Alex Edelman & Conan’s Dads Work At The Same Hospital | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend
I saw your special uh of your show Just. For Us spectacular absolutely amazing. and uh I know that it is Emmy nominated. and that's why I wanted to get you in. here but I think before we begin H to. move on to I think uh more important. areas we should discuss the fact that. you and I have a lot in common which I. found out the first time you were on my. show yeah you leaned over and you like. I'm from Brooklyn Massachusetts and my. dad's a doctor and knows your dad and my.
I'm from Brooklyn Mass my dad's a doctor. and we both fled that legitimate. profession my father called me the next. day and he went oh you were on Dr. O'Brien's Sun show the. other what and he went yeah Dr O'Brien. son's also a comedian I went this is a. criminal misuse of the word. also I like yeah and he went you know. he's a good doctor and I was like well.
his son's a good comic and he went yeah. I would expect that cuz the dad's such a. good doctor you. know I love this struggle over what our. true identities are it was truly that. though he was like you know he still. practices really comes in it's a. different my dad with as if it was he's. part he's in a different grade at the. school he was like you know it's a. different department but he's got a lot. of respect like my dad's a cardiologist. so my dad is a microbiologist yeah so. the way I've heard it my dad's first day.
kind of working at brigam Women's. Hospital in Boston was the uh I think. 1954 wow and my dad is I just saw him. two days ago I hear that was two days. before they let the women. in it was just Brams it was just bighams. before it was the it was the Peter bent. Brigham then then they changed it to. briam women's and the whole world went. to hell um but uh but yeah he he worked. there from like I think he worked there.
for something like 65 years something. crazy but it's cool cuz every now and. then I bump into people who sort of. obviously they know my father and they. respect my father and um they're not. that interested in talking to me yeah I. get the same thing where who will come. up to me on the street with a craz look. in their eyes like and I'll be like hi. and they're like your father saved my. life and I'm like. oh cool check out my special yeah how'. you like the show uh.
My Father by the way if I ever uh if I. ever referred to it growing up I would. say Brams and my father would go and. women's and I'm like What's the. difference well bighams is an ice cream. parlor and Brams and women's is the. finest uh Medical Institution in the. united stat like he was very serious. about it but my my dad's been practicing. there for a very for a long time not. nearly as as long as you're your father. but um but feels great a fny uh for it. it's funny cuz all my memories are there. six kids and my dad drove this uh really.
rusting out uh Chevrolet andala. four-door with a squeaky steering wheel. and my childhood memories are my dad. getting us in the car to run a quick. errand me and a couple of my brothers. maybe and what he would do is he he'd go. to the laundromat he'd go to this place. and then he'd say I'm just going to he. he abbreviated minute he'd say I'm just. going to take a Min and pop into the. Brigham and so he would park the car and. he would go into the bring Women's.
Hospital to like check on his bacteria. see what they were up to and he would. leave us in the car and sometimes 45. minutes to an hour would go by and then. he'd come back and we'd be pissed but. you couldn't complain cuz he was doing. you know he was saving lives you said it. was going to take a Min but it took an. ER it took an ER yeah it took an ER that. was a full ER but that was my memory of. is and I was thinking you wouldn't leave. a dog in a car that long these days but.
I have this memory of my father shaving. in the car on the way to work with an. electric razor but with both hands in. the mirror while we're going down Route. n and I was like Dad uh uh Road he'd be. like got my knees I got it and but he's. like shaving like shaving like this. always so busy always I think my dad has. been on call for 32 years y I don't. think my father has never my father had. a beeper into like unre my my father had. a beeper and I thought I remember as a. kid like in the 70s my father had a.
beeper because he was on call and I. thought technology will never Advance. any further than that box on his hip. that makes a noise so he can go to a pay. phone we were growing up in synagogue. like on S I went to an Orthodox Jewish. synagogue and my father's beeper would. go off in synagogue and you could tell. who was new based on who turned on be. like what is that very electronic noise. in the No Electronic day time frame so. would turn around and my and brothers be.
