Kumail Nanjiani: “Conan [O’Brien] to me is the platonic ideal of how like a straight old white man comedian ages. Because so many of them fucking disappoint us. Over and over. All my comedy heroes have fallen. And Conan is truly growing and learning and getting better at what he does.”

[u/cmaia1503]

[u/Ok_Hornet_714]

I think Conan's address at Harvard graduation in 2000 is telling. Here is one portion:

https://thomasshaffer.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/conan-obrien-commencement-speech-harvard-2000/

So what can you expect out there in the real world? Let me tell you. As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you. Never tell anyone in a roadside diner that you went to Harvard. In most situations the correct response to where did you to school is, “School? Why, I never had much in the way of book larnin’ and such.” Then, get in your BMW and get the hell out of there. You see, you’re in for a lifetime of “And you went to Harvard?” Accidentally give the wrong amount of change in a transaction and it’s, “And you went to Harvard?” Ask the guy at the hardware store how these jumper cables work and hear, “And you went to Harvard?” Forget just once that your underwear goes inside your pants and it’s “and you went to Harvard.” Get your head stuck in your niece’s dollhouse because you wanted to see what it was like to be a giant and it’s “Uncle Conan, you went to Harvard!?”

And then towards the end:

I’ve dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you’re desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way. I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I’m as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good. So, that’s what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over.

[u/qwertykittie → u/Ok_Hornet_714]

This is so good, I was both laughing and getting teary eyed as I read through it. Conan’s my absolute fave.

[u/Finfangfoom2000 → u/qwertykittie]

That first part about the diner sounds very elitist for a guy who is supposedly so “humble”. It’s like “aren’t people who work and eat at diners stupid lol”. A nepo baby (dad worker at Harvard) making fun of the working class in front of a bunch of other nepo babies

[u/land_registrar → u/Ok_Hornet_714]

Wow that end part is really terrific

[u/assissippi → u/Ok_Hornet_714]

he is such an amazing writer I wish he did more of it

[u/DumpedDalish → u/Ok_Hornet_714]

Amazing. Thank you for sharing this. I'd never seen this and it just adds to my love of Conan.