Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff - Andy Blitz

Episode Date: June 10, 2025

Andy Blitz joins Mark to discuss writing for Conan O'Brien, appearing in famous Conan pieces such as Slipnutz, playing Vin Diesel's brother, and writing on the recent Jason Kelce late night show.   Follow Andy on Instagram

Welcome to Inside Light Night with Mark Malkoff, presented by Latenighter.com. Joining us today, longtime Conan writer Andy Blitz, responsible for some of my favorite Conan pieces. Now it's time to go inside late night. Andy Blitz, it's good to see you. You too. It's been a while. The last time I hung out with you, I saw you, was off to the side of the Colbert Report. I think you were visiting Laura Kraft at a day job there, and once in a while you'd come over and say,

hi. Oh, yeah. Laura Craft. I see her from time to time. Yeah. Yeah. You were at Conan during my favorite time. I talked to Robert Smigel and I told him my favorite Conan, I feel like when the writing was the strongest was during the Smigel years and during when Jonathan Groff was there. And I mean, not to take away from like other people like Mike Sweeney, but in terms of the writing quality when Groff was there it was so strong i just your your pieces people still talk about that but jonathan groff was the one that hired you right i was hired yes by groff but i i feel compelled since your broadside your ambush of sweeney to uh i feel compelled to defend that he's basically the funniest person i've ever met um and he was like swini was in on the right

staff under both those headwriters and he is hilarious he is most of my uh tenure conan was under sweeney there is a thing when you become head writer you're sort of um you're like promoted out of writing to some extent you're um you have more like management and supervision they brought mike sweeney and when jol godd um had been doing the warm up and it hadn't been going well. Joel even I've talked to him about it. Joel told me I wasn't good at it and Joel was not getting anything. It wasn't going on.

They brought Mike in before they hired him as a writer and he was the warm up guy and he was fantastic warm up and was great when Conan would come out and sing Hunk up Burn and Love the Elvis Presley song and yeah. Yeah and then Mike was hired as a writer and yeah very very funny

man. Very funny man. Yes. As are Smygel and Groff obviously and you know smigel just did it um was just there for i don't know a year and a half or something when the show started and then a brief tenure a few months by the way marsh mccall and then groff i think became the headwriter 95 i want to say um and then he um he hired me and then fled um it was his way it's like you know someone that like plants a bomb and then just like gets the out of there.

Well, I wanted to ask about your, you're, a lot of your Conan, that's people still talk about, but in terms of the remotes, some of them are so over the top, I wanted to ask about, before we get to some of the ones that got on there, were there any that you tried to do or pitch

that didn't make it? Because, I mean, you're, I mean, you went to India. You went to Toronto. You have Conan and with the realtor going to the, trying to get an apartment. But did you pitch anything that was, just too much for them to say yes to?

As a remote? Sure. I'll tell you about a couple of remotes that I know that I pitched or started that didn't go. But there wasn't anything I think that was too much that comes to mind. Well, there was one there was like, I'm just going to, yeah, I'll just, like I said, it pops to my head.

There was one thing that was a, there was some dating show that contacted us, contacted the show, and they wanted to do, like, have a comedy writer on there. And I thought that, and it immediately, uh, I don't know. Everyone's just like, let's just put Andy Blitz to be like a total weirdo on. So I don't even remember what show it was. And it was about to like go forward. And I just had sort of like a pang of guilt, which is stupid.

I think looking back, Nathan Fielder wouldn't have had guilt. But I said, like, let them know that we're just doing this as a joke. We're just going to be ridiculous because I felt bad for the women that might actually be looking for a relationship. Who knows? Maybe it would have been a love connection. But I was just like, let them know. We're just doing this for the comedy. And then the show canceled.

They're like, I don't know. I don't know why. They said to have done it. So that was one that didn't happen. Another one, well, this is the big one. and it's not that it's not quite that it was too far um the show was not made for an emmy and the idea was uh conan was getting me ready for the emmys so he went i got fitted for a tux and uh i think i got like a headicure somehow that when i was doing all that um and then we shot

some footage but i i was just like this is not enough so we were going to shoot uh more on a second day um so we shot the one day we got some footage and we were going to shoot and i was like this is when we really have to nail it today if this remote's going to work so i was going to go in early again we usually started late in the day and i was going to go in early to sort of watch the footage we had and see if we could turn it into something And when I got to the office, I walked to the office, and I noticed, like, a weird energy. There was, like, past, like, people having, like, a fire drill or something. And I was, like, lost, thinking about the remote, what are I going to do?

And I was like, what the hell is this? Like, another building had a fire drill. Like, what the hell is going on? So that was 9-11. Oh, man. So, bad for many reasons, but it also killed that remote. And so that was that. We just never really finished it.

