Conan O’Brien is opening up about one of the hardest chapters of his career. On his September 10 podcast, he told Simpsons creator Matt Groening that leaving Saturday Night Live in 1991 left him in a genuinely dark place — and that a writing job on The Simpsons pulled him out of it.
The timing was unreal. Simpsons writers Mike Reiss and Al Jean heard Conan was available, and he was hired within days. He went on to write and produce on seasons 3, 4 and part of season 5 before leaving in 1993. Conan admitted the job intimidated him at first since he’d only written sketch comedy, but he called his time there a magical part of his life and thanked Groening directly. His words:“It really saved my life.”
From there, Conan went on to host Late Night, The Tonight Show and Conan on TBS — and Stephen Colbert once dubbed him“the patron saint of ex-talk show hosts.”The whole story is proof that a career low point can turn into a launchpad, and that one opportunity can change everything. Has a job or a big break ever rescued you at the exact right moment? Tell us in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.