Conan O'Brien announces stage tour dates

LOS ANGELES, March 11 (UPI) -- Comedian Conan O'Brien announced dates for a string of North American stage shows called "Conan: The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour."

Tickets for the upcoming stage shows -- billed as "a night of music, comedy, hugging and the occasional awkward silence" -- can be purchased through O'Brien's Web site www.teamcoco.com

O'Brien's first stop on his 30-city tour is to be Eugene, Ore., April 12. His last scheduled date is in Atlanta, Ga., June 14.

"Hey Internet: I'm headed to your town on a half-assed comedy & music tour. Go to http://TeamCoco.com for tix. I repeat: It's half-assed," O'Brien said via Twitter Thursday.

NBC booted Jay Leno as host of "The Tonight Show" at the end of last season and gave the position to O'Brien to keep O'Brien from moving to another network. NBC then offered Leno a nightly, hour-long, 10 p.m. series.

But when the prime time "Jay Leno Show" failed to be a strong lead-in for local news broadcasts, NBC announced it would push Leno's show back to 11:35 p.m., shorten it to 30 minutes and air "Tonight" at 12:05 a.m. However, O'Brien said he would not remain on "Tonight" if it was bumped to 12:05 a.m. and left the network, paving the way for Leno's return last week as "Tonight" host in the traditional 11:35 p.m. slot. One of the stipulations in O'Brien's exit contract with NBC was that he not star in another television show until next fall.