Typical! Irish stand-up host Conan O'Brien finally gets into high gear just as he's about to be pushed off the air.
 
"Hosting ‘The Tonight Show' has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me – and I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it too," O'Brien said Wednesday night.
 
Conan has refused to cave to NBC demands that he move "Tonight" to 12:05 a.m. to give Jay Leno a spot at 11:35 p.m.
 
Conan says he won't be part of the destruction of a franchise.
 
Late-night CBS rival David Letterman got in on the act as well last night.
 
Dave poked fun at Leno and said building a closet on his set for Leno.
 
Apparently Leno had actually hidden in a closet to eavesdrop on executive talks back in the 90s when Leno and Letterman were vyting for the Tonight Show spot.
 
Dave also referred to the weather and said, "You know, they say, from the weather bureau, they say it's caused by an arctic chill between Jay and Conan."
 
Leno obviously wasn't very happy.
 
“Conan O’Brien, understandable, is very upset," he said. "He had a statement in the paper yesterday. Conan said NBC has only given him seven months to make his show work. When I heard that -- seven months! How did he get that deal? We only got four.”