Conan O'Brien Hired as Writer for SNL

In January 1988, Conan O'Brien was hired by Lorne Michaels as a writer for Saturday Night Live (SNL). During his three years on SNL, he wrote such recurring sketches as 'Mr. Short-Term Memory' and 'The Girl Watchers,' the latter of which was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz. While on a writers' strike from SNL following the 1987–88 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called 'Happy Happy Good Show.' In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. O'Brien occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches, with his most notable appearance being as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL 'Five-Timers Club' for hosting his fifth episode in 1990. O'Brien and Robert Smigel also wrote the television pilot for 'Lookwell' starring Adam West, which aired on NBC in 1991. Despite the pilot never going to series, it became a cult hit. In 1991, after the failure of his sitcom and a broken engagement, O'Brien quit Saturday Night Live, citing burnout.