The idea of a late night sidekick’s job requirements seemed pretty simple prior to Andy Richter’s arrival on the stage. Make the host look good by laughing at his jokes and blend into the bad furniture the rest of the time. Unlike other sidekicks, though, Richter wasn’t used to being by Conan O’Brien’s side when he was hired in 1993. A struggling comic actor whose biggest break had been playing Mike Brady in a traveling spoof of The Brady Bunch, Richter started as a writer and ascended once it was evident that he clicked with O’Brien. Richter’s lack of a pre-existing relationship with the host (and their similarly thin resumes), though, made for a somewhat awkward dynamic in the early days of Late Night, but the audience ultimately gained all benefit, getting two for the price of one as Richter went after and often got his own share of the laughs. In those early days, Richter presented himself as an incredibly sharp witted comic who was willing to use his body to get a laugh in comedy sketches and always game to take things to a weird place.
Richter was and still is so much more than a cackling “Yes” man, and after approximately 13 years on the job — he left Late Night to pursue a solo career that wound up being more well-regarded than popular in 2000 before rejoining O’Brien when he got The Tonight Show in 2009 — he has carved out his own legacy. So, in celebration of Richter’s recent 49th birthday and with that legacy in mind, here are some of Andy Richter’s best moments on late night TV.
Andy breaks Conan’s couch.
During actress Lauren Graham’s appearance on the show this past summer, things were going well. But when talk of “G-D” Celebrity Jeopardy arose, Richter got a little squirmy.
The star’s aggressive hand movements (which looked less like clicking the Jeopardy buzzer and more like handling a shake weight) actually broke one of the legs off the show’s couch.
Richter continued the segment a little lopsided, and even revealed he’d destroyed the set piece once before after a belly dive gone wrong.
Andy fires back a zinger at cold-hearted Chelsea Handler.
Not many can stand up to Chelsea Handler‘s vicious one-liners, but Richter proved his worthiness during the comedian’s 2014 Conan appearance. After remarking that he enjoyed going to the beach, Handler quipped, “Do you float a lot in the ocean?”
Not missing a beat, Richter coolly replied, “What, do you sink? It might be that cast-iron heart.”
Andy Richter: 1, Chelsea Handler: 0.
Andy visits SeaWorld.
Regardless of what you think about SeaWorld – Richter’s Conan visit to the aquatic theme park was hilarious. There’s nothing quite as giggle-inducing as a comedian in yellow waders and a tuxedo yelling at animals.
Richter’s penchant for physical humor comes into play here, as he gleefully proclaims, “Wee hee!” while flamboyantly tossing pails of dead fish throughout the birds’ exhibit.
He even finished the visit by straddling a hose and spraying faux white snow from between his legs.
Andy’s little sister has a huge crush on Conan.
Before Saturday Night Live‘s Kaitlin, a pre-fame Amy Poehler played a different, awkward preteen: Richter’s little sister, Stacey. While the recurring bit focused mainly on Poehler, her faux lisp, and unfortunate headgear, Richter’s big brother provocation always elicited the best responses from the actress.
Throughout Richter’s ’90s Late Night with Conan O’Brien run, Stacey would appear and feign annoyance as her “sibling” told O’Brien about the “tween”‘s massive crush, complete with photo evidence.
Andy and Conan engage in a staring contest.
Another recurring Late Night bit that ran all the way through Richter’s final season in 2000. Seems simple enough: the comedian and O’Brien engage in a stare-off.
Each time, however, as Richter remained steadfast in his gaze toward the host, a slew of costumed characters would stand behind O’Brien in an attempt to distract him.
Despite feigning disgust and often making memorable faces, it was always impressive how long Richter could last before breaking the stare. Whether it be a farting Uncle Sam or a hairy-chested woman prancing past his gaze, Richter held strong.
There’s a lot of Andy Richters.
Richter’s final Late Night show in May 2000 was, in a way, one, long tribute to the star who was about to embark on a new career journey.
While the episode included several sweet (and humorous) moments, the catchy musical number about Richter being everywhere stole the show.
Complete with cabaret-style, white gloved performers, the clip “proved” to O’Brien that Richter, despite “charm and wit to spare,” wasn’t really one-in-a-million.
For the sketch, the Richter dressed as everything from a janitor to a taxi driver.
Come for Richter killing an old man, stay for his fake Southern accent.
Where in the building is Andy?
In 1998, when morning juggernaut Today still had “the” in front of its name, NBC sent Matt Lauer around the world to exotic locations for a week-long event called “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?”
Not one to be outdone, O’Brien launched his own (poorly-funded) version of the segment (“we never shy away from ripping off great ideas”) called “Where in the Building is Andy Richter?”
While Lauer traipsed about in Cairo and Italy for a week, Richter popped up in a new part of NBC’s office building for four days.
Highlights included the 8th floor men’s locker room, and Lauer’s own “office” on floor three.
“It’s pretty dizzying, I don’t even know what floor I’m on these days,” Richter quipped.
This was, however, not Richter’s finest Today Show adjacent moment.
“Is Katie around?”
Andy auditions for The View.
When Barbara Walters finally left our television sets in May 2014, there was a hole in long-running daytime talk show The View. Unfortunately, it was plugged with Raven-Symoné.
For a brief, shining moment, however, it looked like Richter was going to be the next personality to go toe-to-toe with Whoopi Goldberg. Or, at least, he hoped to be.
Richter announced his candidacy for Walters’ replacement during Conan, playing a poorly edited “audition tape” which featured video of him inserted into old episodes of The View.
“I’ve always wanted to be the grand dame of broadcast,” he declared. Missed opportunity, ABC.
