Conan O' Brien Debuts As Host Of Tonight Show
June 2 2009, Published 10:52 a.m. ET
Conan O'Brien had an eventful first night as the new host of the legendary Tonight Show.
Following in the footsteps of late night icons Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, and Jay Leno, the string-dancing 47-year-old mused about one of his Tonight Show forefathers in the first monologue in his new capacity.
"I remember watching Johnny Carson when I was a kid and thinking: That's what I want to be when I grow up," O'Brien said. "I'm sure right now in America there is likely a kid watching me, thinking: 'What is wrong with that man's hair?'"
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O'Brien's first guest, A-list funnyman Will Ferrell, brought his brand of offbeat, frenetic humor to O'Brien's maiden voyage.
"This is so incredible, cause no one thought you could do it," Ferrell joked. "Literally no one -- and you're here! And its so fun and cool!"
He then serenaded the new Tonight Show host, Ron Burgundy-style, with the song, "Never Gonna Say Goodbye."
When Conan reminded him its wasn't a farewell show, Ferrell replied: "Don't get me wrong, I'm pulling for you. But this whole thing is a crapshoot at best -- we got some shaky studio execs back there waiting to pull the plug at any second. "