I don't know. Yeah, I mean, you, for some of these remotes, was that your idea to pitch when you went to India, to NBC's IT person? Yeah, that was a real problem. that I was really having a problem with pop-ups on my on my laptop no not laptop on whatever my desktop actually

and so I was like trying to call them and then yeah it was just kind of thrown out as a joke like I think like should I go there and then it was like well should I like why not you know would NBC pay for that and they wouldn't today but in that era they were just I don't know people made bad decisions it's true they took away dinner

eventually but back then you guys were all getting um the writers were all being fed dinner they would buy in individual dinners rather and um things yeah the money changed but when you went to India do you have other writers that are with you that are preparing jokes that are off camera throwing you all alt lines or is it is it just all you Yes. So for that one, there was another writer whose name is Dan Gore, G-O-R. He went on to create Brooklyn 9-9, Brooklyn 9-9. Dan Gore, yeah, he came along with me to that. He had been to India, I think, before. His wife, his in-laws or friends, from Indio. So I think he had accompanied his wife on trips that are in the past, I think. Certainly his wife had gone. And then, so he came along, Dan came along for that trip,

as well as there was a couple of producers there that came to. And I think one of them's sole role was to keep us from spending too much money. But the exchange rate, it was so cheap in India that, like, there's no way he paid for himself, you know? He got, like, I think probably was falling out first class and got a nice hotel and definitely was a net loss for the company. How much footage do you have for something like that normally that you have to cut down to like a five, four minute, five minute remote? I don't know. I mean, I definitely think that we wanted to get as much as we could, I mean, just broadly speaking and then just sort of. of stuff to choose from um and so actually okay now you're reminding me uh this was a dan gorpitch was we were there and we were um uh i remember i specifically scheduled it like it was a work

week but it was the week before the olympics were happening because the show was going to be dark for two weeks while the Olympics were on. So basically it was a three-week window, and I did that so I could just travel around India, in addition to doing that remote, and my girlfriend at the time came. So the point of that is that I think we, at some point we weren't necessarily able to communicate with anyone at the show.

So we were shooting footage, and I knew we wanted to meet Sharon, who was the person who was helping me at this help desk in Hyderabad, India. But Dan Gore pitched, while we're here, what if we also try to shoot a thing of you trying to become like a Bollywood star? And so we just kind of were grabbing footage for a possible second remote, which we didn't really have, but then we ended up using that as the ending of that piece,

which is me trying to like do a Bollywood. would dance that they taught me to do um uh yeah but we just shot a lot we shot a lot stuff that we didn't use like so i i think i was like getting direction from a scene i was meeting like a bollywood director and actors on an actual film shoot and then i was going to try to be in it um but we were we were winging a lot of it and then oh yeah dan gore reminded me of the story that we met some producer of a Bollywood film and we were shooting this thing. And he came up with the idea that he was going to be on a phone call when I walk into his office and he was just going to tell me, just wait a second, I'm too busy.

And then I decided knowing that, like, I'm like, why? And he's just like, let's just, I don't know, it was just his idea. So I decided when I walked in, I would also be on a phone call. So I was having like a fake phone call. So we were both on our phone calls. And then he just did this and then got off his call. And he's like, yes. And then I pretended I was still on my call.

And it was just like, it went on way too long. And so that kind of decision making went to a lot of excess footage, basically. I don't know. I don't know a number, but yeah, more than we need. One of the bravest things that you and the Conan writers, a couple of your friends, writers, and I wanted to just, I want to know about your anxiety level for this is when you did slip nuts, when you're backstage about to open up at a slip knot concert and you're going to be going in front of all these people that have spent lots of money and resources and time

to be there. And they basically announced that they've an opening act, which they don't know what's going on. And you're going to be going in front of all. all these people, is there anxiety as excitement? What is going through your head? What are your expectations and how did everything go? Yeah, my only anxiety, I mean, looking back, it's probably foolish, but my only anxiety is like, is this going to work comedically? But they told the stage manager told us, like,

be careful out there, these guys throw batteries at bands that they like. that was that was a real quote so we're like oh okay and yeah so I don't know how there was also I guess it's okay to say there was a weird thing where John Glazer

kept getting hit in the head not at that show at other things on the show like he was trying to do some other sketch and then he walked out in the door closed and hit him in the head another time he like fell his head so according to that i love glazer i didn't want anything to happen to him but i'm like if somebody throws something i bet i'll just take glazer that's what his luck is i didn't want that but i was like you know i think i'm safe

but um yeah no uh it was i didn't know what would happen i don't think any of us knew what would happen um and i wanted to like you know we turned the lights down but like Flip-knot actually, like, yeah, they have like a full montage. Like, they have a specific song they play before they come out. And, like, I wanted to, like, commit as much as possible to, like, get that audience to think they're about to see Slip-Not, who they were there to see. And then it's us, it's the Slip-Nuts. And I'm like, if we get attacked, like, that's better for the comedy.

