Popular talk show host and comedian suffers heartbreaking loss

Talk show host and comedian Conan O’Brien experienced a back-to-back tragic loss recently when both of his parents died within days of each other.

Thomas O’Brien, 95, died on December 9, while Ruth Reardon O’Brien, 92, died on December 12. Both died at their home in Brookline, Massachusetts, Us Weekly reported.

The couple had been married for 66 years and had six children, People said.

Thomas O’Brien, according to his work, was well-known in research on antimicrobial drug resistance Peopleand was the first director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“Science has said there is no such thing as perpetual motion, but my father was proof that it was wrong,” Conan, 61, told the paper. Boston Globe in an interview published Thursday. “My father was in constant motion. And he was interested in everything – absolutely everything.”

O’Brien credited his father with introducing him to classic comedians like the Marx Brothers.

“(My dad) was often the funniest guy in the room,” he told the Globe. “And when he laughed, his whole body would spasm and he would almost hug himself.”

Ruth Reardon O’Brien was an attorney at the law firm Ropes & Gray in Boston. She was the second woman to be made a partner in the firm.

A funeral service for both of them will be held on December 18.

Conan O’Brien is scheduled to host the 97th annual Academy Awards on March 2. This is the first time the comedian has ever hosted the event.