It's all a hoax. See http://www.dailyhog.com/jay_leno_09282004_8932.asp .

These posts are being deleted. Notice how post that mentions the news has any replies.

Will he take over the tonight show in the year 09 ? I hope not, then we can say goodbye to all the wacky things he does now. Surely this stuff will not suit the tonight show! What is there to gain for Conan ? And us fans ? What will happend ?

I don't want to see it happen either. I mean I know it means a lot and there is all the prestiege, but Conan is funny on late night and the TOnight show is so incredibly square. Conan I think has made the Late night NBC spot more of a place where comedians can get away with anything on network television and that is really cool. It will be really sad to see him go. I think if COnan stuck with late night he would eventually have the same respect as Johny Carson and he would be going his own way, but what can I say he's going to do what he is going to do and you can't stop the man.

I think Conan will be just as funny at 11:30 as he is now.

He won't be able to get away with the stuff that he gets away with at 12:30. I'm just saying it will be a major change in audience. Right now the people who watch Jay are conservative and older. THat is a drastically different audience then Conan. People who watch Conan want to get a sincere laugh and at the 11:30 time slot it just doesn't allow for it. THere are too many people watching and too many people will get offended.

Maybe you're right. I don't watch Jay much because he is boring. Sometimes he tells a good joke but most of the time, it's like he's walking through it with his big grin. I also like how Conan doesn't put on airs.

In Finland he would!!! His show airs here at 11:00 (and a re-run every day at 16:15)

I know! He should do the Tonight Show from Finland!!!

(I think he once jokingly said that he would )

They hired him to do the Tonight Show on the basis of what they saw on Late Night. Thats like someone being asked to work a job based on what they've done in a similar job but telling them they have to completely change despite being hired because of what they are doing currently (Im very tired so that didnt come out quite right but you get the point)
Conan has said himself that he wont change that much, and I really dont think he will. What he does on Late Night is what he believes to be funny and he cant change that to suuit a timeslot. I think he'll be the same Conan just a little earlier!
I can just imagine on teh very first night he'll talk about how amazing this is, what a sacred institution The Tonight Show is, how he would never defame it, how he's leaving all his juvenile humour behind and becoming a mature comedian, never again will he waste time with arbitrary time wasting things.
Then Cactus Chef playing We Didnt Start The Fire on a flute will appear.

Thats my dream opening in 2009!

Why would we kill you? I prefer Letterman too.
You know if Jay Leno makes you laugh, chances are I dont care for you much as a person!
I love quoting Peter Griffin.
I hope he introduces the Masturbating Bear too! He cant leave him at Late Night! He'd be so lost! Poor, poor Bear!

I'm worried about moving. He can't move to L.A. I want him to stay in New York. It would be much easier to go see his show.

I know Im the exact same. I adore New York, I dont want him to move. But I'll go visit him in LA I promise (hee hee like he could escape me that easily! )

I'm going to get stoned for this, but I cannot wait for the end of the masturbating bear. It was funny, now it's just something with no point and every time it's on the show I hear some idiot frat guy in the audience let out some overzealous cheer. "YEAH!" It's the same cheer you hear in Girls Gone Wild videos. sans smile.

I'm excited about Conan taking over in 2009 but I also have reservations. He deserves this, he's worked really hard to prove himself and get where he is now. I admire that and I respect that and wish him nothing but continued success. But I worry he'll become formulaic like both Leno and Letterman have become (Friday night, time for "will it Float?", Monday night, time for "headlines" that kind of thing)

I know he's not going to get to be as wacky as he is now, he's playing to a different demographic. I want the innovative comedy to continue. I want them to still keep the mentality that they can do a "Skelevision" show for no other reason than they want to and it makes them laugh. Of course, they did put Newhart in a tube during the Emmys and it played well, that bodes well for 2009.

I HATE the idea of Conan in LA. I'm bias because I hate LA, so that doesn't count for anything.

Don't worry, I don't like the masturbating bear either...



Yeah. He really should stay in New York. Let's do a public protest in this, if things go bad !!!

And I can see that Conan himself isn't very excited about moving. But it's just my opinion. I can be wrong.

