Conan O’Brien Recalls the ‘Late Night’ Bit That Made Him So Mad He Tried to Kill It Live | Video

During his time as the host of “Late Night,” Conan O’Brien was a champion of silly and strange bits. After all, the late night star was the man who brought the world The Masturbating Bear and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. But there was one recurring segment his writers loved that he could never get behind.

“[My writers] would get really high on something and say, ‘This is fantastic.’ I think it’s a basset hound that’s dressed like a minister, and he dribbles a basketball as the song ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ plays, the Globetrotters’ song. And I read it and I went, ‘Huh?'” O’Brien said while swinging by Seth Meyers’ show on Wednesday night. “And they showed it to me at rehearsal, and I went, ‘No.'”

Despite O’Brien’s protests, his writers continued to push Otis K. Dribbles. “I was mad. I would say, ‘I pay you guys? You get paid for this?’ And we got into it,” he recalled. Eventually, the late night host was worn down enough that he agreed to show the segment on the air. But even when Otis K. Dribbles appeared, O’Brien tried to make it clear to his studio audience that he did not approve of this particular basketball dog.

“While they’re doing it, I’m in the corner looking at the audience like…” O’Brien said before shaking his head in an exaggerated manner. “Because the camera’s not on me, so I’m trying to kill it.”

Ultimately, Otis K. Dribbles did appear several times. Though O’Brien’s writers argued that the bit was a hit, the comedian remains doubtful to this day. “Writers aren’t always correct,” he told Meyers.

On the flip side, the late night legend also revealed some of the bits he personally loved that didn’t resonate as much with his audience. First on O’Brien’s list was Horse Riding a Horse, a person in a horse costume riding a live horse. There was also The Always Disappointing FedEx Pope, a man with a FedEx hat on his head who pretended to be the pope, and Shoeverine, Wolverine but with shoes on his hands instead of claws.

“Based on the three things you liked, I don’t blame them for thinking he’s going to go for anything,” Meyers jabbed.

“I know what you’re thinking. Was I medicated? Yes, I was,” O’Brien joked. “I’ve always had a very cartoonish sense of humor, and I like things to be visually silly. I always thought I want people to laugh at the show if the sound is off, which they would have anyway with me.”

O’Brien’s Wednesday night appearance was a big moment for late night fans. The comedian hasn’t been on the NBC staple since 2009 when he first left the series to lead the doomed “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien.” Watch the full interview above.

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