So I wasn't that anxious about being physically attacked because I knew it would be funny if we survived. How long were you actually on stage? It's just to set this up. It was this act. You came up with this idea for this fictional band that it just had a name, Slip Nuts, not Slip Not, that just would slip on nuts.

And that was kind of like the whole thing. But how long were you out on stage in front of these people that had no idea what was going on this crowd? Well, we just sang the song, and then we said thank you and acted like it was a huge triumph. and then we left.

And then, didn't think of it before, but once we were off, I was like, oh, like, what if we just go back as do an encore? And they'd do the same song again. But I think it was too late at that point, unfortunately. I love the one that would take some of your,

the things you would come up with, and they would just take it to the maximum level. Like when you would, you had this, it was an Act 5 character, which they did a bunch of times, which was the guy that had a very long cheer. You would have that sports chant. Conan would set that up, and you would just, you know, usually a chant would maybe last like five seconds,

but your thing would go on and on these tangents. And you went to a devil's game. You took a fan of camera crew. You're trying to teach the fans, the hardcore fans, this chant that was like, I don't know, a minute or two, and it just keeps going and going. You know, I never thought about it until you just mentioned. it right now

but that was the same venue as the flip nuts slip not thing yeah same same arena where the devils played yeah that was the

Stanley Cup finals so once again like people didn't have any interest in seeing me um you know they're they've been watching the Devils all year and they're waiting

and win the Stanley Cup and then And, yeah, you just kind of do it and figure, like, hopefully you don't get assaulted. And if you do, hopefully it's not too bad and it's funny. But it was all right, you know. Did you have any public figures to your knowledge that were upset at jokes that you did? I remember Michael Bolton was upset at Conan for something. I forget why. I think he mentioned on the show

that Bolton wasn't thrilled with him when you were there did you get any feedback from public figures that weren't happy with bits or anything? There were definitely people who would like call and complain maybe with justification. I don't quite remember

I know Slipknot was fine with the Slip Nuts. They were cool about it. I mean, it wasn't, you know, it was making bud of us, not that. It was just sort of, I can't quite remember anyone that. There were certain guests that were so into doing comedy bits, and then there were others that just wouldn't do it. And I had heard the story from writers that was Andy Griffith, that they were trying to get him to do a bit.

And he's like, you know, I'm going to say no to this. And they kept trying. And finally he just was like kind of snapped a little bit. But, oh, yes. I do, I've heard that story as well. And I know Smigel tried to pitch Neil Young. I also pitched Neil Young to sing the Flipnut song. What did he say?

Well, he said no. But he was, yeah, he looked at me and then he, It was weird. He started naming nuts, other nuts. And I thought there's a thing in Bestin show that always correct me up where Christopher Guest is just naming kinds of nuts. But I don't think, it didn't feel like Neil Young was referencing that. He just sort of like, it just triggered something in his brain, which is just like, what are other kinds of nuts. In his defense, he absolutely did other bits within the show. We did a thing, I think, where he was maybe did Joe.

Goddard's voice. He did a couple different things. So he was a good sport. But when you play Vin Diesel's brother, you're working with Vin Diesel, do you have to go to the green room before the show or do you get on the phone with his publicist and explain that you, this bit to Vin Diesel, who's a huge movie star at the time? How did that happen? That would have been through our talent department. And again, like to Vin Diesel's credit like he was cool about it i think he agreed to do it and didn't quite know what it was which to me is like really kind of cool um so we did it yeah and then he he stayed out there i wanted to do a thing where i kind of come out next to him and we're brothers and we have a hug and we just kind

of talk about a little bit about our childhood briefly and then we just kind of so the um the clip of me as his brother. But then the next time he was on the show, he didn't do it. So I still show the clip. I don't know. Maybe that was just a comedy thing. Like, don't go back to that well too much. It's really funny. Why was it necessary to have 12-hour days for the writers? Because you have the monologue people that get to leave early. The Letterman thing as well, because there's so little writing, because the monologue people get to leave early, which is fine. But the people that are doing a desk piece and then in Act 5, there isn't that much comedy for that many writers for a 12-hour day. Yes, I know the writers are producing their own pieces, but looking back, do you think it was necessary for 12-hour days for a show that was four days a week?

