You Won’t Have Andy Richter to Sidekick Around Anymore
The New York Times
Richter, who has worked alongside Conan O’Brien on his three shows, reflects on at his career as late-night’s No. 1 second banana.
When TBS broadcasts the final episode of “Conan” on Thursday, it will bring the curtain down — at least for now — on the long-running late-night TV career of Conan O’Brien, whose trajectory from awkward outsider to venerated trailblazer spanned nearly three decades. That broadcast is also a transitional moment for Andy Richter, who spent most of those years as O’Brien’s sidekick on “Late Night” and “The Tonight Show” on NBC and then “Conan.” The 54-year-old Richter brought a seemingly effortless irreverence to interviews, monologues and comedy segments, injecting himself without overshadowing the man whose name was in the title. With his departure, late-night television loses one of its last practicing sidekicks, further shrinking the ranks of a once ubiquitous role whose duties have either been parceled out to bandleaders or disappeared altogether.More Related News