Did Conan O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' fail because of an Andy Richter curse?

Actually, it probably failed because of a Jeff Zucker curse. But still, what of poor Andy? He seems to have been operating under a perpetual cloud ever since he left Conan's side the first time, when he quit his job as sidekick on 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' in 2000 for a Hollywood career. He's worked consistently since then, but his list of credits over the last decade consists largely of box office flops and short-lived TV series. To which we can now add 'The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien.'

The DVD shelves have become a heaven of forgotten shows that barely saw the light of day.

Get ready to welcome one that got less sunlight than your goth cousin gets in a year.

The Late Night Insider blog, the underground blog of the former Late Night with Conan O'Brien, reported that O'Brien and former and returning sidekick Andy Richter are recording commentary tracks for a new Andy Barker P.I. DVD.

Here's some good news for people who have missed Andy Richter since he stopped being Conan O'Brien's sidekick nine years ago: NBC just announced that he's signed on to be the announcer of The Tonight Show when Conan takes it over in June.

Now, this doesn't mean that we'll see Andy on the couch next to Conan, as he was in Late Night's early years. He's the announcer; think of what John Melendez does for Leno and add the fact that, you know, Andy actually has comedic talent. Richter will announce the show and participate in both live and pre-taped comedy bits.

For fans of Andy Richter the actor, though, this isn't good news. After starring in two very funny failed sitcoms, Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Andy Barker, P.I., it seems like his returning to the daily Conan fold would preclude him from starring in another one anytime soon. But that also means he won't star in another Quintuplets, either, so maybe this is a good idea.