Probably not. I mean, I think it got better, but it was – so, I mean, I think if the hours got better, then – then you were – would say it wasn't necessary. But I do think that to some extent there was like um you know, I think because to some extent the show was topical

so it would be like, what has happened today? You know what I mean? Like in that sense it was necessary that like if we wanted to reference something that happened, you know, like at an award show we might all watch it together or something.

um yeah but we would tape the show at 530 and then afterward at dinner so we sometimes wouldn't start writing after that until whatever you know 730 or something like that to start to write stuff or but um i don't know it worked i mean um the thing about flip nuts is like that we came up with that like at midnight or later the day before you know so i'll also i'll I'll change my answer. Yes, it was necessary. We should have been working longer. We should have all lived there. Lorne Michael's philosophy was that for comedy writers, exhaustion is your friend, and you come up with some of the most creative things. So I guess that's a testament. Yeah. Back then, Conan's show was pretty much like Letterman and Johnny Carson, which was live to tape. They almost never stopped tape. What were some disasters where they actually had to stop tape that you remember? That's a good question. I'm sorry that I don't.

Nothing comes to mind. I mean, it was a thing, like, even when there were screw-ups, you know, we would just go through them. Somebody was reminding me, I was working, talking with Kevin Dorff recently, who worked on the show with us, him and Glazer, and I were all working together. And there was a thing where Kevin was going to do a voiceover,

or was recording a voiceover in the big. booth to be used later. I don't know why they were recording it then. And it was piped through to the audience. So Conan was interviewing, I don't know, some normal serious actor, I think. I kind of asked, Dwarf told me what it was. And then he was like, now that's a good Friday. And it just came over to the speakers.

And it was his voice from the booth. and it was like Conan and not this it was like Benicio del Toro or something like that I was just like what was that no James Spader maybe James Spader did he keep it in Conan keep it in did he use yes yes I think I think it aired so that was the kind of thing so I don't remember a lot

that was stopped I do remember editing some triumph piece I didn't do a lot of triumph stuff but I was working on one and then the editing machine like we were editing while they were loading in the audience and then the editing machine like crashed and had to be rebooted

so they just rolled in a totally different they just reused a desk piece some old footage which is the only time I can remember that happening but I can't remember them like stopping off the top of my head I'm sure there's been something I think that that was always good

I mean, especially early on and stuff, if there were, stuff didn't work. There was definitely a term to that. You had standards and practices. Every show does. Were there some things that you tried to get in that they just wouldn't let you do that you tried to talk them into? I can't remember. Someone else, I think, has talked about this. But, like, it was just funny to have them, like, they would record a message and they would say the most foul.

things because they would just say like you know you can't say like or whatever you know because they were so they would be like um and then i guess like 30 rock maybe uh took something like that um uh and and used used that idea i'm sure they you captured the same thing at SNL and actually the same standard yeah go ahead one person who was wonderful who i was friendly with and got to have lunches with was Rick Ludwin who was vice president of entertainment late night who traditionally a lot of creative people in TV look at an executive, a TV executive and not have nice things to say. But everybody I've ever spoken with maybe not Jim Downey and Norm MacDonald was actually had good things to say for the most part. But for the most part,

people at SNL and Conan loved him. He was such a wonderful guy in Seinfeld never would have gotten on the air or stayed on the air. But can you talk about Rick a little? Yeah, I mean, it's like, I mean, Conan was my first TV job, so Rick Ludman was like the first executive that I ever worked with. And like, just like this guy who was cared about comedy and was really smart.

And he would like tell you in person when he liked stuff. I think maybe he emailed. sometimes I don't even know and he was just this guy and like he had really good taste in comedy I mean obviously like you know he's to his credit Seinfeld was known by all of us

and not like just some forgotten four episode experiment and yeah he would just say like I love this thing and it would be this it would be weird thing it wouldn't be you know something that you would stereotypically think of an executive you know

being into and so because that was my first experience i was just like i don't i don't buy any of the you know like what and he was also just like a sweet guy he was kind of like bookish um and uh i think he's from ohio originally and um yeah he was just like it would be like it would never be like bad to have the executive around like we can't do anything like he was he was cool with anything as long as like, you know, it wouldn't get in trouble with the advertisers or whatever, then maybe.

But that wouldn't even be, it wouldn't even be coming from him, like, we can't do that usually. Or I wouldn't really hear that. Yeah, he was a great guy. And just like this guy who had good taste in comedy. I mean, part of it was also, like, NBC was, you know, we were on so late and we had to turn out a show every night

and we were 3,000 miles away or whatever from L.A. So I think they were just like, whatever, as long as we don't get in massive trouble, that's fine. There has never been a late-night show that I'm aware of that had so many

interns that turned out to be famous. John Krasinski, Mindy K. L.A. and Vanessa Bear, who was on Saturday Night Live. Do you remember when any of these individuals were interns? Yeah. I was just telling the story yesterday. I remember John Krasinski, you know, just like distributing

scripts I mean actually like his character in the office is probably not that different from the way I knew him so that sort of helps with the transition of when he ended up being a successful lead on the TV show yeah it was just like he would just he would make copy he's in distributed scripts and I I remember like chatting with him and him you know saying he was interested in you know whatever show business like you know writing acting and all that and I I definitely like, it was a good, nice guy, and I, I, um, yeah. I mean, I'm sure I was just like, okay, good luck thinking like you've chosen a miserable path in life, I mean, as a lot of us have, but, uh, I met him that summer at Union Square.

