Andy Richter
from "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"

Helping redefine the late night talk show for an entire generation, Andy Richter has become America's favorite sidekick...and its funniest. Find out how they beat the odds to become late night's biggest success story. (And also how they've created some of your favorite bits.) Here are Andy's answers to some of our visitors' winning questions:

What is the show's bear fixation? There's one in practically every skit.
First of all, bears are hilarious. Hulking, dopey, cuddly creatures that can remove your scalp with one casual swipe of a cute paw. Now that's funny. Also, the show already owns the bear costumes. No costume rental = frequent appearances.

What criteria do you use for booking guests and entertainment?
Are they breathing? Do they fit in the elevator?

Somehow, the college crowd has designated you its hero. How does that make you feel?
Besides omnipotent? Very happy, very lucky. I'm very proud of the fact that young people respond so well to the show, because they're by far the best possible audience to entertain. Old people are boring! Youngsters rock! My greatest achievement is that I have provided the youth of America with a lethargic smart-ass with whom they can identify.

What's your favorite comedy bit?
It's always hard for me to pick a favorite of anything, be it movies, bands or comedy bits. It always seems too limiting, and that I'll leave someone or something out. But, if I picked a favorite type of bit, I would say my tastes lean towards the more absurd, arbitrary, non-topical bits we do that make three people (usually kids) howl, and about 100 people scratch their heads and say, "huh?". The series of stamps featuring famous porno stars that we debuted on the show is an example of this.

Do you see yourself being Conan's sidekick for the duration, or do you have other aspirations?
I'm happy where I'm at now, but I do have other aspirations. It would be sort of depressing if I didn't. I feel very lucky to be where I am now, but I consider that kind of luckiness to be a challenge to do more, rather than a gravy train that you just grow fat on while riding. It would be disrespectful, I think, if I didn't attempt to see what possibilities I could make for myself; disrespectful to the good fortune that I've already enjoyed. As far as what those opportunities are, um, well, jeez, I dunno. Anybody out there got something for me?

Copyright 1998 Greater Talent Network, Inc.