How Robert Smigel & Conan Approached Replacing Letterman | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

Flash Forward I go and do the Simpsons. and then and it's too hard to explain. but all these crazy things happen it's. really the equivalent of me being in a. cornfield and getting hit by a meteor. but all these things happen where. suddenly um they say hey you're you're. going to uh we replace David Letterman. the guy you idolize who I said many. times cannot be replaced I said there's. it's impossible to replace him so I pity. the guy who replaces him I'm on record. saying that and I salivating to replace.

him we had totally different dreams. because he was hired to produce the show. yeah but his dream was not that like you. say you did happy happy good show and. you were always the funniest guy in the. room at SNL and I was more like you know. Broody Tom jovic you know just brooding. brooding writer right uh but but my. dream was like to like my hero was like. Sylvester Pat Weaver the guy who created. The Today Show and The Tonight Show I. love the IDE the saddest thing I've ever.

heard anybody say I was a pathetic nerd. Blair poster of of Pat Weaver I do I do. understand he understands I no I would. go to the museum of broadcasting or. whatever radio and television and revel. in these old like Dave gay talking to a. chimp on the Today's Show in the 50s and. no you were ready to I mean but what was. interesting is so they came they said to. me okay you're going to do this and I. said it then I say it now I said I can.

do this if I do it with Robert yeah yeah. I said I can do this if I do it with. Robert Smigel but it it I can't do it if. it's not with Robert smel and um I don't. think I ever heard that I know you said. you told me you wanted me to do it I. know I didn't tell you I wanted you to. do it I said you have to do it and then. I remembered there was stuff about well. Robert's contract we're not sure and I. was Lauren just didn't want me to leave. no I know but I was yelling at. NBC give him every you know like give. him take stuff from me and give a take.

like we have to do this together because. I knew then I had a shot and uh and um. and it's true and uh we um don't get. self-conscious because I'm complimenting. you take the paper away that's my. job but anyway uh and then um. immediately we had very little time to. put the show together I mean it stuns me. now that I think by the time by the time. I was done doing the affiliate dance and. everything I think it was June and the.

had to be on the air in September. September 13th of 1993 it's June and. there's just a big empty space where. Dave Studio was and we had no writers we. had nothing right but I knew Robert and. I will just start we go and we worked. our at we didn't sleep we worked like. crazy all summer long it was the best it. was so is my dream job and I was working. with you I I was just like the best guy. I could work with and I have to confess. when he first told me and you know this.

you remember the conversation I'm sure. when you first told me Lauren wants me. to audition there was a part of me that. was like scared yeah like I hey guess. what me too but but I I remember this. very clearly you were like gee I don't. know because if hard that's a hard way. to break into show business that's what. I said if you if you if you you know. it's going to be hard for anybody I mean. the only person it wouldn't have been. hard for is I think Gary Shandling Gary. Shandling was a name they were Bing on. and if he had done it it been absolutely.

brilliant from day one cuz he's Gary. Shandling but everyone else would have. taken some knocks for not being Dave um. but I was going to take a lot of knocks. because complete unknown and no. experience and um I remember so clearly. I remember where I was I was living in. this little apartment on. Weatherly and I had in this tiny little. Nook I had a phone and a phone machine. back when you had a phone machine and. I'm talking to you and you're sort of. saying I'm saying yeah they they're. thinking maybe I should audition because.

they they're looking for the right. person and Lauren said you know he's got. a look and maybe and look and he's very. polite and he's got the hair the funny. first name and it maybe that's a thing. and so um and he'll be cheap and he'll. oh trust. me you'll get him for nothing and so my. salary. non-negotiable and just because I'm. saying you're going to save money on. him not. me so I remember talking to you and you.

were rightly I was shum you were you. were shbl you were saying yeah I don't. know I don't know I don't and then in. the background I heard like a Charlie. Brown uh parent voice. go and I said what was that and you said. well that was Michelle yeah because you. know your wife and I and I and not wife. at the time girlfriend at the time I. think and you said and you said um and. she. said and I said what's she saying and. she saying uh and and you said Michelle. said he's got nothing to lose right and. then you said huh I think that's kind of.

true like why not what I mean and then. of course I thought yeah I guess I could. be a national joke but that that was the. fear the first year the fear was the. first year was who's the famous National. joke I have to say also that like so. then I did hesitate a tiny bit and I. then I just like it was like a few hours. I was like wow man I don't know man if. he can do it I just he's never been on. TV and and then I just thought to myself.

so like you know we both love performing. and I got to do a few things on Weekend. Update I did and Conan was already with. The Simpsons and I just remembered like. this guy helped me for hours with my. stupid Weekend Update feature. perspective and I'm like I'm I'm. hesitating it's the and. I called you back and I was like yeah. yeah I mean this is my buddy but then I. I had uh we had I never once celebrated. like I end up I audition they think.

about it and then they give it to me and. and never I was always scared and always. filled with the sense of responsibility. and here it is now over 30 years later. yeah and I have never once I don't think. I celebrate anything I mean I I don't. but I just was always like well we'll. see we'll see and still now I'm 60 and. I'm going we'll see boy we'll see if we. see how what happens but uh but I think. it was appropriate not to celebrate. getting that show because it was it was.

not like getting cast in an amazing role. it it felt to me in a very Catholic way. like this is a test and you're going to. have to walk through hell and then. that's what happened that is what. happened but but I remember so then he. had that audition which was incredible I. mean I guess it was and then I asked him. about it and he said well I had nothing. to lose and and he was like in front of. I don't know how many people were in. that room I I don't know there was it. was a tiny no it was a it was a good. size I don't. people yeah and he interviewed Jason.

Alexander and Mimi Rogers and his Mimi. Rogers interview was just like. professional hysterical and then I just. turned on a dime I was like this guy's. gonna be enormous and and then he was so. funny and hilarious when we assembled. writers we all got incredibly. overconfidence yes we're like. everybody's going to have a. long skinny pants I I was positive and.

so but every everyone's going to be one. I have kind of like ambivalent ambiguous. gender uh I it was a good kind of a guy. but also a little bit of a girl no but. for his he stayed nervous but the rest. of us were so confident and it was great. because it made us try everything we. were Fearless we tried every idea and. obviously some went to but still. the proudest achievement of my whole.

career easily is how much stuff we did. generate if you look at the first two. years that's the thing that I'm stunned. well even if you work at the first three. weeks there's so much material that you. did Forever on The Late Night show we. did the Clutch Cargo in the year 2000. the actual items there's so many things. that but then we. kept we never stopped trying to uh try. new things and and um I remember people. used to uh who were in the business.

would say I mean I remember even David. Letterman saying that's insane because. we would we were basically trying to do. Saturday Night Live every night yes. which is which is impossible and then. finally you could smell the smoke of. like the gears grinding yes people going. insane no one's sleeping it's funny. because like so many I think I've told. you this story so like in 19 and it was. a lot of it stemmed from people on the. staff who just didn't believe in us some. PE a lot some people really believed you. know like Frank back there and Paula and.

um but then uh you know like so in 1999. or 90 or 2009 I visited the Fallon set. and yeah because back then when we did. it people were like every night live. we're doing over here and I visited the. Fallon set and everybody was like all. perky and happy and they were doing. really ambitious when he first. started in late 0 they were doing all. these detailed film pieces and literally. crew members said to me it's like every. night.

live.