The call came late Sunday - am I coming down for Bobo's Conan O'Brien appearance on Tuesday?
Yes, it's possible. "Well great, I'll put you on the list." Thanks! Let's do it!
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| Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, CA |
This would require waking up at 5:00 a.m. to hit the road by 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday to arrive at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, CA by 12:30 p.m. - 360 miles away. No problem - that's how I roll. The traffic was perfect - not often the case these days on I-5 - and by 12:30 I was checking in at Gate 3 and my studio pass was waiting. I was also able to meet up with Josh and Abby in the parking lot and we made our way to Conan's studio 15 after a short walk through the Warner Bros. lot. We were green room VIPs as guests of James "Bobo" Fay! how cool is that?!!
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| Josh & Abby - ready to hit the Green Room! |
Bobo was on his way from his hotel in Hollywood and arrived around 1 p.m. "Conan" tapes everyday at 2:00 p.m. and we had a fun 90 minutes in the Green Room. Backstage at a tv show is awesome - there is so much going on behind the scenes. Sets and fabrication shops, audio boards, lighting wires - even a giant bobblehead of Conan. Ha!
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| is a caption necessary? fun time in the green room! |
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| Had to get a photo of the dressing room door! |
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| Bobo with the producers of Finding Bigfoot |
The green room was a large, living-room-style area where 20 or so people could hang out and visit. There was a counter like you'd find in an office break-room. The staff were gracious and accommodating - and when Bobo arrived they went out of their way to make sure he had everything he needed. We enjoyed hanging out in his dressing room - one of three off the main green room area. He's hit the big time now! It was awesome being a VIP guest, too. A staff member came and escorted us through the backstage maze to our 5th row seats in the audience. 5 other friends were also in the studio audience - two rows behind us. Bobo had a cheering section in the house.
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| "Hey, great to have you on the show, Bobo!" "It's GREAT TO BE HERE!" |
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| "Thanks for stopping by... James "Bobo" Fay, everybody!" |
The show began with the comedian whose job is to warm up the audience. He did his thing and had us clapping on command - thanks to the 'applause' signs. The band came out and played a couple of songs and as the show is ready to start, the camera operators and production staff take their places. Conan is great and probably the best late night host as far as the monologue goes. Joel McHale of the Soup & Community was the first guest and he started his interview talking about meeting Bobo backstage. It's funny - you know you've made it if the comedians start picking on you.
Bobo was introduced and the crowd went wild. Here he was in the land of late night suits and he cruised out in his khaki's and flip-flops. When they tried to make this a tongue-in-cheek treatment of bigfoot and the show "Finding Bigfoot", Bobo had a witty and intelligent answer for every question. More importantly, he was comfortable enough to enjoy the laughs as Conan had some great one-liners during the interview.
It was only six minutes - and we didn't expect more - but it was a milestone moment for Bobo and bigfoot research in general. Through the success of Finding Bigfoot, the subject is now - more than ever - making its way into the mainstream media. Let's hear it for Conan for having Bobo - and bigfoot - on his show! It was epic!
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| Backstage with the giant Conan bobblehead. |
We enjoyed our first time with Conan and his fantastic Team Coco staff! They even allowed us to go back out and take some photos sitting at his desk on the stage. Yes, had to make sure we had some photos to show the folks back home - and you! We missed meeting Conan O'Brien in person after the show - Bobo did. So, no photos with Conan. Andy Richter - Conan's "sidekick" - came over to say hello and take some photos. He's great! I brought down some "Yakima Bigfoot Round-Up" and "Sasquatch Summit" t-shirts for Conan and Andy. I think Andy got 'em all...he is "into" bigfoot so that worked out fine.
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| With bigfoot enthusiast and big-time actor/comedian Andy Richter!! |
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| Bobo and Friends after the show. |
All of his friends who were at the show met up afterwards to hang out at the hotel lounge and then we grabbed a bite to eat. A nice way to wind down his - and my - whirlwind visit to Los Angeles. He had flown in from New York overnight and left later this night to fly back east to catch up with the cast and crew for more taping of their show.
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| an amazing sunset from northbound Interstate 5 |
(as always, left click on photo for larger version - back arrow to return to this page)
I was also lucky in my whirlwind tour to see our friend Scott McClean - the man that hosts this site, is an amazing graphic artist & bigfoot researcher - and who is currently battling prostate cancer. Have a good, positive thought for Scott! It was a great way to cap off my overnight, 780 mile road-trip. I got home around 7:00 p.m. last night and was road weary - but excited to be there for Bobo on Conan!! Hope you enjoyed the behind-the-scenes photo essay! Until next time, take care!
