Conan O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' Debut

Conan O'Brien Stalker Checks Out of Treatment
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Conan O'Brien officially took over for Jay Leno as the host of "The Tonight Show" on Monday night, and the funny man had a long way to go to get from New York to his new spot behind the "Tonight Show" desk.

During the show's opening Conan is seen running from New York to California, and hitting up scenic and historic spots along the way such as Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

The audience gave the new host a warm welcome and Conan went into a monologue featuring jokes about himself, Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, and his new life in Los Angeles.

"At least we know the applause sign works," he jokes after his warm reception. "Ladies and gentleman this is a huge night for me. I remember watching Johnny Carson when I was a kid and thinking that's what I want to be when I grow up. I'm sure right now somewhere in America there's a little kid watching me thinking what is wrong with that man's hair?"

After showing off the size of the stage Conan welcomed his first guest Will Ferrell.

The actor was carried out by four men dressed as Egyptians holding a pharaoh's platform.

"I didn't want to upstage you" Ferrell jokes. "I just wanted to come in low key, under the radar."

Ferrell talked about his new movie 'Land of the Lost,' and also gave Conan some tips about things to do in Los Angeles. Before leaving the stage the actor sang his own rendition of "Never Can Say Goodbye," joking that although he's pulling for the new host he's not sure how long NBC will keep him around.

Conan's "Tonight Show" debut ended with a performance by Pearl Jam.

Watch "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" weeknights at 11:30 p.m. on NBC.

Published 6/2/09 by the Insider

Comments (9)

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  • If you look at my photo album in facebook you will see a photo of me holding photos of Conan and Andy from way back when....so many years ago. Andy was on a diet then, and I wrote in and told Andy how much I love my men "chunky."I begged Andy to...
    LeahM12 6/13/09 Reply
  • Conan is a far cry from Jay Leno and his childish style of humor and herky-jerky contortions don't appeal to the funnier, more sophisticated Leno/Carson type of humor. Letterman's ratings should go up - which is also sad.
    Anonymous 6/11/09 Reply
  • Conan was hilarious on his first night. The Tonight Show will do just great with Conan at the helm.
    2012CELEB 6/2/09 Reply
  • Cool:)
    NeverLetGo 6/2/09 Reply
  • Conan is really smart and funny. He will rule the late night shows!
    Anonymous 6/2/09 Reply
  • I HAVE WATCHED JAY LENO FOR YEARS AND AFTER SEING MOST OF LAST NIGHTS SHOW, CONAN IS NO LENO. I SWITCHED TO LETTERMAN AND WILL STAY WITH HIM UNTIL JAY RETURNS INTHE FALL. IF NBC WAS AFRAID OF LOOSING JAY OR CONAN, THEY BET ON THE WRONG HORSE.
    Anonymous 6/2/09 Reply
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    Anonymous 6/2/09 Reply
  • I thought Conan O'Brien's debut on The Tonight Show was good. The opening number was very funny to me. Time will tell along with the ratings in determining if he is doing a great job on this new gig!
    TreyH 6/2/09 Reply