Chad White, All Time King of Siam, Zero Time King of the Bedroom
In honor of Conan O’ Brian’s 20 year anniversary, I decided to round up my favorite late night hosts and pit them against each other. They’ll all be shirtless and oily and lots of screaming will- oh wait. This isn’t my journal; I’ll stop now.
The first part of this series will include Conan, Leno, and Letterman or as I like to refer to them: Oldie McOldersons. These three men have been around for the longest and have the most history/animosity with each other.
Look at that smile; How could you hate that smile?
First up is the big red himself, Conan O’ Brian. I have to admit that I’m slightly biased towards CoCo. He was the first late night host that I watched and is definitely my favorite. His self-deprecating comedy is probably where I stem my comedic roots from. No matter how unfunny the joke is, Conan always finds a way to make it entertaining.
Since moving to TBS, Conan has become more ambitious with his joke telling. The writers allow for more risqué jokes to get by. They can say “shit” a certain amount of times before it’s bleeped. It seems as though basic cable is where it’s at when it comes to late night. Conan is no doubt the coolest late night host. He even has his own comic book character. You can’t beat that. Also, Conan has the best sidekick of all time: Andy Richter. This funny man can go toe to toe with anybody including his boss.
Nice hair, Crimson Chin.
Next is Jay Leno. He and Conan have had their fair share of action against one another. But we’re here to talk about the white haired prince himself. Leno came onto the scene as a featured comedian on the Tonight Show way back in the 70’s. Little did he know he’d be hosting it 15 years later.
Leno is someone whose jokes are hit or miss. Either you like him or you don’t. A lot of people don’t seem to like him. There’s really not much to say about him. He’s on Fairly Odd Parents so he’s got that going for him. And he’s had two shows thanks to the oh-so-courteous NBC.
"No, uh, no controversy here."
Finally, we have David Letterman, someone who has had conflict with Leno too. He was a morning show host and even hosted Late Night. He was up for The Tonight Show after Johnny Carson. However, NBC graciously gave the job to Leno so Letterman signed a deal with CBS. After moving to CBS, Letterman found his stride.
It’s strange how much someone can like Letterman. He’s basically an old man who just doesn’t care what type of jokes he tells. After each joke in every monologue, Letterman gives this smug smile that you just have to like. And his sidekick is Paul Schaffer, one of the greatest band leaders of all time.
That brings us to the end of part one. Tune in next time where I wrangle together three more late night show hosts.