Andy Richter Still Fuming Over Leno, NBC Snub

By Sam Brand Posted Mar 9th 2010 03:43PM

Fans are bitter that Conan O'Brien got kicked off the air. Friends are bitter, too -- Jimmy Kimmel has made that all too clear. CoCo, himself, is bitter -- but getting over it, slowly, with the help of Twitter. But perhaps no one is more bitter than sidekick Andy Richter.

On Tuesday morning, nearly two months after NBC announced the end of Conan's tenure on the 'Tonight Show,' Richter told Kelly Ripa that his feud with Jay Leno and NBC is still very much alive.

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"Yes, yes I do," Richter said, when asked by Ripa if he still had ill feelings for NBC or Leno. "Why wouldn't I?"

The response received applause from a crowd that seemed to share Richter's feelings and appreciated the star's honesty. Sitting in for a vacationing Regis Philbin on 'Live with Regis and Kelly,' Richter made his first appearance on television since "the hullabloo," as Ripa called the now-notorious late night television wars.

"I actually can be on TV," Richter joked. "Conan can't, in fact, I'm not even sure I can say his name."

Richter, 43, was Conan's sidekick on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' from 1993 to 2000. In 2009, he joined O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' as its announcer.

The longtime sidekick was vocal about his disapproval over the way NBC handled the shakeup. "Everybody said they were going to do something, and they didn't."

Richter never mentioned Leno by name on Tuesday, not that he needed to.

"It's very frustrating when somebody says ... 'I'm going to take this number one show and hand it over and hope that the next guy ... makes it a number one show,' and then doesn't."

Richter suggested Leno's excuse, that he was contractually bound to re-take 'The Tonight Show' after Conan's ouster, was inadequate: "You know how multimillionaires are always being forced to do things they don't want to do."

Richter later admitted, "I've calmed down about it," but not before Ripa could finish his sentence.

"But it's still very much at the surface."

Tags: andy richter, conan obrien, jay leno, the tonight show

Comments

(46)

Wednesday 10 March

By Pat

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Andy,Andy Andy, when are you going to grow up and smell the fresh air. Get your head out of your butt and smell the fresh air.. Jay had nothin to do with Conan losing the "Tonight Show" NBC had a legal right to move the show to 12:05 am. it was Conan's desciosion to quit. He acted like a litte brat that didn't get his way.. One more important item you wish not to acknowledge is that when Conan took over the show it was welll imbedded in first place for some 17-18 years under Leno. After Conans frist week, his ratings fell like a 10,000 lbs bolder off Mt Rushmore and they were still falling when he left the show.. stop crying and like the other person said, go back home and open a hamberger joint.

By GM,Long Island

THERE'S A GUY WHO HAS NO PROBLEM PUTTING REAL HUGE SPIN...AKA...REAL HUGE

B#LL S%IT ON THIS DEAD HOARSE SAGA.

THE MOST LAME PART WAS "CONAN'S RATINGS WERE OK ?????? AFTER THE FIRST

WEEK CONAN LOST MORE THAN HALF OF THE T.T.S'S AUDIENCE AND NEVER GOT'EM

BACK TILL HIS FINAL NIGHT...LOL.

ANOTHER AMAZING FACT THAT IS OVER LOOKED OR SPUN...LENO WASN'T ON AT 10

FOR 4 OR 5 MONTHS...HOW DID LENO BRING THE LOCAL NEWS STATIONS AND CONAN

LEAD INS DOWN FOR THOSE EARLY MONTHS.

LENO GOT THE NUMBERS BACK HIS FIRST WEEK AND IF THOSE NUMBERS HOLD...WHAT

IS GOING TO BE THE NEW EXCUSE FOR THOSE ARROGANT AND CLASS-LESS CONAN

FANS?

MRS. RIPA...IT IS A SHAME YOU DIDN'T RAISE SOME QUESTIONS DURING THE ANDY

MONO-LOG.
YOU BETTER HOPE LENO HAS NO CLUE OR A SHORT MEMORY ABOUT YOUR ANDY

SEGMENT WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO PROMOTE OR NEED TO MAKE THE TALK

SHOW ROUNDS. JAY HAS CLASS...HE WOULD PUT YOU ON ANYWAY.

Another pathetic issue Andy had to spin was the relocation of Conan's people. Is Andy an idiot or does he think that everyone is dumb. NY has almost nothing left of TV production...Soaps and other shows that been in NY for many years ...have been canceled or moving out west.
Those poor people who work for Conan...They had to be ripped away from their homes...friends... their great lives here in NY...up-rooted! "Now they don't have their job" says Andy. BS...all those people are so lucky to be in LA. A place where there are more jobs in their fields...more opportunities to move into other areas of Media... Movies, TV, Music,Production, ect.
All the forms of the Entertainment Industry and the Arts are there in LA for them. One thing Conan,Andy and their Fans...supporters... Team Conan need to learn...RATINGS-NUMBERS..LACK OF REAL TALENT... KILLED CONAN ON THE TONIGHT SHOW. IT WASN'T JAY LENO FOR SURE...IF NBC LET IT GO ANY LONER...THAT WOULD OF BEEN STUPID.

Thursday 18 March

By ramzey

u have isreal killing palestinians and stealing their land and u dumb asses cry and moan about this nonsense

Tuesday 20 April

By Spikeit

Andy "nobody" WHO??? This twit is nothing but a coattail rider and always has been. Not funny, overweight, and just another bottom feeder. The only talent I see is his great ability to leech off Honan and certainly adds nothing of quality or value to whatever he appears in or on. As for Leno, Andy needs to get over that. Jay went public with his version of how things played out which sounded believable to me. Appears Jay was caught in the middle of a mess created by NBC yet Andy wants to keep laying the blame on him. Richter needs to be working the drive-thru window at Mickey D's or better still, a Walmart greeter.

By sondbr

I, too, am fed up with people bad mouthing Jay for Conan's demise on The Tonight Show. Conan just didn't cut it! Jay got the expected ratings on his 10 PM show, so it was not he who failed to live up to expectations. Jay has got more money than he knows what to do with, so his being on TV is because he really wants to be out there entertaining the country. And, it isn't that he doesn't have any other interests to keep him busy. He's a big car nut and keeps lots of people employed in his garage along with making it a green place to work. I missed Jay at 11:30 and am VERY happy he's back!!

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