I was handing out sketch, I was doing a comedy show handing out postcards and he was a Conan intern. I'll never forget. He was sitting on the steps at Union Square with this thick book. And he's like, yeah, I want to do. comedy as well. I'm like, yeah, good luck, you know, and I'm just like, I'm never going to see. And I would get people's, people would give me their emails to be on the email list. And I, he was at Hotmail at the time. And I just, and then he got, and this was, and then he got, I was like, wait a minute, the guy from the office. I met him. And yeah, it's amazing. You know, yeah, and then a couple of them, like most of the office, right? I think like

Mindy Kaling Ellie Kemper That's amazing Angela Yeah she was She was yeah Yeah she was also An intern at Conan

Yeah and I forgot about that It's amazing to kind of To look back It all of that When you did Conan You did stand up on Conan How many times? Was it twice or three times

And what was that like? I mean No I think it was like four times or something like that. That was fun. I mean, it was just sort of like I was on the show. I was hired on the show before I had

booked stand-up. But in a way, that made it more nerve-wracking in a different way because ordinarily you're going to go out there and like, okay, all your friends and family are going to see this. I hope it goes well.

but now like all my co-workers are going to you might think, you know, my coworkers are going to see this and I'm going to see them five minutes after I finish or less, so I better go well. So yeah, it was like I was nervous. I mean, it was weirdly like, I don't know what the, you know, hundreds of thousands

or something like that was probably the audience. But psychologically, it wasn't that different probably from anyone who invites their coworkers like hey i'm doing a stand-up night i'm seeing me i mean because that's what i felt like i was just doing it in front of my co-workers what were you going out at nights then would it be frank smiley or whoever was it was in running sets leading up to those stand-up appearances because you were playing luna lounge and you're doing kind of um not traditional comedy clubs correct yeah right i would do like i would develop that material

that like all I mean I would also do like the comic strip or I would do clubs do Gotham but like I was really like my favorite places to play were like the Luna Lounge um

waiter Rafeefei you know alt rooms um where it would be standard but you could just like be weirder or you know you didn't have to follow

like in the clubs I just felt like the audience had a real expectation for what the voice and attitude of stand-up is in a more, you know, conventional confined way. And so if, and I'm not that, you really. So sometimes you get an audience that's like open to like, okay, this is a different thing. And but they'll get it and it'll be, you know, other times they're just like, that's what got you hired at Conan because You were at Luna Lounge and you met Tommy Blotcha and I was at Brian McCann. I mean, Jonathan Groff would hang out there as well and do comedy.

But that was, this was the place. It was like $5 to get in. It was all these people that were not famous at the time that now were huge stars. And it was so many people were trying to get Jeff Singer, Naomi Steinberg. They were trying to get on, get stage time. Was that hard for you? Did you have to get them a videotape or how did you get booked? there and how was how did that how did that impact you um i mean i did not yeah they they uh i don't know

somewhere they saw me somewhere else just by chance and then invited me to do it yeah it's a big deal it was a huge deal industry was there and it always wanted to to do luna you know i would go regularly and see and you know my the favorite the comics that i I like performing there. And then they just happened to see me and then invite me to perform there, yeah. And then you only had to do one packet for Conan, correct? Because why and when did it change that people had to do three packets and it would take them over a year to get hired.

I've talked to people, you're looking like that that's wrong, and perhaps it is. But there were people there that had to submit so many times it got to be at least like three times over a year period. Maybe that was not your experience. I'm guessing it wasn't. But do I have that wrong? I'm not familiar with that, but I'm wondering if that's like,

would they submit? And then they were like, maybe their packet was alike, but they hired somebody else. And so the next time a job opened up, they felt like they had to... It could have been. There were a bunch of people

that submitted numerous times, the show but you only had to do one packet right and you got hired i got yes i got hired off of of my first packet which um what was in your packet if you remember any of the ideas and did any of them actually get on air i'm almost sure i don't remember a lot of it i remember one thing i don't think anything from it ended up on the air um i wrote one thing where um conan was saying that he was very excited about his next guest

it's somebody who he always dreamed of one interview but just never really thought that it would be possible because he always assumed that he had died over a hundred years ago

but it turns out that he had faked his death and for whatever reasons we'll talk to him about it and please welcome Abraham Lincoln. So Lincoln would come out 190 years old or something like that longer than we'd known and he would come out

