Short of Jokes, 3 Comics 'Brawl'

Scribeless comedians drum up mock fight over who 'made' Huckabee

By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 5, 2008 5:20 PM CST

(Newser) – A trio of writerless comics nearly tussled on TV last night in an apparent effort to boost tepid ratings, Radar Online reports. Stephen Colbert started it on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," where he grumbled about Conan O'Brien; Conan then walked in and threatened both with a brawl. The source of their faux ire? Which one had "made" Mike Huckabee.

Colbert claimed to have boosted Huckabee on his show; Conan said the credit was his; Stewart said he, in turn, had made Conan. “I wanna settle this the civilized way, with violence," Conan said, and the three got down to mock fisticuffs later on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." Conan admitted to the New York Times, "All three of us are in a period of our careers where we’re looking for content."

[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

In this image released by NBC, Conan O'Brien, center, of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" mock-punches Jon Stewart, left, from Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and Stephen Colbert of... (Associated Press)

In this image released by NBC, Conan O'Brien, left, holds a bat on his show, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" as Jon Stewart, center, from Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and Stephen... (Associated Press)

Steve Colbert, host of "The Colbert Report" wipes his face as he waits in the White House Press Briefing room at the White House in Washington, in this July 27, 2007, file photo, for White House Press... (Associated Press)

Members of the writers guild protest outside NBC Studios Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008 in New York. NBC's Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel all said they were coming back reluctantly with the... (Associated Press)

In this photo provided by "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", a bearded Conan O'Brien returns to the late night show on Wednesday Jan. 2, 2008, after a two month hiatus due to the Writers Guild strike. ... (Associated Press)

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Conan Fights Stephen Colbert and John Stewart backstage at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." (FunnyTrustMe (YouTube))

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Short of Jokes, 3 Comics 'Brawl'