Late-night star Conan O’Brien’s parents died barely four days apart.
Conan, who has hosted the humorous The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien on NBC for years, is going through a heartbreak unlike any other.
Dr. Thomas O’Brien, 95, died just days ago, on Monday, December 9, after ‘his health had been declining,’ according to The Boston Globe.
Then, on Thursday, December 12, his mother, Ruth, 92, died ‘peacefully’ at home.
They had been married for 66 years and had six children, including 61-year-old O’Brien, as well as nine grandkids.
The Bell-O’Dea Funeral Home in Brookline, Massachusetts, wrote Ruth’s obituary, stating that she passed away peacefully on December 12th, 2024, at the age of 92. Thomas Francis O’Brien, M.D. lost his beloved wife of 66 years on December 9th, 2024.
Thomas was a world-renowned scientist who advocated for antibiotic resistance in bacteria long before it became generally recognized by the public.
Ruth was the student government’s vice president before becoming the law firm’s second female partner.
She first met Thomas in 1958 through her brothers, who were his classmates, and the rest is history.
O’Brien has been coping with a difficult period and paid respect to his father in an interview with the Boston Globe published on Thursday, saying, “Science has declared there is no such thing as perpetual motion, but my father was proof that that was incorrect.
“My father was constantly moving. He had a keen interest in almost everything. The loudest I’ve ever heard somebody laugh was sitting next to him at a theater, seeing Peter Sellers in a Pink Panther film… He was generally the funniest person in the room. And as he laughed, his entire body convulsed, and he nearly hugged himself.
“For the rest of my life, I will hear from individuals who want to talk to me about my father. I’ve never encountered someone like him, and he’s my father.
“If I met him casually in a hotel lobby, I’d be like, ‘Who the heck is this guy?” He is the most intriguing person I have ever met.”
Regarding his mother, he previously shared a humorous anecdote of her at a Jim Carrey-hosted Christmas party.
Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on Virgin Radio earlier this year, he said, “Years and years ago, I had a Christmas party at my house.”
At the height of Jim Carrey’s craze, he had just released his fourth enormously successful picture, which was reminiscent of The Beatles. A riot broke out wherever Jim Carrey went…
I was terrified when I caught a glimpse of my mother engaging in a lengthy conversation with Jim Carrey. After the celebration concluded, I asked my mother, “Mom, what were you discussing with Jim Carrey?”
She said, “Oh, he told me that he’s a comedian,” to which I responded, “Well, my son’s had difficulties, but he just keeps at it and eventually makes it.” So, Jim, if you just stick at it, you’ll get there too.
“And I said to her, ‘Mom, I want you to go home to Boston and tell everyone you told Jim Carrey to keep at it!”
Thomas and Ruth will have a joint funeral in Boston on December 18.
