A familiar face joins Conan tonight

In a few hours, Conan O'Brien will tape his first Tonight Show. And the New York Times notes that an old friend will join O'Brien:

His old friend Andy Richter will swing into the opening announcement, intoning for the first time the words “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien,” and the star will stand behind the curtains of his stylish new set feeling the thrill run up his (extra-long) spine.

Richter had been on Conan's original show for several years, but the Los Angeles Times describes what happened next:

After seven years of being on the show, I got itchy. I have a philosophy that if you enjoy good fortune, rather than sit there and say, "Oh, that's fine, this amount is good enough for me," you should try and push it. You should see how much you can stretch your good fortune. And I was curious.

Curious enough to try "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" and other projects, but now he's joined Conan in El-Lay. And his wife didn't need much convincing when Richter told her of the opportunity.

It's not a difficult thing to go to your wife and say, "Honey, I've just been presented with a way to get a regular paycheck."