At a press conference ahead of the March 15 ceremony, the comedian recalled a Johnny Carson joke on the Oscars stage that inspired him
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NEED TO KNOW
- Conan O’Brien, ahead of hosting the 98th Academy Awards, previewed the March 15 ceremony at a press conference alongside producers
- The comedian grew up watching and laughing at Johnny Carson host the Oscars with his late father, he recalled
- “To think that maybe now I’m part of that equation somehow, and in a cosmic way links me to my dad, is pretty amazing,” said O’Brien
As Conan O’Brien gears up for another go as Oscars host, he’s experiencing a moving full-circle moment.
At a Wednesday, March 11, press conference, the comedian, 62, joined producers and designers from the 98th Academy Awards ceremony to preview this year’s celebration of cinema.
“When I was growing up, and this is probably true of a lot of kids, I'd look at my dad and I would think, what's my dad into? And is that a way to connect with my dad?” he recalled.
O’Brien’s father, Dr. Thomas O’Brien, died in December 2024. Three days later, his wife of 66 years, Ruth Reardon O’Brien, Conan's mother, also died.
“His treat,” recalled the comedian, “was he would watch Johnny Carson. So I would sometimes get to stay up and watch Johnny Carson with him. And I remember very clearly Johnny Carson hosting the Oscars and watching my father watch Johnny and laugh.”
Credit: iRelaunch; Kevin Winter/Getty; iRelaunch
O’Brien called that interaction “a triangle,” adding, “To think that maybe now I'm part of that equation somehow, and in a cosmic way links me to my dad, is pretty amazing.”
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Carson, who died at age 79 in 2005, once made a joke onstage at the Academy Awards that has always stuck with O’Brien. Amid the 444-day Iran hostage crisis that began in November 1979, ABC's Nightline would keep viewers posted by announcing how many days the crisis had stretched on.
“And Johnny said, ‘Well, it is day 44 of this Oscars,’ ” recalled O’Brien of that overlong telecast. “It was such a funny topical joke that touched on something everyone was thinking about, and at the same time got a big laugh and was unifying. And I don't know, that was meaningful to me.”
At the press conference, O'Brien and Oscar producers also teased reunions that will take place during the ceremony, including actors from the 2011 hit comedy Bridesmaids and from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Stay tuned for PEOPLE's full coverage of the 98th annual Academy Awards on March 15, airing live at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on Hulu.
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