 12, 2009
- ^ "Neil Patrick Harris Among Celebs In Million Dollar Jeopardy Semifinals", Entertainment Weekly, April 19, 2010
External links[link]
- Andy Richter at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview with Kittenpants.org
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Melendez |
The Tonight Show announcer 2009–2010 |
Succeeded by Wally Wingert |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Richter, Andy |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1966-10-28 |
| Place of birth | Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
