Did you see the “farewell” last night?
Conan was crying, so it must be for real that he’s gone.
I figure it must be for a big movie part or he would just take a leave, like Max Weinburg.
Any news what’s next for him?
Any news of a replacement on the show?
He’s going to be Richard Gere’s hunting friend in Gere’s next movie – Dr. T and the Women.
Then, after that, he’s going to partner up with David Caruso and Shelley Long. Their careers sure did skyrocket after they dumped their sure-thing TV shows, didn’t they?
(Sounds like a new thread, if anybody feels like starting it up: “Worst celebrity career move.”)
Hey, and how about that McLean Stevenson? He left MASH,* then he died.
I promoted a talk that Andy gave on my campus a couple of years ago, so I got to spend the better part of the evening with him (driving him around, taking him to dinner, helping him with the Q&A and the autographs).
From what he said back then, I’m not surprised at all that he was leaving. He did love working on the show, but he didn’t treat it like it was the pinnacle of his career or anything. He had a very work-a-day attitude about it. He also joked a bit about what a low-class operation their show is compared to, say, Leno or Letterman. The difference was most apparent in the Green Room, he told us–“those guys have the fully catered spread, but they won’t even spring for actual Oreos for us. We serve our guests store-brand Oreo knock-offs.”
Not only that, he also gave me the impression that he didn’t make a whole hell of a lot of money. I mean, he didn’t seem disappointed by it, and I’m sure he probably made more than I ever will, but probably on the low end of average for someone with a regular TV gig. Not to mention that they do four shows a week, damn near every week of the year–a lot more work than your average sitcom actor.
So when I heard he was leaving, it made sense–he figures it’s just time to move on. He’d like to do other things, and this gig doesn’t leave him any time to do anything else. I missed the farewell–I hope they re-run it.
He’s a great guy, by the way. My favorite story that he told us was about the only person who ever got mad and complained about a joke on the show. Apparently Kelsey Grammer got upset over a quip Conan made about his affair with an underage babysitter. Andy’s reply was, “I say that if you don’t want to be made fun of, don’t fuck the babysitter.”
Dr. J
I love the show and I found Andy to be surprising good, considering he was the “second banana” and all that. His ad libs were great! The audience always loved them and him.
The staring contests won’t be the same.
I dont believe he is replaceable.
I thought Jack Paar was irreplaceble.
Wow…am I dating myself or what??
I predict a bright future for Andy. He’s way above sidekick material and this is a good career move.
Andy Richter is going to be in the next Robert Altman film “Dr.T and the women”, as Richard Gere’s hunting buddy.
He also has a small role in a new movie starring Chris Rock.
He says “I’ve done this every day in front of a live audience for seven years. Now I’d like to go off into the woods with a camera, fake beards, armor, Roman centurions and Elizibethan hoop skirts, talk in accents, do 20 takes, edit it for a week and watch it without a laugh track.”
Saw him on Celebrity Jeopardy once. He was dead serious, almost robotic–“in the zone.” He also won handily and would have done well on a normal show. Seems to be smart enough to do well in a real job, or one as a studio exec.
Naw, he’s way too smart for that!