How did such an unknown person get his job?
Conan’s previous boss, Lorne Michaels, suggested that Conan try out for “Late Night.” The show was offered to Dana Carvey and Garry Shandling, who both turned it down. He tried out April 13, 1993, and was told that he had been accepted April 26, 1993. Conan did win an Emmy for his writing; many of his former colleagues describe Conan as very funny. Also, NBC got Conan cheap. His contract is for five years, with an option to renew at one year. He got only a little over $1 million a year, but a recent raise has bumped that figure up to around $2 million a year.
