Book Description

ABOUT THE BOOK Long considered a fixture of late-night television in America, Conan O'Brien has managed to captivate millions of viewers with his active and spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized as “awkward, self-deprecating humor.” Conan O’Brien has been transformed from the high school student newspaper editor to the optimistic Harvard grad who headed out west in search for writing gigs in the entertainment industry, and finally to the public figure who was able to effectively leverage his writing talents to become a TV show host who easily connects to the audiences both on stage and at home. MEET THE AUTHOR John currently resides in San Francisco and has three years of experience in the medical device industry as well as over a year of academic research experience at Stanford University. He holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from University of Southern California. John is currently a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University studying for a MS in Biotechnology on a remote basis. He follows very closely the recent developments in the venture capital arena, as he is an aspiring entrepreneur himself. In his spare time, he enjoys working out at the gym as well as playing basketball. John also loves to travel around the world every chance he can get. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Conan O’Brien’s road to fame began gradually after working for several years as a TV writer and moving on to become a TV show host. While on a writers’ strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987-88 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue called Happy Happy Good Show with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel in Chicago. In 1989, O'Brien and other SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series. Moreover, O'Brien occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches, like many SNL writers. Among his most notable appearances was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL “Five-Timers Club” for hosting his fifth episode. Another important milestone of O’Brien’s career was his stint as a writer and producer for The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He was an active producer during seasons 4 and 5 (1992-93), as he would frequently contribute to scripts as well as come up with story ideas, plot points, and jokes. The style of the show's comedy during this period was also influenced by his sensibilities; for example, the episode “Marge vs. the Monorail” was cited by several former writers as the turning point in the show's history where more absurd and visual comedy became acceptable. In his Harvard Class Day speech, O’Brien credited The Simpsons with pulling him out of his career slump Buy a copy to keep reading!