This happened a while ago. In 2003, Jennifer Garner came on “Late Night” with Conan to talk about “Daredevil .” The host, clearly impressed with the actress’s work in the film and the martial arts techniques she uses, is sidelined when Garner tells him he misused a word. She points out that “snuck” isn’t a word, and Conan went to Harvard, so he should know that.
Conan, dejected, facetiously admits he went to Harvard driving school. He didn’t let it go. Later in the interview, Conan pulls out a dictionary and points to the word “snuck,” laughing maniacally like an evil supervillain. Yikes.
Will Ferrell
Not to be outdone, Will Ferrell advances Letterman’s creep factor one-up on Conan. Dressed in a full Ron Burgundy costume, Ferrell arrives on stage playing the flute. He says he is there to make a big announcement. His big news is that there will be a sequel to "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” The audience was thrilled.
However, even Conan was grossed out by Ferrell’s own clarification of what he meant by a crude innuendo. It can’t be printed here, but if you want to witness the cringeworthy moment, watch the segment! We're sure you can find it somewhere on YouTube!
Tom Hanks
This late-show gag proves Tom Hanks is really as much of a good sport as we think he is. After promoting so many amazing movies, You'd think that Hanks knows how to do a straightforward interview on a chat show. The iconic actor appeared on Conan O’Brien’s new TBS show in 2010.
One of Hanks's most memorable films is "Splash," and this segment included a big splash. From Conan’s desk, the two were observing a pod of humpbacks. Gazing at the Jumbotron, Hanks clearly adores whale life. He proves his whale knowledge by explaining that a breach requires 40 percent of the creature to break the surface. Just then, splash! Conan, however, remains dry.
Bill Maher
Stephen Colbert welcomed late-night host Bill Maher to the show during the 2016 presidential elections. It started out okay, but Colbert asked Maher a specific question one too many times. Maher screamed at Colber to stop asking that, totally creeped out. Colbert wouldn’t stop. At one point, the "Real-Time" host threatened to abandon his seat after the break.
Later, sarcastic sweet nothings like “baby doll” by Maher and “sweetheart” by Colbert dot the conversation as they try to get along for the rest of the segment. It ends with Colbert demanding a better guest. This is what happens sometimes when one host interviews another one.
Norman Mailer & Gore Vidal
Dick Cavett couldn’t help noticing Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal were engaged in a tit-for-tat feud played out in print media. So, he invited two towering intellectuals to face each other on his show in 1971.
It was vicious. At one point, Mailer accused Vidal and the rest of the panel of being intellectually inferior to himself. It was then that Cavett suggested that Vidal might like two other chairs to contain his giant intellect. By the end, the entire audience vociferously turned against Mailer. Cavett made some enemies during his tenure, but that's expected for any late-night chat show host.