very frail of course and he'd be in good spirits you know loves the Max Weinberg 7 and all that joking around and explain to Conan you know that he just he didn't get

injured ultimately in that assassination attempt and it was it was just a way to he was just needed a break from the spotlight or whatever and then uh someone was going to charge onto the set screaming uh that andy richter had screwed them over about something i can't remember and pulled the gun and tried to shoot andy and then just wiped out and misfired and hit Lincoln and killed Lincoln. The irony. It got you hired. Yeah. Yeah. When you did that remote with Conan where you were looking for an apartment with a

realtor, is that one of those things? I'm guessing you come up with a bunch of different beats. One is you're going to take a shower. Do you bring swim trunks? Like, is it like, do you tell the real estate person in advance that that's going to happen? Or how much was spontaneous versus things that were, that you had on a business? beat sheets. I think a lot was spontaneous. We didn't tell the realtor anything, and we didn't really know much. I think we maybe knew that I would take a shower. But I think that's kind of it. We just kind of, I think probably like Jason Chalemi had met the realtor,

found her for us, and we just kind of met her on the street. And we were just went and did it and just kind of ad-libbed it, you know. It was very funny. Yeah. And then, yeah, I feel like Kevin Dorff was there. and maybe, like, he pitched the, um, the hard cut from, there was a really expensive one. Um, but like, yeah, I mean, it was, it was, it was improvised, basically.

And then even the, like, I took a shower. I think that was probably, we thought of doing that. And then, um, um, I'm just sort of called a delivery guy. Yeah, just improvised also. Like, let's just get him in the shower, and he did. But that was not planned. Yeah. You just throw them $50 cash, petty cash, and I'm guessing that they're...

Yeah, yeah. Get to be on television. Yeah. What was it like writing for Jason Kelsey's late night show? Yeah, that was... So, just did that. And, I mean, the fun thing about that is these are the... it was four writers and we had just like um it was three of us were we're all worked together

with conan back in this time it was me kevin dwarf and john glazer was the head writer and then tammy sager who's also hilarious yeah she's funny ever about chicago person 30 rock yeah she's she's incredible so um and as our as our glazer and dwarf so it was just like a great team and we just sort of like it just kind of like fell into my lap and um you know uh i think glazer got hired and then and they brought us on and um uh you know i've sort of i'm a sports fan and i um had had been only only the last two years of doing was doing fantasy football so i was kind of ready i had sort of accidentally done the research to work on it um but it was it felt a little bit like um doing stuff in the old honing days in that we would like

um so we did like five episodes it just ran during the nfl playoffs and um you know we did a thing where it was a lot like kind of like we were winging it so like in the second episode Jason Kelsey

Jason Kelsey's great he's like a very sweet guy and just kind of naturally funny and charismatic and so it was really fun and then like we you know his wife Kylie was going to be announcing it

and then she got sick the second week week and then he just brought in this old teammate of his who has long blonde hair like his wife but anyway we just kind of like we're figuring stuff out like in that in two hours before we taped so that's it felt like the the energy and the kind of um winging it spirit sort of that we um they counted you know that's fun that you got to do to do that one thing I wanted to ask you about Conan is, what was that like? Do you remember any specifics when he would go around with his guitar and just kind of roast employees? He would just kind of show up and do these

songs, correct? Yeah. I wish they were a videotape. I mean, he kind of did that a little bit on his tour with him when he was with, when he was with, who was it? I forget. He was with somebody and he was kind of, yeah, somebody, but yeah, it was pretty funny. He would like, what was I going to say? I think maybe some of it has been released. Some Team Coco stuff, rehearsals and stuff, have been released where he's just kind of crumbing his guitar

and just talking trash. Jack McBrere, that's who it was on tour. He was doing that with Mick Brerer. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it would be some of that. But then I think Michael Coleman reminded me of this

the way it would go, which is that I think I'll get it wrong. He would do this like, do you know about this? Casey at the bat sort of poem and he would like have a baseball cap and he would just be like, my name good sir is Cappy Couch.

cap he would do like a poem uh i with glove in hand and i wield the bat uh and it'd just be this incredibly stupid poem i can't remember how it goes and it would it would end with my that name again is capy cap and it was just like it was so insanely dumb But it would just, like, make us all laugh to tears. I mean, that was, I mean, you ask about, like, the late hours. Like, I didn't feel it because it was really fun, you know. It was just hanging out with a bunch of hilarious people. And, yeah, I don't remember much specifics, unfortunately.

Yeah, he would just come into the office. I was sharing an office with Andrew Weinberg at one point. and Conan would just come in and improvise a song about how whatever we were writing would inevitably disappoint him and stuff like that, you know? Yeah, it was funny. I would see you over the Saturday Night Live after party sometimes.

