The Upright Citizens Brigade released a big fancy oral history last week titled High-Status Characters, and to help promote the book they’ve created a Tumblr that matches up excerpts with the corresponding video or images. This, to be perfectly clear, is fantastic, especially if things like “a young Amy Poehler appearing on Late Night With Conan O’Brien as Andy Richter’s younger, headgear-wearing, Conan-obsessed sister and going totally nuts” or “a young Amy Poehler showing up in the Good Morning America audience with pants on her head” strike your fancy. Which they should. A lot.
From the Tumblr:
CONAN O’BRIEN: Amy Poehler first popped for us [on Late Night] because someone had the idea for a character who’s a huge, over-the-top Conan fan who has a mouth retainer. The piece would always go the same way: She would be over–the-top, and then I’d finally say, “I’m too old for you,” and suddenly, her whole demeanor would change, just like a cloud would pass over her face, and then she would become demonically angry and rage at me [laughs.]. It’s a funny idea, but it’s all in the performance. And Amy would absolutely destroy it every time. She was completely unknown—she didn’t have the benefit of the crowd saying, “Hey, look, it’s Amy Poehler.” But she hit it out of the park every time.
But wait. I promised you Amy Poehler on GMA with pants on her head.
MATT BESSER: We once pranked Good Morning America. Ian drank fake urine behind the newsman, and Amy had a giant pair of pants that she put upside down over her head.
AMY POEHLER: That sounds vaguely familiar. We used to do so much stuff back then, and I was always the one up all night before, because I hated it. My stomach would hurt. But it was always exhilarating and really fun to do.
The video is only available at the Tumblr, but here’s a sneak peek. Amy Poehler is the greatest.
