Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. "Late Night" aired weeknights at 12:37 am Eastern/11:37 pm Central and 12:37 am Mountain in the United States. From 1993 until 2000, Andy Richter served as O'Brien's sidekick; following his departure, O'Brien was the show's sole featured performer. The show's house musical act was The Max Weinberg 7, led by E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg.
John Goodman
In 1985, Goodman originated the role of Pap Finn in "Big River". For his role, he received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical; he is also featured on the Original Broadway Cast Recording. He had a long history of appearances on late night comedy shows and was the first guest on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", which won him the series' "First Guest Medal" (Goodman joked he would pawn the medal for a bottle of cheap Scotch). Goodman has hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live" 13 times, while also making seven cameo appearances as Linda Tripp during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and cameoing on the season 28 finale hosted by former "SNL" cast member Dan Aykroyd. With little to no experience in TV comedy, Goodman auditioned to be a cast member for Jean Doumanian's tumultuous 1980–1981 "SNL" season and was rejected, along with up-and-coming comedians Jim Carrey, Paul Reubens, and Robert Townsend.