Conan O’Brien returned to The Tonight Show for the first time as a guest since he left the NBC show.
However, the comedian largely dodged talking about his stint on the 11:30pm show. O’Brien hosted the between June 2009 and January 2010 but was replaced by Jay Leno’s return to the show.
He briefly mentioned it at the top of his appearance following a standing ovation from the audience. “I know you meant well, but I had The Tonight Show for ten minutes and you ate into my time,” he joked.
O’Brien wasn’t pressed by host Jimmy Fallon about his time on The Tonight Show.
He did, however, reminisce about his time hosting at 12:30am. O’Brien hosted Late Night between 1993 and 2009.
“It’s weird to come back; I haven’t been in this building for such a long time. I haven’t been on this floor in forever. You have strange memories. I was here for 16 years before we went to LA. When someone else is in your studio, it feels weird,” he said.
O’Brien, who lives in LA, said that when he returns to New York, it reminds him of his crazy late-night exploits. “In my life now, when I ride about Manhattan, I remember being dressed in a loincloth on that corner and dunking myself in chicken broth,” he said.
O’Brien, who is reportedly 6’4”, joked that some actors were hesitant to appear on his late-night shows due to his height.
“I was told over the years that there might be guests that might not want to come on., especially male actors that are smaller because I’d tower over them,” he said.
O’Brien was on the show promoting travelogue, Conan O’Brien Must Go, which debuts on Max on April 18.
As he was leaving O’Brien paid Fallon a compliment. “I’m very happy for you; I’ve had the honor of meeting every Tonight Show host going back to Steve Allen and I think what you’ve done with the show is beautiful and you made it your own, you’ve done so much great quality work and I couldn’t be happier for you,” he said.
Fallon replied, “You raised the bar, you made me work hard.”