Conan O’Brien recalls emotional memory of his late father ahead of 2026 Oscars

Conan O’Brien recently shared the emotional memory of his late father, as he gets ready to host the 98th Academy Awards.

The 62-year-old American television host and comedian will be hosting the 2026 Oscars. The ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

Along with the forthcoming ceremony’s producers and designers, Conan became part of the Wednesday, March 11 press conference to preview this year’s celebration of cinema.

Walking down memory lane, he shared, “When I was growing up, and this is probably true of a lot of kids, I'd look at my dad and I would think, what's my dad into? And is that a way to connect with my dad?”

The Saturday Night Live star, who spent his childhood laughing at jokes cracked by Oscars’ host Johnny Carson with his late father, Dr. Thomas O’Brien, called it “his treat.”

Dr. Thomas “would watch Johnny Carson. So, I would sometimes get to stay up and watch Johnny Carson with him. And I remember very clearly Johnny Carson hosting the Oscars and watching my father watch Johnny and laugh,” recalled Conan.

He went on to call the interaction “a triangle” because he is now a part of “that equation somehow, and in a cosmic way links me to my dad, is pretty amazing.”

It is worth mentioning that Johnny, who passed away at 79 in 2005, hosted Oscars from 1979 to 1984.