Did you go a lot to those? Yeah, I guess I would. I would go, you know, I guess for a couple years, my friend's Leo Allen and Eric Sloven, we're writing on the show. They're hilarious. They wrote a really funny sketch.

It was the Scott Joplin time traveler. Let's bring John on. John is with the Saturday Night Network. If he's paying attention, let's see if he's actually paying attention our producer from the Saturday Night Network. But I believe that would have been Britney Murphy. Was she playing Anna Kornikova?

I think you got that right. And I think that they wrote that. I don't know if you remember that. piece but that was Slovan and Allen they did it a couple times it was called a tennis talk oh it was so funny

oh yeah they wrote that did what else John do you know what else they wrote over there they didn't I don't know if they got a lot I think they did

the Falconer maybe with Forte they did a lot of snow with Forte yeah but I don't think they got on as much as

matches their their funniness I've worked with Leo on a number of shows since but we were all you know good really good friends

from the Lounge comedy scene so you'd go over and hang out with them at this show yeah yeah and I think I told Eric reminds me that I said this about the SNL after parties that they would have the after party that started at like 1.30 in the morning and then they would have the

after after party that started at like 4 or 430 or something and basically go till dawn until the sun came up and you would need a password to get into the after-after party probably right yeah but I would never I would tell at some point I stopped going to those

because I was talking with Eric and I was like I have never been glad that I went I was like I've never not not regretted like it's just exhausted oh because you're so tired the after after was freaking brutal just to close the loop on the island Slovan thing. They wrote that sketch with Matt Damon in 2002 where everyone was

named Matt Damon. There was a doctor, Matt Damon, and all of that with Parnell. They were so damn funny. I remember Slovan and Allen doing that on stage at UCB, that whole, what was it from deliverance? The famous song from deliverance

and they would go, it was like a duet, like back and forth, there was like a duel. It wasn't, because they would do dueling banjos in deliverance. And this was, with with the music but they would do different techniques back and forth to get that played. Their stuff was so damn

funny. Yeah. That's how they got hired. I mean, there aren't a lot of comedy teams anymore and they got hired off their performance. Leo was in some monologue at SNL. He was like an audience plant and it was the first time

because of Cunning, you know, we were left, you know, to tape but we were tape but like it was live and this was sort of like one of the moments in my life where I was just like oh man I can call him right now and I think I can make my I might be able to make my TV ring if he forgot to turn off his phone and it is like I do understand people that have this like destructive vandalism I don't condone it and I'm like I get the impulse I think it was the Ray Leota episode that you're thinking of. Oh, maybe, yes.

That sounds right. I can just, I can call him and I can make my TV ring. It'll be amazing. And I had to fight hard not to because I'm like, well, then he'll get in trouble. And I told him that story. And he's like, yeah, yeah, I'm so paranoid. I checked like every five seconds that my phone was off. Do you remember being at the after party?

I think I'm pretty sure you were there. It was when Conan hosted SNL and it was a big deal. And remember Gary Shanley and being at the party and being so, starstruck that he was there and um he was talking to another a cast member who i just left shanlin alone that time i got to meet him before but um i remember max was there max Weinberg was in the monologue they had um Conan goes down to 6a and max is on the desk with a with a female and um remember max i remember i remember that uh i don't remember meeting shambling there i don't know if i should share the story it's not that big it's not that

scandalous. Please. But I mentioned, yeah, I was dating Marie at the time, and the show was nominated for an Emmy, and it was her idea. She's like, Emmys, like, are boring when you're there, and you guys never win. So, what if instead of going, we hire lookalikes to go? So we did that. I hired somebody who looked like me and made them look more like me, and he brought

his wife, and she actually had, like, a. I don't know, was she Polish or Russian or Ukrainian? She had like an accent, but she wore like a red wig to look like Marie. And I made them memorize photos of all our friends from the show that would be there and what conversations to like continue with them. Some of them were too private to just share with all strangers. So they showed up at the Emmys and just pretended to be us. And we just hung out.

and the reason I tell the story is that the year before that Gary Shandling had sort of tried to hit on Maria at the Emmys so then now a different woman than the red wig is like hello again Gary do you remember I think I don't know why we had briefed her on that if you see Gary Shandling and yeah

and none of the other writers knew that you were going to do this that you were going to cast people that look like you to show up? No, no. And what was the reaction later? Did you find out? I think it was enjoyed, but, I mean, some of the writers were married to other comedy people, like, you know, so they were like, enjoyed it. Other ones were married to civilians who were just kind of, like, got frustrated, yeah. It's like that one SNL writer that I want to talk to, that was a Groundlands guy, friends with Farrell, and he would, on the Monday pitch, he would dress up like different,

is it Stephen Clegg? Is that his name? I don't remember if I'm getting that right. But he would dress up, I think, like Mark Twain or different, just to these really Andy Kaufman type pieces. I think he brought a child in once that wasn't maybe, I don't know if it was his pitch, Lauren, and just do all these, yeah, odd things.

