Perpetually known as Conan O'Brien's sidekick - and most likely happy for it - Andy Richter was born Paul Andrew Richter on Oct. 28, 1966, in Grand Rapids, Mich. He grew up in Yorkville, Ill., the son of a kitchen cabinet designer and college professor and brother to three siblings.

Richter's charm and charisma first came to light in high school when he was voted prom king. You can only assume he enjoyed the spotlight, since Richter decided to dive into film at Columbia College Chicago.

And one might assume he enjoyed the subtle absurdity of being on stage as he studied comedy - both acting and writing - at the school.

Here's the Story
Richter branched out and started taking classes at Chicago's Improv Olympic, a comedy theater and school similar to Second City, where he leaped to house performer within the year. But his big break came while honing his comedy chops with the Annoyance Theater, another Chicago-area improv house.

The theater staged word-for-word interpretations of the 1970s hit sit-com, The Brady Bunch. Titled The Real Live Brady Bunch, the 1989 show got fire and was soon invited to move to New York. Nuts for Richter in the moment, because he wasn't a lead performer. But after the lead actor who played Mike Brady chose not to go to New York, Richter donned the curly hair and 70s pants to reprise the role.

Richter was off to the big city.

Meeting Conan
Two of Richter's cast mates in The Real Live Brady Bunch, Melanie Hutsell and Beth Cahill, eventually were selected as performers on Saturday Night Live.

With this connection, Ricther was able to hob nob with SNL writers, producers and actors during the show's after parties.

It was at one of these after parties that Richter met the comedic writer Robert Smigel. Smigel was selected by Lorne Michaels to produce an new talk show that would take over both the title and timeslot that David Letterman held at NBC before Letterman's move to CBS.

Smigel wanted Richter to join the show as a writer. But Richter's camaraderie with the show's host, Conan O'Brien, a former SNL writer and producer as well, and his ability to reduce the new talk show hosts general nervousness in those early years, soon catapulted Richter to the sidekick slot.

Richter spent seven years on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, becoming a beloved fixture of the show. He decided to leave at the peak of his popularity to pursue film and television roles.

Pushing the Envelope
Richter is known for saying that he was happy with his time on Late Night, but felt as though it was time to stretch his wings and see what other success might be out there for him. He left New York for L.A. to pursue acting.

One of his first roles (a few years before leaving the show) was alongside another Late Night alum - though an alum of Late Night with David Letterman - Chris Elliot. Richter played "Kenny" in the cut hit Cabin Boy. He then took on a series of small roles in films like Elf, Dr. Doolittle 2, and Scary Movie 4. He guest starred on shows like Malcolm in the Middle and Just Shoot Me.

His first lead role was in the Fox TV series Andy Richter Controls the Universe, a Walter Mitty-type show with Richter as a short story writer with an active imagination working in a dull office. The series only lasted a season.

His second show was the short-lived Quintuplets, followed by the NBC show Andy Barker, P.I.. Barker was written and produced by O'Brien. It was critically acclaimed, but failed to find an audience.

Back to Work
Richter continues to act, but was happy to return to his role as writer and sidekick (adding the title announcer) when O'Brien took over as host of NBC's The Tonight Show.

When NBC's changed the late night schedule and O'Brien left Tonight, Richter followed, taking on the same role on the talk show host's new show, Conan.

Fast Facts

• Richter is married, with two children.
• Amy Poehler, star of NBC's Parks and Recreation, played Andy's little sister on the show.
• He's the voice of the cartoon character Mort on the TV show The Penguins of Madagascar and the film series Madagascar.