Conan O'Brien officiates first same-sex marriage on a late night TV show

Conan O'Brien officiated the first same-sex marriage on a late-night TV show last night.

It was the wedding of "CONAN" costume designer Scott Cronick and his partner David Gorshein. Bravo's Andy Cohen walked Scott down the aisle on stage at the Beacon Theater.

"The wedding was performed while Conan is doing this week's shows in NYC because same sex weddings aren't legal in California," Susannah Breslin tells Boing Boing.

Their ceremony was in the Jewish tradition, via the Universal Life Church, of which I too am an ordained minister! The story of Conan's ordainment is here.

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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archanoid

He really pushed the envelope.
- marilove
  
  LOL! Was that video posted to BoingBoing? I’m a little behind. If not, here it is for your pleasure:
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GME5nq_oSR4
  
  And sometimes it’s Onvelope, not Envelope. Either way, though, it’s been pushed!
komradefox

dawww. good luck to them.
Ceronomus

One more reason to like and respect Conan O’Brien.
http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker

I am sitting here crying. That was beautiful.
Glenn Fleishman

That’s incredibly sweet and marvelous.

My question: New York state has ridiculous requirements about who can conduct legal ceremonies. You have to be a judge, or be an ordained religious figure — Church of Bob and Universal Life don’t qualify. So…did they have a justice of the peace backstage? Doesn’t detract from the loveliness, but I would like to know if Conan is now a rabbi.

Update: I am totally wrong. Universal Life Church has a tailored package ($25) that’s designed to meet New York City’s extra requirement on top of those in New York state. My knowledge was out of date. That makes it even better that Conan was legally able to tie the knot.
- marilove
  
  I imagine they either did the Justice of the Peace thing previously, or are planning on doing it sometime this weekend. It’s not unusual for a couple to do that sort of thing.
  - Glenn Fleishman
    
    That makes sense. I have this slight fear that after all that, _they’re not legally married!_ That would be irony or something. Not irony.
- Ryan_T_H
  
  My guess is that either right before or right after the show they had a civil marriage in front of a justice of the peace with just enough witnesses to make it legal. Then they went off to have their ‘real’ wedding.
- Guest
  
  Always nice of the state to name check religion like that. So very constitutional.
  - Glenn Fleishman
    
    I believe you can be a Satanist, so long as you hold regular services and publish a directory!
http://littleredtent.net/LRT Edie Howe

Mazel Tov, David and Scott!
http://twitter.com/MadelineAshby Madeline Ashby

Congratulations! It seems like even Conan was choked up.

…Also, is anyone else as in awe of their chuppah as I am?
benher

This guy needs to get some kind of lifetime achievement award… but really, what good is an award compared to what he already has? The respect of so many people in his own time. Well done Sir Conan!
Duncan McPherson

Absolutely beautiful. And such love between the grooms!
I wish the best for them and love such as that for everyone.

Thanks for posting this!
Guest

Is it wrong of me to want to look around for fundamentalist christian butthurt? I remember back when Conan RT’d that article by Ricky Gervais and people blew up at him. <3 Conan forever.
That Evening Sun

Sniffles! For a breeder I sure am a big moosey. I’m like Niagara Falls over here.
Alan Wexelblat

As awesome as I think this is (and yes, I got sniffly too) it’s not really in the Jewish tradition. They took two elements from the Jewish ceremony, but that’s it. I’m all for people being able to create their own ceremonies and mix and match what works for them, but it’s a different beast.
- marilove
  
  I imagine they only chose those two to keep things short and to the point. It’s TV, after all. :)
Cowicide

That was beautiful. I totally got choked up. Thank you for sharing this Xeni.
awjt

Conan is 1000x awesome. Best wishes to the newlyweds!
Richard Dagenais

If I was interested in getting married, Xeni Jardin would be my top pick for celebrity minister.
- juepucta
  
  instead of glass breaking, she’d probably make you use a lab beaker :)
Teller

Added-oomph dynamic: “After the break, we’ll be back with Kim Kardashian’s divorce.”
MelSkunk

(whoops doublepost)
MelSkunk

Dangit and now the original post is gone

I was saying the best part is this isn’t region-blocked
sdaris

Humans were gender-neutral waaay back. It blows my mind how ‘moderns’ are either fascinated or repulsed by love between people of the same sex. The illusions of hierarchical, qualitative systems have been setting people back for too long now. Is the oak better than the maple? Who the frak cares who gets married? Connection and love are all that matter.
JhmL

Ten kinds of cool, thanks for that :)
James McWilliams

I’d like to point out that the “Universal Life Church” located at “themonastery.org” isn’t actually the Universal Life Church. It’s a disgruntled offshoot of the original Universal Life Church (located at ulc.net), they call themselves the “Universal Life Church Monastery”.

I know this for a fact, after having a very long talk with Andre Hensley, the current and third president of the original Universal Life church, son of Kirby and Lida Hensley, the founders.

I’ve been ordained in the official Universal Life Church since 2001, and am married under it. I ordained the woman who married my wife and I, and it has been a wonderful marriage.

I just wanted to make sure people out there knew the facts.
- http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker
  
  If anything could make me happier than this marriage, it’s knowing that the Universal Life Church has disgruntled offshoot factions.
ashley ince

how lovely. conan is the man.
James McWilliams

Also, Ashley spits hot fire, Conan is the man.
optuser

Has any other regularly hosted television show broadcast a gay/lesbian ceremony from beginning to end?
http://twitter.com/Skyhawk1 skyhawk1

Beautiful.
Maddy

I don’t think I have ever, ever wanted to celebrate when I heard “Celebrate” but this trumped the music snob in me. How hard your heart must be, to not celebrate this kind of happiness for all people …
jonbro

no one mentions larry sanders?

I guess there are probably other incidents of late night marriages.