Conan O'Brien takes over as host of 'The Tonight Show' show, but not before he sits in the hot seat as Jay Leno's last guest of his 17-year run. With Leno moving to a new 10PM timeslot every weeknight this fall with 'The Jay Leno Show,' he won't be completely out of the talk show game, but his 'Tonight Show' farewell will surely be filled with laughs as well as a few tears.
O'Brien gave us the scoop about what he has planned for Leno's last night, getting a head start in his new timeslot, how he's planning to do it "his way" and his hilarious wake-up call to life in paparazzi-filled L.A.
1. How has the transition been from 'Late Night' to taking over Jay's gig at 'The Tonight Show'?
One of the things that's been really nice really going back to 1993 when I got started Jay and I have always personally gotten along really well. He's been very kind to me about this whole transition. I think one of the nice things that's really helped is Jay's staying with the network and going to 10 o'clock -- he's happy, I'm happy and that's actually been kind of a godsend. When he asked me to be his last guest, obviously I was very honored to do it. If nothing else, it gets me on 'The Tonight Show' 48 hours earlier than I normally would've been. [Laughs] It was nice of him to give me a little bit of a head start.
2. Can you tell us anything about what you have planned for Jay's last night? Isn't it tradition, as his successor, to roast him just a bit?
I'm a little reluctant to have that attitude because it's such a big night. I want to make sure that my attitude is it really is Jay's night -- it's his last 'Tonight Show.' We haven't quite figured out exactly what we're doing yet. So much of it in that situation is about Jay, and I think he's got ideas, so I'll probably follow his lead about what he wants to do.
3. Has Jay given you any advice about taking over the 'Tonight Show' reins?
Most people, Jay included, have told me -- it's actually the oldest advice I've ever had: Johnny Carson, years ago when I first met him, told me, "Just be yourself." And if this is gonna work at all, that's the only way it can work. That's basically all anyone who knows anything about these shows could tell you -- you've gotta do it your way. So Jay's been very nice about it -- he hasn't given me specific advice, but he may once I get on the air. He's the kind of person who I'm sure would call me up and say, "I just noticed something you're doing in this part of the show ..." But so far, all he's basically implied is I should just be myself. The reason Jay's show worked so well is because he did it his way. And Johnny Carson did it his way, which was quite different from Jack Paar, who did it his way, which was really different from Steve Alan, who did it his way. The golden rule of the 'Tonight Show' is, the host has to put his stamp on it.
4. And how will your show be different now? Are you bringing over all of your 'Late Night' bits, or working on new things?
It's an opportunity to think of new ideas. You know, it'd be a shame to just dust off the 'Late Night' show and move it to 11:30 ... it doesn't feel right to do that. So, I think we're really hoping to come up with new things as well. I'd like to keep the best of the 'Late Night' show -- a couple of pieces here and there that really work for us, and I see no reason that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog can't file reports for us. And then I think this is really an opportunity to do something new. I think people would be disappointed if I didn't reinvent myself to some degree.
5. Have you adjusted to life in L.A. yet?
It's weird- I love riding my bike, and twice I've gotten on my bike and gone for a ride and cars like drive along with me and shoot me the whole time. That never happened in New York. I kept thinking, "Really? I'm the best celebrity out right now? [Laughs] Isn't Johnny Depp on a unicycle somewhere?" They followed me once for easily 15-20 miles of a 30-mile ride -- I felt like, "Man, you guys are burning a lot of gas!" I plan to keep riding my bike, I'll probably just put a paper bag on my head and crash into mail boxes. What's crazy about L.A. is you can take these hikes -- they have these amazing trails that you can walk on and suddenly you're on a giant peak, [looking at] the Pacific Ocean. You almost feel like you've taken a vacation somewhere. And they have rattlesnakes out here -- I like to wrestle rattlesnakes. [Laughs] I like to get out in the hottest part of the day and when I see one, I pounce on it and we wrestle.
-AOL- TV
By Maggie Furlong
