Conan O'Brien remembers late actor Abe Vigoda with his most hilarious 'Late Night' moments

conan o brien abe vigoda tribute main

(NBC)

Tuesday's night's "Conan" opened with a touching tribute to actor Abe Vigoda, who died earlier that day.

Vigoda was a frequent participant in some of Conan O'Brien's funniest sketches during his "Late Night" hosting tenure in New York.

"I couldn't believe how many times Abe would come on the show and do hilarious things for us," O'Brien remembered. "We used to call him up and sometimes have the idea like three hours beforehand. It would usually be the silliest thing. Abe would always come right over, do it, such a lovely guy."

Sidekick Andy Richter remembered shooting a sketch with Vigoda, and simply marveled, "It was pouring rain and I got to spend the day with Abe Vigoda at Coney Island. And it was just, he was such a lovely person, and so kind, and so professional."

They followed up the moving words with a reel of hilarious sketches with Vigoda. Among other things, the show created hilarious plays on the late actor's name, such as the "North American Vigoda" tree, a "Vigodal eclipse," and "Abe Vi-Yoda."

Watch the full tribute to Abe Vigoda below:

NOW WATCH: Watch Tina Fey take on Sarah Palin's Trump endorsement speech on SNL

More From Business Insider

• How the revived 'X-Files' made that massive life-size alien spaceship for its pricey premiere
  

• 'Making a Murderer' prosecutor Ken Kratz is writing a book about the case and asked Steven Avery to confess
  

• The 'Friends' cast got back together for an NBC special reunion