In news bound to induce aneurysms of joy amongst comedy geeks and Conan cultists, NBC has just announced that Andy Richter will reunite with Conan O'Brien as the announcer of The Tonight Show. In 2000, the beloved sidekick left Late Night to pursue an acting career that spawned several thousand failed television shows, some of them cultishly adored (Andy Richter Controls The Universe), some of them less so (The Quintuplets).
Richter has stayed busy since leaving Conan but his appearances in movies and television generally inspire the following reaction:
1. Hey, it's Andy Richter
followed by
2. Why won't they give him anything funny to do?
I'm a little ashamed to admit my own Conan super-fandom didn't kick in hardcore until after Richter left but I'm excited about his upcoming gig on The Tonight Show, though I feel bad for former Late Night announcer Joel Godard, who has done a bang-up job in that capacity and proven an exceedingly game participant in various comedy bits.
O'Brien and Richter will take over The Tonight Show June 1st.