David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, Part 1: 1993-2009, Recut

Don Giller
Don Giller
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Published 2018-08-29
September 13, 2018, marks Conan O'Brien's 25th year on late night television. Here's a two-part Dave/Conan compilation to commemorate the milestone.

Part 1 documents Dave's and Conan's interactions on each other's shows from 1994 to 1999, followed by Dave's reactions when Conan was awarded The Tonight Show in 2004 and then finally took over the show in 2009.

NOTE: Part 1 is a recut; the bird network blocked part of the 2/28/84 video, so that's been deleted here. (Why they blocked part but not all, and why they left alone a poorer-quality version uploaded elsewhere last December escapes me, but thus is the arbitrary corporate logic.)

Update: The blocked segment is now available here:    • David Letterman On "Late Night With C...  

In the absence of further appearances, Part 2 is devoted mostly to Dave's gags and running commentary on the fiasco that was The Tonight Show in January 2010. The collection ends with Conan's last Late Show guest appearance in 2012.

Part 1
Beginning where we left off before Conan's Late Night debuted:
1. June 25, 1993. On the final Late Night with David Letterman, Dave wishes Conan well and hopes to someday be invited onto his upcoming show.*
2. February 28, 1994. Dave guests on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
BLOCKED BY the bird network: available in poor quality here: tinyurl.com/yatd2f7v
3. July 29, 1994. Conan guests on Late Show, 1.
4. March 21, 1995. Dave's pre-Oscar nightmare.
5. May 2, 1995. Late Show's stand-by audience is sent to LNwCO. (Inclusion of the giant rat at the beginning is paid off at the end.)
6. December 19, 1995. A Day in Dorothy's Life (excerpt).
7. January 26, 1996. Conan guests on Late Show, 2.
8. February 23, 1996. Cold Open on LNwCO.**
9. February 6, 1996. Joan Collins guests on Late Show (excerpt).
10. March 19, 1996. Dave makes a surprise appearance on LNwCO to talk to Joan Collins.***
11. March 27, 1996. Dave goes to LNwCO and gives Conan a joke.
12. May 24, 1996. Dave and Conan in Late Show's cue cards room.
13. June 24, 1996. Conan guests on Late Show, 3.
14. January 13, 1999. Conan guests on Late Show, 4.
15. October 15, 2003. Dave announces the birth of Conan's and his wife's baby, Neve.
16. September 27, 2004. Dave on Conan hosting The Tonight Show -- in five years.
17. June 1, 2009. Dave on Conan as the new Tonight Show host.

Thanks to @therealtriggi on Twitter for the idea.

*A look at the media coverage and Dave's Late Night segments in the Spring of 1993 when the bird network announced Conan as the next host of Late Night after Dave would leave his then-current network for CBS is here:    • Conan, Jay, and Dave, April-June 1993  
**Thanks to Bill Bredice for the video.
***Video courtesy Inflatable Conan's upload here:    • David Letterman's surprise appearance...  

Part 2 here:    • David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, Pa...  
All Comments (21)
  • @dongiller
    The first version of Part 1 included Dave’s 1994 guest appearance on Conan. NBC blocked it, so I edited it out for this Recut version. The Conan folks must have done something, because that appearance is no longer blocked. They even uploaded most of it themselves. Anywho, that first version of Part 1 cab be seen here — https://youtu.be/yrkPwfWbIrU?si=6b0_xPhvFUPzv1rt
  • @RonMotta1972
    I can give you some insight into the Dave's walk-on with Joan Collins... I was an intern on Conan when this happened. Dave was there to film a bit with Conan after "Late Night" finished taping (it was actually the clip right after that one). I was down in the 6A hallway, literally right next to Dave. I was shaking, but controlling myself, because I had idolized Letterman since high school. So Dave is standing there and sees Joan Collins on the video monitor. Suddenly, Dave says, "Oh, I need to talk to her" and just bolts right into the studio! It was COMPLETELY unplanned - NOBODY knew he was going to do that! And I assure you that, back in the office, Conan was COMPLETELY delighted and thrilled. He was just in awe of Dave and just thoroughly enjoyed the moment. Conan also launched into a HILLARIOUS riff on what would happen if he (Conan) did an impromptu walk-on with Dave. I can't do it justice, but it ended with Conan shattering Dave's hip. I may not work in TV anymore, but this was truly one of the highlights of my life. I felt like I witnessed television history.
  • @tannerstiverson
    Conan in his early thirties: "I'm in my late fifties" Conan in his late fifties: "I'm in my early thirties"
  • @whateverpbk
    I never knew that Dave and Conan did so many things together. Dave really likes Conan is my conclusion.
  • @dpaul428
    From the ‘96 interview to the ‘99 one, Conan makes a huge leap in terms of his confidence and control over the audience. You can sort of see the power dynamic shift between him and Dave here
  • @Kha89478
    Dave loved Conan more than the other late night hosts cuz conan was as goofy as him
  • @Football__Junkie
    NBC blocking the clip ACTUALLY IS one of life’s pleasures being ruined by meddling bureaucracy!
  • @quadrumvirate86
    There’s a timeline where Dave was supposed to host the Tonight show and then take Conan under his wing before passing the mantle to him. I think being deprived of that, by being mutually screwed over by Leno, is what has given them this special bond over the years and it’s why Letterman has always stuck up for Conan. He knew Conan had potential before anyone else and it has been amazing to see their cross network camaraderie.
  • @rezinAKAkillergoat
    Had no idea there was this much synergy. It’s heartwarming to see Dave take what Johnny did for him to the next level with Conan.
  • @DippinSauc
    Dave is a class in himself and Conan is people's late night host. These two are truly highly talented in their chosen fields.
  • @fatalmodelmadhatter
    And as of today (October 7, 2019) they have collaborated yet again by means of Dave appearing on Conan's podcast, which is on iTunes and Earwolf if you're curious and willing to give it a listen. Absolutely love these two! And I can never thank you enough for making your goldmine available to us, Don. It really means a lot not only for us fans, but for everyone who loves a good late night talk show.
  • @LS-gm6rw
    1 hr and 21 mins of Dave taking care of Conan. Now Conan stands equal to Carson and Dave.
  • @ravimusicuk
    I think it says a lot that, when Dave said: "When we come back, Angela Lansbury," my instant internal reaction was to go "Do we have a picture of Paul McCartney!?"
  • @TheChrisHype
    “The only thing I know for sure about Conan is that he’s been to prison.” I like to imagine that Conan first saw that joke, laughed his ass off, and a friendship sparked from that very joke.
  • @Ernie1978
    The respect between Conan and Dave is plain to see. This video was brilliant, no wonder Conan is so free with his compliments to Dave. I feel like I swallowed a box of fireworks after watching it all. Thank you for putting it together, Don.
  • @withalittlehelpfrom3
    I love the way Dave laughs at Conan's one-liners! They have such different senses of humor and styles of comedy, but they get along so well.
  • @crowns9966
    I wasn't born in that era, but both Conan and Letterman shows were/are great
  • @mikezazworsky
    absolutely genius opening on the '93 line about Conan killing a guy and CLOSING w/ the '09 line about Conan killing a guy! look, if the joke works, the joke works, 20th century, 21st century, doesn't matter...
  • @Dantezim1
    You can really see how these two have nothing but respect for each other :)