like he's a doctor he's a doctor don't. worry about chill just chill he's saving. life re chill chill reck shut the. up you know I had um I had interesting. experience because I'm obviously super. Irish Catholic I'm growing up in Brook. line mass and uh the different um Public. Schools they had real identities and the. one I was supposed to go to Heath school. was very kind of Irish Catholic all the. kids played hockey it was all it was.
kind of where I was supposed to go I. don't know why I think my mother had got. into a fight with someone at the PTA. something happened and it started with. my brother Luke he was sent to the. Driscoll School the Driscoll school in. Brooklyn was surrounded by four. literally on on four sides there are. like four temples and so it was. predominantly Jewish and I was the kind. of oh look there's this orange-haired. kid named O'Brien yeah um and isn't this. funny he's Catholic so it I was suddenly.
I was invited to I think I went to. definitely many many many more Bar. Mitzvah than any other confirmation or. anything like that and the the parents. all thought it was hilarious that I was. there and they would like pinch my. cheeks and go look at this you know Go's. here this is crazy look at his hair and. I just I don't know the whole thing was. I remember feeling very exotic in a town. where there are plenty of Irish Catholic. kids but I all my friends all my friends.
were Jewish kids it was so funny cuz you. went to BHS yeah yep so brookly high. school was like it was 2 minutes and a. whole world away from me because I was. raised Orthodox and so I remember. watching the show when I was like 9 10. years old me like he went to BHS and and. I was so jealous of the kids who went to. BHS because in my mind not only did they. not have to pray three times a day they. also let you host a talk show on. National Television like that was my. conception of everyone who to BHS I'm.
like eventually they get to either. General manage the Red Sox. or or have their own television show. pretty much the entire class yeah I like. wait does everyone take a turn cuz there. like hundreds of kids in that school you. know no we all got it was guaranteed if. you went to Brooklyn High uh and so but. that was that was a great lucky thing. for me because I I think very early on. got very comfortable around Jewish kid. kids and really kind of which helped.
with like Jeff Ross and stuff like. that exactly cuz who knew they run show. business with an iron hand I've got to. make a phone call real quick. but our producer yes it did no but it it. it was it was a nice uh accident for me. that I went to Driscoll school I think. and then just I I I and and became sort. of more involved.
in going to Bar Mitzvah things like that. because I remember thinking. um and this may sound strange to you but. it all felt so much more. relaxed than Catholicism it felt a. little more I don't know what and and. you may not feel that way but it felt I. definitely don't. but but yeah you're but like I I totally. um it's so funny Brookline does feel. like um like sometimes people say that. New Yorkers see Jewish even if they're.
not Jewish or's something about the. millu of it and I always felt sort of. similarly about Brookline which is that. it was um if you were from Brooklyn you. were both Jewish and a little bit sort. of Boston Irish Catholic at the same. time like you had cuz you go to you go. to synagogue and you have these thick. Boston accents you know my uh I have. like a fervent memory of like being in. synagogue and there's a part on Friday. night services where you turn around and. they open the door in the back of the. synagogue and everyone says a brief. prayer towards the back of the door and.
then you turn back but I just remember. uh uh I just remember someone hesitated. getting the door and someone in the. congregation in the middle of very very. like distinct Hebrew prayers they went. Stephen get the door and I was. like and I was like how someone with. like the voice of like a father. o stepen get the like six syllables IND. door how did this guy get into the. temple.
yeah I was like wait that's the rabbi. yeah it's the rabbi it's the rabbi. Sean Sean Han. hand oh my. God I just love the idea that the the. rabbis going on and on about the Bruins. he's like all right kid so Hashem has. this problem you. know but first he's got to go to Duncan. what D there was a kosher Duncan down.
the street and when it opened up it was. like oh my God the headline and the. synagogue newsletter was like man lands. on the moon like kosher Duncan opens on. Route n there a kosher Duncan there's a. kosher Duncan on Route n and we were. just blown by the way I everyone was. excited I was like wait what's not. Kosher about dunan. donck finally someone got the shellfish. out of the donuts it's lard apparently. it's lard they l in the donuts you know. I've gone to that Duncans I think I know.