But, yeah, I love it. loved that you did that. I wish that would have been videotaped, but I'm sure a photo exists. But, um, yes, it's on my Instagram up there. Um, and, um, uh, yeah, but that was, I didn't really get to meet Gary Shandling much, uh, other than that, but I heard he was a lovely guy. Yeah, who was somebody that you went backstage that you really wanted to meet that you were excited to? I mean, everybody was on that show. I mean, in the beginning when I was going to Conan, I met Robert when I was like a 17. I mean, they'd empty seats and they couldn't fill the 197 seats. And it was like, it was always like Ellen Clegghorn would be the first guest or

like Adam West, who's great. I mean, and Ellen's great as well. But it would be hard to get guests. But then after a couple of years, it was like Scorsese and Hanks and like, I mean, it was just Am I wrong? The way George went, he just passed away. I think he did a walk on on the first ever Conan show. He did. He leg wrestled Andy and yeah he was um he knew Robert for super fans so um right yeah um well

the thing about it is that like the one person that we were all sort of excited to see and I didn't get to meet them unfortunately but like Gene Wilder is the only like you know you get used to you'd see like Julia Roberts Gwyneth Paltrow all the time

and you just kind of get numb to it you know it's just like this you're like oh there's like a stunningly beautiful person but you know you're just kind of like it became very like who cares you know like you see them every day they're just sort of like people in your high school almost but Gene Wilder was someone that we all

so many of us kind of like idolized his stuff and producers young Frankenstein so I remember when he was on the show like a bunch of us made a point of going down and just to kind of like get a glimpse of Gene Wilder. I think he wore a sweatshirt. That's what I remember. I could be off on that, but I think he weren't like a blue sweatshirt, but he was, I remember when he was on this, he told Conan he's like, you were very good at what you do. He said something like that and very

complicated. There's a Gene Wilder documentary or something, and I think they show a clip from his interview with Conan. It was wonderful. No, I love Jane Wilder. Yeah, he's unbelievable. from Wonka. Everywhere he went, that was like his one thing. He had just couldn't. It was hard for him. It couldn't what like he was. All I know is, I've talked to several people. My brother was a PA, an unwilling grace. And Gene Wilder was his last acting, I believe, credit on camera. And during the, in between scenes or whatever, whoever they would play, have a DJ play music. They played the Wonka theme and, or pure imagination, Anthony Newley. And, you know, everybody starts cheering in the audience in Gene Wilde just under his breath.

It's like, I can't get away for that. I can't get it. That's so funny. I mean, I'm sorry. If you look at the box office for that movie, compared to, like, the box office for Timothy Shalmay, which is like, I don't even have any, like, that movie came. I mean, this is sort of more to do with my not being in touch, but like, I'm like, oh, there was a Willy Wonka movie with Timothy Jolomey as Willie Wonka.

And the box office, it's like a billion dollars or whatever. I mean, it's insane. And compare it to the, it feels like nobody saw that Gene Wilder won in the theaters. I mean, that's exactly right. It was considered a huge, it was not considered a success, just like Strange Brew. I was talking to Pam Thomas, who worked on it, and I always think of Strange Brew. Everyone's seen it. It must have been a big success, but it was a box office bomb.

Amazing. Yeah, isn't that credit? I remember when Big Lebowski came out, and I remember one person named Chris Hildrew, who I was friends in Hershey, Pennsylvania, it was like, you have to see this movie. This movie's amazing. And no one talked about it for years, and I had heard the critics, it was, like, did okay, but it was like good of those things. And then it just took a while, but I don't know anyone else that,

saw that in the theater, but it became something. You just never know, I guess. That gives me hope from some of my pieces that I feel. Yes. Andy Blitz, I'm so glad we got to do this. Thanks for doing this. And I'm glad that John got to join us, John Schneider from the Saturday Night Network. Yeah, you check out John. He has everybody, so many people he's interviewed from Saturday Night Live, and they do stats on the seasons and stuff. So you should definitely check out the Saturday Night Network. so I'm glad we got to do this. I really appreciate that. Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks so much, man. Thank you to Andy Blitz. Be sure to check out if you live on the West Coast in Los Angeles,

Andy Blitz and Friends. That is Friday, June 13th at 730 at the Silver Lake Lyrick Hyperion, Andy Bliss and Friends. It's going to be a lot of fun. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcast, so you never miss an episode. Please leave a review. also be sure to check out latinider.com for all of your late night news past and present. Thank you so much. I'm Mark Malkoff. We'll see you soon.