Conan O’Brien on Robin Williams’ Ugly Gift After Tonight Show Firing

Conan O’Brien is sharing the story of how the late Robin Williams cheered him up after he was fired from The Tonight Present in 2010.

The late-night speak present host, 61, recalled the hilarious reminiscence throughout a latest episode of his “Conan O’Brien Wants a Good friend” podcast, telling listeners that he was “fortunate sufficient to have some nice interactions” with the beloved comic earlier than his loss of life. The actor died by suicide in August 2014. He was 63 years outdated.

“One of the vital memorable examples to me is after I went via my complete Tonight Present debacle,” O’Brien started. “Lastly, the present is completed, and I don’t know if I’ve a profession anymore. What am I gonna do subsequent? I’m mendacity on the ground in the lounge of my home, and my telephone rings, and I decide it up, and it’s Robin Williams. I don’t even understand how he acquired my telephone quantity.”

Noting that Williams reassured that he would “be fantastic” and he’s “going to be nice,” O’Brien – whose ardour for biking was shared by Williams – stated the Mrs. Doubtfire actor despatched him to a motorcycle store in Santa Monica, California, for a one-of-a-kind reward.

“And I stated, ‘What?’ And he stated, ‘No, no, no, simply head on down there. Journey round, you’ll really feel higher,’” O’Brien continued. “And I went down and it was a Colnago, which is a really good bike. And he stated, ‘I instructed him to color it in all these loopy Irish colours.’ I get down there and it’s probably the most ugliest — I imply, it was simply greens and shamrocks and every part. And he was like, ‘You’re going to love that bike, chief. Don’t fear about it.’”

O’Brien added, “I thanked him many, many occasions. I simply couldn’t imagine that he was interested by me.”

O’Brien started internet hosting Late Night time on NBC in 1993. After his contract was nearing its finish in 2001, the community prolonged his deal and agreed to make him the fifth host of The Tonight Present in 2009; nonetheless, Jay Leno – who started internet hosting The Tonight Present in 1992 – was not made conscious of the deal till 2004.

Leno, 74, was given his personal late-night present amid O’Brien taking up Tonight Present internet hosting duties. O’Brien solely hosted for a couple of months earlier than departing from the community in January 2010, and Leno resumed internet hosting The Tonight Present till 2014. O’Brien went on to host Conan, which aired on TBS for 11 seasons from 2010 to 2021.

Earlier this month, it was introduced that O’Brien will host the 97th annual Academy Awards, which is ready to happen on the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 2, 2025.