Comedian Conan O’Brien is amidst a double tragedy, as his parents passed away within days of each other earlier this week.
Thomas O’Brien and Ruth Reardon O’Brien, who inspired many of their son‘s jokes, died three days apart from each other, funeral notices from the Bell O’Dea Funeral Home in Brookline, Massachusetts shared.
On December 9, they shared the funeral notice for Thomas, who was a physician and epidemiologist and was previously a former associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He died “peacefully” at age 95, with no cause of death reported.
Watch the video above
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Then on December 12, just three days after her husband’s death, the funeral home announced Ruth’s death aged 92. The comedian‘s mother was a former law clerk for the state Supreme Court and worked as a real estate attorney.
Many of Conan’s gags revolved around his parents, even lending his talents to career reentry company IRelaunch who honoured his mother with its Pioneering Relauncher Award in 2017.
In the interview, which featured many family members, he lovingly shared a memory of joining his mother at her law firm Ropes & Gray and the “lovely madness” of his childhood home environment.
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But he couldn’t keep a straight face for long, with the comedian adding at the end of the clip, “Am I getting paid for this?
“‘Cause very little of this has been true. I want money,” he says, before looking at his mum and asking, “What’s your name? Ruth?”
His dad wasn’t spared either, with Thomas being mentioned in a 2018 episode of his TBS series Conan, where he rented a fake family in Japan.
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Listing his preferences for a new family he requests “a new father that would apologise for some things that happened between us in the 1970s.
“Specifically when he lost his temper in the kitchen because I spilled a bowl of creamed corn and then he didn’t let me watch the ‘Love Boat’ that night.”
Conan has yet to speak on the double tragedy publicly.
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His parents are survived by their children Neal, Luke, Kate, Jane and Justin, as well as Conan. They are also survived by nine grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
The funeral home announced a service to be held for the late spouses on Wednesday December 18.
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