In Praise of Conan O'Brien

If you were watching Conan the other night, then you likely saw me ‘beat boxing’ on national television. For those of you non-rap artists it was basically your goofy pal John making rhythmic sounds with his mouth while Conan did his favorite Step-Up dance routine. Then, of course, we reversed roles and I got to take over the dance chores.

This was ostensibly an effort to promote my new projects “Alive! Music and Dance” and the new Intelligence for Your Life book.  And whether or not the ‘rapping’ accomplished any part of those missions, it at least succeeded in producing some laughs. And that’s why I love Conan.

I feel like I’ve been in the TV and radio business long enough to have had just about every experience on the air, but I would have to say every ‘shot’ with this late night genius is a new one. Unless you have ever sat on the couch next to Conan, Carson, Leno, Letterman etc. you’ve never really, truly had that "OMG I have 8 minutes to be very entertaining or I’m never coming back!" experience.
    
Truth be told, unless you are Robin Williams, the producers are a little too concerned for their TV show to let you just come in and wing it. This is not to say that (other than bits) any of this stuff is rehearsed. But there is a plan.

It starts with getting booked on the show which your publicist (mine is Michael Caprio) goes after, and it more often than not coincides with a film/tv/book/album release. Then, the day before the show you go through a pre-interview that lasts about an hour. This conversation is with one of the show’s segment producers who asks about everything from your latest project to your worst memory as a pimply teenager (Dan Ferguson & Frank Smiley are brilliant at this). The idea, of course, is to get some exposure for your "product".

However, TV producers, (if they are good ones) are more interested in their program than your product so their first goal is to put on a great television show.  And that’s where Conan shines. You can Google him if you want to dig deeper into his bio, but suffice it to say he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard with a B.A.  in History and Literature. He was not groomed as the quintessential talk show host.

First and foremost, Conan is a writer and as a host, he behaves like a writer. He never goes for the easy joke. Instead he listens….closely…. and when he finds a piece of your background/biography/latest project/idiosyncrasies, he locks in, builds a theme around that and never again looks down at the card with suggested questions. As a former live TV news/entertainment reporter, I feel compelled to tell you that THIS is a gift.

And when Conan smells blood: “Your latest project has hop hop dancing on it?....Teshy!…why? Why Teshy?” the stage is his, and you know it’s time to play his straight man.

I believe the other reason Conan shines is because when we're watching at home we think “Ya know, if I had the courage and a good hairstylist, I might be able to pull that off.” But that’s the beauty of this late night wild man. He has made the most competitive gig on the planet look like he’s doing it out of his basement on a handycam.

I don’t see Conan very often but every now and then he’ll ring me up with an idea: “Hey, Teshy,  Here’s the bit: Triumph The Insult Dog pulls up at your house in one of those double decker tour buses and you ride with him all over Hollywood. You in?”

Yeah, Conan. Anytime.

John 

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Don't forget that my new book Intelligence For Your Life:  Powerful Lessons For Personal Growth is on sale.  You can purchase your copy of the book on line by visiting Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com.

Comments

[Kimberley #2626]

Oh, and I missed this one! I *loved* that bit he did about The Tesh going on a rampage. That still makes my husband and me laugh aloud when we catch it.