I'm not a big fan either.



I agree! Let's do it!

Im not a huge fan of the Masturbating Bear I must say but I just cant bare (excuse the pun) the thought of him on his own in the Late Night studio. Its makes me really sad.... but Im struplid like that!

Ellen, that was the most true statement I've ever heard anyone make about true Late Night Fandom. If you can't watch the Masturbating Bear, you are not a hardcore Late Night fan. I can't describe some of the painfully stupid bits I've sat through on this show but I never once considered turning the TV off. I believe I am not alone in saying that no matter how stupid a bit is, I will press on. That is how much I carrot Late Night.

We need to start a petition to keep Conan in NY. Of course, we do have to think about the possible reprocussion to NBC's late night line up by doing so (opening up a HUGE door for competitors by keeping Conan in NY) but Carson's already out there. I just detest LA so much. Whenever I think LA, I think Paris Hilton. And I know it's a stereotype, and I know not everyone who grows up in LA becomes some Hilton-esque spoiled brat...but I couldn't imagine raising kids in LA. I couldn't imagine growing up in LA. I couldn't imagine living in LA. But then again I'm not thin and blonde, it may be different for someone who is priveliged enough to be born that way. All I know is that I think LA and I equate it with a place that would stone me for being some sort of malformed freak who should be ringing cathedral bells. Of course, the same thing could be said about any place on the face of the planet that has a TV. Except Morocco. For some reason, they like malformed freaks there (I always get hit on by Moroccan men. WTF? Has anyone else ever met anyone from Morroco? Or am I a MMM (Morrocan Man Magnet) in addition to an OMM (Old Man Magnet)?)

I don't know, I haven't been around small children for a very long time. What has happened in the past is babies will take one look at me and just STARE, open mouthed. They'll stop crying to stare. I think it's because they have never seen a person with pratically black hair and skin so white it is almost translucent. They're trying to figure out where the joke is in that.

Random story related to my paleness - I went to an Estee Lauder counter once and I was trying to find any foundation that wouldn't leave a line. So I pick up all the ivory ones, etc which, like all of the lightest shades of make up, are too dark. IVORY is too dark for me. So I ask the lady and she says, "Oh I have one. I remember it because when it came in I showed it to the other girls. I couldn't believe how white it was! I never thought anyone would buy it!" And I looked at my sister, who looked at me and proceeded to point and laugh silently. It's called "pearl." I need to get some more of that stuff.

So i am not the only one then Conan will have to take sleeping pills each day before he goes on the tonight show as host. And what about the writers ? And Triumph ?

I don't think Conan will have to take sleeping pills. He won't get to be as zany but, like I said, I worry about him becoming formulaic.

As for the writers, no one would like it more than those of us on this board to see them go with him to The Tonight Show. But whether they'll all want to pick up and move to the Seventh Level of H.ELL remains to be seen.

And Triumph...eh. Whatever. He'll probably pop up now and again anytime Smigel is in LA for whatever reason. I realize Triumph is big but I feel the same way about him as I do about The Masturbating Bear - Funny, at times, but I'd rather see the Crooner, or Hannigan, or something like the Mouse Sketch, or the Tell Tale Taco bit than Triumph

We have to start a petition to keep Conan in NY. He can't move!
I've never turned off TV during Late Night. Maybe once or twice before I had become a huge Late Night fan. I used to hate Late Night. Yeah I've been insane! How can anyone hate them. The're so lovely!
Sev I've never met a man from Morocco.
When small children look at me they usually start smiling. I think that's sweet. At least someone smiles for me. But I hardly never look people in the eyes. Here in Finland it's just weird if you look someone in the eyes.

Coney - It's ok because I used to hate Late Night, too. Well, maybe not hate it. I was pretty indifferent toward it. But I was blind. I had been led astray! And then - I saw the light.

PS - I know now why I can't sit through Letterman. I hate Paul. I hate Kevin Eubanks, too, but he's not nearly as annoying. That's why I like Max. He practices his one line, delivers it, sometimes appears in a bit, but is quiet and happy during the show. i like that in a band leader. None of that annoying warblely crap that Paul does. Yay. I heart you, The Max Weinberg 7.

