We have some tragic news to report about one of the world’s best-loved comics, Conan O’Brien.
Multiple sources have now confirmed that both of Conan’s parents passed away within the past week.
Longtime fans of Conan’s comedy know how frequently the former late night host referenced his close-knit, Massachusetts-based Irish-Catholic family.
A Devastating Week
Conan’s dad, Dr. Thomas O’Brien, was the first to pass away. He died on Monday at the age of 95. According to a report from The Boston Globe, “his health had been failing,” for some time before his death.
Just three days after that sad development, Conan’s mother, Ruth Reardon O’Brien, died at her home in Brookline, Massachusetts
Just four days shy of her 93rd birthday, Ruth passed away “peacefully,” according to an obituary released by the Bell-O’Dea Funeral Home.
A graduate of Yale Law School, Ruth served as a clerk on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and was later a real estate attorney at the law firm of Ropes & Gray in Boston.
The O’Briens were married for 66 years, and they welcomed six children together.
Thomas was the director of the infectious diseases division at what is now Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard.
His medical career spanned 60 years — but for millions of fans, his greatest achievement might have been schooling his son Conan on the divine art of making people laugh.
Conan’s Fond Memories of His Father
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“The loudest I’ve ever heard anybody laugh was sitting next to him in a theater watching Peter Sellers in a Pink Panther movie,” Conan once recalled in an interview with The Boston Globe (via People).
“[My dad] was often the funniest guy in the room. And when he would laugh, his whole body would convulse and he would almost hug himself.”
Conan — who, along with wife Liza, raised daughter Neve, 21, and son Beckett, 19 — further recalled that his dad was a man of seemingly boundless energy.
“Science has said there’s no such thing as perpetual motion, but my father was proof that that was wrong,” Conan said.
“My father was in constant motion. And he was interested in everything — absolutely everything.”
News of his parents’ passing comes during a time of transition in Conan’s career.
After nearly 30 years as a host, he said goodbye to the world of late night in 2021.
But thanks to his podcasts and travel shows, he’s as popular as ever. And in 2025, O’Brien will host the Academy Awards for the first time.
In short, Conan remains one of the world’s most popular comics — and we’re sure he’d say that he owes much of that success to his loving and supportive parents.
Our thoughts go out to the entire O’Brien family during this enormously difficult time.
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