The Last Tonight Show
Friday, January 22, 2010 I hope it won't surprise anyone to hear that I am firmly Team Coco. Like a lot of people, I started watching Late Night with Conan O'Brien in college and feel that I've grown up watching him. In Utah they used to do this weird thing where they showed The Tonight Show, then a rerun of Suddenly Susan, then Late Night. I don't have any idea why, but it made pushing through to watch Conan a bit more trying than it would be otherwise. But I always did, and it was always worth it. I came to admire Conan not just for being funny and smart and a little bit weird, but for his graciousness and humility. I think anyone who saw tonight's show saw that on full display. I watched him leave Late Night and was excited to see him move on to The Tonight Show. I loved how honored he was to host a television institution. So it hurt to see the mess NBC made of everything. He'd waited so long and worked so hard. I couldn't imagine what it must feel like for him. But watching him bury the show that was his dream, I remembered something I read a few years back. Here's an excerpt from his 2000 Harvard Commencement Address:
I've dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way.
I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I'm as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good.
So, that's what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over. If it's all right, I'd like to read a little something from just this year: "Somehow, Conan O'Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive wit of his generation, but quite possible the greatest host ever."
Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 2000, I wrote that this morning, as proof that, when all else fails, there's always delusion.
I'll go now, to make bigger mistakes and to embarrass this fine institution even more. But let me leave you with one last thought: If you can laugh at yourself loud and hard every time you fall, people will think you're drunk.
Thank you.
Reader Comments (3)
I haven't gotten the chance to watch his last show, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. I will miss Conan, but agree that he won't be "gone". Can't wait to see what new adventure he takes.
Great post... but just a minor point of contention. He wasn't "Ripped out of the Tonight Show"... he quit because he thought he was too important to move 30 minutes. He quit.
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