which one you're talking about and I've. enjoyed the donuts not knowing that they. were kosher we the first time I was. lucky enough to do uh to do the show the. TV. show I you I did stand up and then I and. then you were like come over and sit on. the couch by the way blew my mind and I. remember being like don't cry don't. throw up just like do the thing and I. sit down and we're sitting there talking. about like little Brookline landmarks. and stuff like that I'm like oh the. house with the yellow roof he's like. yeah the house with the yellow and like. and afterwards I came at I came off for.
my friend Morgan who came with me was. like what what were you guys talking. about like if I told you you'd either be. upset or think I was lying to you or. just like wouldn't make sense like. little tiny places in Brooklyn there's. such a neighborhood it's such such a. thing and I still get sentimental I I as. I said I was just there this weekend and. still driving around and stopping off. and going to the old uh spots and uh. it's it's it's very powerful it's a very. but I don't know if you had this EXP. experience it's a wonderful place to be.
from but when I was 16 years old. couldn't wait to leave all I did was and. I actually said to people uh I can't. wait to get out of this. dump and it was because I was very. ambitious and 16 17 like I got to get. out of this hole you like like I'm. from some which you immediately. accomplished by going to Harvard minutes. away exactly yeah boy you really fled. the coupe I sure did you know what I did. I hopped on a train like a hobo I got a. and I went six miles to Cambridge I got.
to spread my wings and take the 60 bus. Seven. Subs literally I know how they do you. know by the way Boston that was a great. place for me to grow up because I think. maybe it's a specific time God maybe. it's a specific time I grew up in but. people like my parents. genuinely um were just like they gave me. a pair of roller blades and let me go. and when I was like 11 years old I would. just like rollerblade around and like. take the train and take the bus and like.
if I was interested in comedy I would. like sneak into the Lampoon archives cuz. those kids were always uh drunk guarding. the door and I would like s to like uh. go to the county library and see like. Sergeant Shriver and Doris K Goodwin. speaking like it was that time and I was. at the Red Sox all the time cuz I got a. job there and that was the perfect time. the city was just mediumsized enough. that you could eat almost all of it if. you were like curious enough and I worry. that like I don't know there aren't many. cities where where like parents give.
their 11-year-olds a pair of roller. blades cuz nobody roller blades anymore. anyway that one homophobic joke killed. it and then like you just like and and. just be like get get out of here go find. something that you're interested I don't. think it's the city though I think it's. the time because I was just driving down. Route 9 two three days ago my brother. kneels in the car and we pass this. little shed and I said oh I used to wait. for the bus there when when school was. over in third grade mhm myself Virginia. Chapman and Isabelle Zimmerman we were.
just little tiny third graders would. walk down to this uh little shed and. wait for a city bus to come by not a. school bus a regular bus and get on it. and then take it down into to our to the. stop that dropped me off at my house and. then them at their houses and I thought. my my wife would never let our kids in. third grade like when your day at third. grade is up wander down to the highway. and get the bus that goes into Boston. and just make sure you get off on your.
stop yeah see if you can hitchhike if it. doesn't work you know just like try yeah. if there's a van just get in it maybe. he's got candy I hitchhiked home all the. time genuinely like the tea would stop. at like 12:15 and if I wanted to stay. I'll be like I'll just hitch hike I'm. like 16-year-old 15-year-old at like a. comedy show right at like a dick D's. comedy Vault or something like that and. be like the show's going to 12:30 I'll. just be like anyone here want to take me. a newb young teen.
home sorry I'll make it worth your while. oh no well come on it's the way to get a. ride so he was the actual predator in. this situation okay so um so uh for for. the people from Brooklyn listening this. has been a Thor thoroughly enjoyable. yeah sorry can we put this at the end. and everything else this episode is. actually just going out regionally yeah. yeah now for Newton um so what do you. think of Welsley and Sharon yeah we're. going to work our way slowly out until.
we get through the entire United States.
