If you think you are going to play me in the press, you've got the wrong guy.

On Jeff Zucker's (NBC's then president and CEO) exchange with Richard Rosen (O'Brien's agent) about O'Brien not jumping at the midnight deal: 'Let me explain something to you,' Zucker said. Conan thought they were working at looking sympathetic, following some lesson that had been taught at corporate school. 'What does this guy have on you people? What the hell is it about Jay?' Neither of the NBC executives has an answer. 'What does Jay have on you?' Conan asked, his voice still low, his tone still even. so Leno could do a half-hour-long show before him: Conan did have something he really wanted to say, something that had been almost burning a hole in his chest. On O'Brien's reaction when NBC executives asked him to start 'The Tonight Show' at 12:05 a.m. offerings.īelow, check out 15 juicy excerpts from 'The War for Late Night:' Today's release of Carter's book coincides with the debut of O'Brien's new late-night show on TBS, a potential battering ram to the other network's post-11:00 p.m. Carter, the television reporter for The New York Times, also drops little-known tidbits about late-night TV's stars (Leno wears Payless shoes? David Letterman's staff thinks he needs mental help?) and uncovers who these men are when they're not slinging the jokes that put Americans to bed at night.

Jay Leno, the no-holds-barred, on-air battle royal that turned the realm of late-night TV into something more like a WWE wrestling ring.īill Carter's new book, 'The War for Late Night,' reveals what happened behind the scenes, the expletives that were hurled during closed-door discussions, the roller coaster that O'Brien, Leno, and their cohorts rode during that tumultuous time. 8, 2010 — - We all saw it play out during the dawn of 2010: Conan O'Brien vs.

The War for Late Night by Bill Carter