Brian McCann

Late Night with Conan O’Brien sketch writer 1995-present; warmup comic 2000-present


Portrays Late Night Characters: Preparation H Raymond/Adrian Foster (Raisin) - The Late Night Folk Singer/Jerry Butters - The 4am time slot talkshow host/Eyeballs O’Shaughnessy/Funhole Guy/Fed-Ex Pope/Suicidal Kayak Guy/Bulletproof Legs Guy/Darren Rhodes/Airsick Moth/The Loser/Pimpbot 5000/Various

Created many Late Night characters including the Gaseous Weiner, The Man with Bullet Proof Legs, The Robot on the Toilet, Preparation H. Raymond, talk show host Jerry Butters, and rocker Darren Rhodes [1]

Birthdate/Location: August 16, 1965 in Wheaton, Illinois

Childhood: Brian grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, which he describes as “an extremely uptight (and dry) town in the western suburbs of Chicago.” He was raised Catholic, has an older sister and no brothers, and is the youngest child. [2]

Lives in: Piermont, New York

  • Moved from Illinois to New York in 1995, 2 days after being hired for the job at Late Night [2]
Marital Status: separated or divorced [2]

Children: has a daughter [2]

Writing Awards:
  • Won 6 Writers Guild Awards for Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series as a member of the writing team for Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006); nominated in 1999, 2001, 2004
  • Nominated for an Emmy every year since 1996 for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program as a member of the writing team for Late Night with Conan O'Brien
On his job at Late Night: “What I love most about writing and appearing on Late Night is that we constantly need new and different characters so the opportunity to try new stuff is always present. I tend to write most of the characters I perform; yet overall the writing of the show is very collaborative.” [2]

Favorite LN character to perform: Jerry Butters, “a loser who hosts a talk show that tapes across the hall.” [2]

Biggest comedy influences: Steve Martin, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, Johnny Carson, Bill Hicks [2]

On his comedy career: “I took the path of working on my stand-up act, doing TONS of improv, writing every day, and submitting [my work to Late Night] many, many times. Other people get here by writing one submission on a whim and suddenly finding themselves whisked away from their dishwashing duties at the local diner (no kidding). It all depends on when and if you can convey your unique sense of humor in writing.” [2]

Career:
Hosted a comedy program in Chicago on WLUP ("The Loop") called Sunday Funnies [3]

Was a member of the IO (formerly ImprovOlympic) improvisation troupe in Chicago.

Was in a three-man improv group called Blue Velveeta in Chicago at the IO, where his character “Raisin” was born. [2]

Member of The Goofaround Gang, a gang of Chicago improvisers doing long form improv, which also includes Late Night-ers Jon Glaser & Kevin Dorff

Performed at the Chicago Comedy Festival

Starred in a comedy show called "Raisin's Campfire Funtime", about “a nuanced oddball who rocks out on guitar in his own special way” weekly at the PIT in NYC in September & October, 2005 [2]

Wrote the commentary/dialogue for the computer games Deer Avenger (1998) and Deer Avenger 2: Deer in the City (1999) and was the voice of Bambo/Various Characters

TV Appearances:
Links:

A recent sketch Brian performed in on Late Night, called Hot Dogs for Homophobes (November, 2005)

An interview with Brian’s character Raisin (2005)

Website with a video clip of Pimpbot 5000 (from Late Night, 1999)

Got more info or a correction? Please email me.