Ozzy Osbourne was many, many things. Black Sabbath frontman, eater of bats, controversial media figure. But it can’t be lost that amid all the black clothing and signature sunglasses was a sharp sense of humor. This is no better exemplified than in a Late Night with Conan O’Brien segment from all the way back on October 18, 2001.
Resurfaced on Reddit after the news of Osbourne’s passing at the age of 76, the original seven-minute clip is full of quick jokes. The premise: Conan brings Ozzy to the Late Night offices to boost morale in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. “A lot of things have been tense, a lot of people have been on edge, and people are probably experiencing this in their offices,” Conan says, to introduce the segment. “Take a look at how I cheered up my staff.”
Osbourne’s approach to comforting O’Brien’s New York City-based staff in the wake of the Twin Towers being attacked weeks earlier is unconventional. They definitely wouldn’t pass the HR standards of 2025.
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He offers neck massages — then starts to choke the guy out, and sniffs his neck like a Twilight vampire. “No biting, no biting,” Conan urges. He visits a producer’s office and becomes overly fixated with her pet bird. “We’ll get you your own bird,” Conan responds. Ozzy passes around a snake. He looks in confusion at a photo of Dolly Parton.
“That’s Dolly Parton,” Conan tells him. “That’s what Ozzy Osbourne fears more than anything, is Dolly Parton.”
Ozzy is quick to correct him: “No I don’t fear Dolly Parton. Barry Manilow is my biggest fear.”
“You fear Barry Manilow?” Conan asks.
“I think he’s the Antichrist.”
It was some really good television. On Reddit, the resurfacing of the clip was greatly appreciated. “This is hilarious, it’s like someone brought their toddler into work but more metal,” one commenter wrote. “OMG the part where he does a double-take at the bird and his eyes bulge,” another added. “Laughing so hard. The man had a good sense of humor about himself.”
The segment also includes a bit where Ozzy is startled by a quesadilla, says his favorite food is cottage cheese and sings about Puff the Magic Dragon with Conan. Conan then lavishes Ozzy with NBC merchandise, including a stuffed peacock, the mascot of the network. Ozzy promptly bites the toy bird’s head off.
The clip ends with a performance for the staffers, and we get to see a bunch of buttoned-up professionals cut loose. “He’s a good man,” Conan concludes. “He actually did cheer us up a lot.”