So you don?t like Paul yelling: AHHHH !! after each `joke?? This is only the worst noise in the history of mankind. They should use that noise, to torture terrorists, they would talk in two secounds.

Conan will make some dermatologist in LA very happy.

And what's with all the Masturbating Bear hate? You guys are not the same people I thought you were!

Lately I've been noticing I can distinctly hear Max laughing during the monologue or sketches... odd. But in a good way.


When small children look at me they usually smile and perhaps reach out for me.. Awww. Breaks my heart. I then usually want to make a scary, scary face at them. But I'll just smile and make a weird sighing noise of some sort instead.

I think my Masturbating Bear indifference is more a backlash on the Stupid Frat Guy Cheering When The Following Occurs:
1) Conan mentions beer/pot and/or other drugs
2) A bear masturbates
3) Truimph says "for me to poop on!"
4) When a sports team they like is mentioned

And it's always that really annoying distinctive "YEAH!" from the back of the room. That "YEAH" crushes my soul and I die just a little more every time I hear one. Because here is some normal guy who has the capacity to become the guy who smashes beer cans on his head for the last remants of pizza his buddy passed out on top of. Or is like that guy in Borat who says that he'd let the mouse eat cheese out of his member. It makes me weep.

I would pay money to see you make a scary face at a child.

I dont hate the masturbating bear at all! He's just not my favourite. Give me Hannigan or the Interrupter, or the guy who unneccessarily abbreviates things! Love him! Well fu yo a ho!

Nah I don't hate Masturbating Bear.

And those frat guys are sueing the producers of the Borat movie. They say they were lured/manipulated to the movie with . I think that's ridiculous. It's their own fault if they have been drunk and messing around.

Masturbating bear rocks. 'nuff said.

Yeah. Why? I was so angry.

What I find really interesting is how many Conan fans I've talked to who were not at all impressed by Conan the first time they saw him. I know I wasn't. I thought he was akward, gawky, and moved around too much. I also didn't think he was the least bit attractive. The more I watched the show, the better looking he got, the less akward. And he doesn't look any different now, it's just his stage presence, his on-air personality, his quick wit, his confidence, all of that went a long way to making him "hot" to me. Now I think he's flat out sexy, but he's still gawky and moves around a lot!

I first saw Conan when I was 16, and I was extremely impressed. Of course, I was watching the Late Night ep on an airplane (I was on my way to NYC), it was night time, and I was feeling very sleep-deprived, but still... I was impressed! Even more so after I snuck inside his studio a couple days later.

Where do you get this stuff? There's numerous legit sources that this is taking place.

• Would MSNBC's Conan takes over Tonight Show article be a reliable enough source for you to accept?
• What about Conan's official bio on NBC.com?

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Paul has one of the most annoying laughs on TV. I think Letterman is great, but he can really do without Paul.
For that matter, Max could do without Conan and we'd all be much better off. At least Max has talent that Conan is sorely lacking.

O'Brien is smart, funny choice for "Tonight"
NBC should stick to plan and give safe, bland Leno his Jaywalking papers
COMMENTARY
By Craig Berman
MSNBC contributor
updated 10:22 a.m. ET, Thurs., Nov. 1, 2007

Conan O'Brien may be a funny guy, and he's great doing that late night show that nobody watches, but there's no way that translates into a big-time show. NBC should pay whatever it takes to either keep the guy it already has in that role or look elsewhere for a more qualified replacement. There's no way this move won't be a disaster.

Where have we heard all that before? Oh, right, in 1993, when Conan replaced David Letterman as the host of "Late Night." Letterman moved to CBS, Conan slid into NBC's late anchor seat, and after a rough start he's been a fixture for a generation of college students, insomniacs and night owls willing to wait up for a good laugh and some great music.

Now, Conan is set to make another big jump, replacing Jay Leno as the host of "The Tonight Show"� in 2009. That's been in the works since 2004, but this week NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker reiterated that the transfer of power was still on schedule, just in case Leno has second thoughts about retiring.

