Conan O’Brien grieving the loss of both his parents in less than a week.
The former late night talk show hostthe mother Ruth Riordan O’Briendied at his home in Brooklyn, Massachusetts, on Thursday, December 12, at the age of 92. Conan’s father, a famous doctor Dr. Thomas O’Briendied days earlier on Monday, December 9, also at their home. Thomas was 95 years old.
“Science said there was no such thing as perpetual motion, but my father was proof that that was wrong,” Conan, 61, told Boston Globe in an interview published Thursday. “My father was constantly on the move. And he was interested in everything – absolutely everything.
Conan credits his father with instilling a love of comedy in his children. According to globeThomas introduced his six children and Ruth Charlie Chaplin and the films of the Marx Brothers.
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“The loudest I’ve ever heard someone laugh was sitting next to him in a theater watching Peter Sellers in a The Pink Panther movie,” Conan recalled, adding that while people often thought of his father as a “fascinating guy” because of his work in epidemiology, there was more to him than that.
“But he was often the funniest person in the room. And when he laughed, his whole body would convulse and he would almost hug himself,” Conan said.
“For the rest of my time on earth I will be hearing from people who want to talk to me about my father,” Conan continued. “I’ve never met anyone like him and he happens to be my father. If I happened to meet him in a hotel lobby, I’d think, “Who the hell is this guy? He is the most interesting person I have ever met.”
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Conan’s mother, Ruth, meanwhile, was a lawyer who became the second woman to become a partner at the Boston law firm Ropes & Gray, on obituary.
Conan’s younger brother, Justinhe remembered his mother’s love of attending gatherings. “My mother once said she thought he enjoyed her gatherings more than she did. He really enjoyed meeting people and hearing their stories and getting to know them in a very meaningful way,” he told the publication.
A funeral mass for both of Conan’s parents will be held in Boston on Wednesday, December 18.
The sad news comes as Conan is gearing up to host the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025 He will participate in the ceremony for the first time.
“America asked for it, and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme.” In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars,” Conan joked in a statement confirming his appointment in November.
“We are thrilled and honored that the incomparable Conan O’Brien will host the Oscars this year,” Academy Executive Director Bill Kramer and president of the academy Janet Young said in a joint press release. “He is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, love of film and expertise in live television.”