And let's be honest, he must be having doubts."The Tonight Show" is the best gig in late night, a franchise that's stood the test of time. The hosting slot has gone from Steve Allen to Jack Paar to Johnny Carson to Jay Leno, and there's nowhere to go but down from that job. Leno will be just 59 when NBC gives him the gold watch in 2009, and all of those collector cars and motorcycles cost money.

No doubt, replacing Leno is a gamble, particularly if he doesn't want to leave. Though he's nowhere near his predecessor in popularity, Leno has managed to win the ratings battle with Letterman throughout much of his tenure. If he doesn't go quietly, and seizes the opportunity to take on a similar role at ABC or Fox, NBC will definitely lose market share and will face a more fragmented late-night market. The safe choice would be to keep Leno, give Conan his $40 million payoff for being passed over, and let another network take that chance.

But that's not the smart choice. And that's why NBC shouldn't do it.

A Sharper, Funnier Show
Unless NBC can somehow talk Leno into taking another job within the organization, or Conan into sticking with his past-everyone's-bedtime timeslot for the foreseeable future, the network is going to lose one or the other in two years. Controversial though the move may be, it would be crazy for the network to let go of the host with the greater potential just because some may fear change and want to keep the status quo.

Leno had the unenviable job of replacing Johnny Carson and has done a nice job, but most of his attributes are a function of dedication, hard work, and great talent bookers rather than talent. He's dedicated to the comedy craft. He shows up pretty much every night -- no continuing the Carson-era guest host series for him! He's loyal to the network.

What he's not, however, is fresh. Or funny, for the most part.

His monologues make viewers chuckle, but not laugh. His interviews tend to be bland. His standard sketches like Jaywalking and the Headlines are as safe as it gets. Basically, his appeal is that he's comfort food late at night for people who either don't want to change the channel after "ER" or don't feel like tracking down which station is airing "Friends" or "Home Improvement"� reruns.

When was the last time anyone showed up for work raving about something that Jay Leno said on "The Tonight Show"? The biggest happening the program's had in years was Fred Thompson's announcing his presidential candidacy, and judging by his poll numbers that may not be much of an event after all.

By contrast, Conan is fresh, funny, and smart. Apart from some of the self-deprecating humor that will be easy to leave behind when he takes the more prominent stage, his monologues are sharp.

"Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" is one of the best recurring characters in recent memory, and that began on Conan. Bits like his series about being the president of Finland are clever and buzzworthy. If he's hosting "The Tonight Show" there's a much better chance that it will become appointment viewing more than the current administration's product.

Battle-tested
There's always a risk replacing a fixture like Leno, even if a lot of his appeal comes from the office he holds.

But with Conan O'Brien available, that risk is decreased significantly because Conan has already shown the ability to adapt as necessary to succeed in a more challenging role. He's a bright guy with a brilliant writing staff who has already gone through the learning curve.

As soon as he took over for Letterman, rumors of his inevitable replacement began to surface. Nobody thought he would last. He was going to be the random guy who replaced the legend, allowing somebody with better credentials to step in with the easier task of simply replacing him.

But that didn't happen, because at the end of every 13-week contract Conan was getting better. If a bit didn't work, he ad-libbed his way out of it or dumped the topic entirely. He grew into the role, to the point that NBC was so worried about losing him when his contract last expired that they promised him the "The Tonight Show" gig in the first place.

Is Conan over the top sometimes? Sure. Will he have to reign that in? Probably.

But Conan O'Brien is not an idiot, though he doesn't hesitate to call himself one if that's what punctuates the joke. He'll do what it takes, not to transform himself into a Leno clone or a new version of Johnny Carson, but to take the attributes that make his current show a success and translate them to the new role.

The last time Conan O'Brien replaced a legend, it seemed far more likely that he'd be fired within a year or two than he'd still be on the job more than a decade later. But he grew into that role. He'll grow into this one as well.

i watch conan to see people in the entertainment biz that i actually care about...i have watched conan since the the begining and i cringe at the thought of watching him interview Tom Cruise with musical guest Backstreet boys.

Maybe you should watch another show to "see" people in the entertainment biz. There are plenty of them out there to watch. Don't torture yourself, you poor thing, by forcing yourself to sit through a show you hate!!

By the way, Conan is the best!!!