The Funniest Stories About Prince from Around the Comedy World
For all the accolades Prince earned for his massive impact on the medium of popular music, not enough praise has been heaped upon the late artist’s contributions to the celebrity anecdotes of every comedian who had the honor of getting absolutely waxed by Prince on the basketball court.
On Tuesday night, Conan O’Brien made his first appearance on The Tonight Show since his dramatic exit from the host’s chair 14 years ago. During the conversation, O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon shared their stories about the strangeness of life as a late-night superstar, as well as their tales of bizarre run-ins with other legendary A-listers. The two Tonight Show hosts talked about the rush of interviewing Paul McCartney, the hilarity of hearing Barack Obama’s voice in person after listening to so many impressions of the president and, of course, the amazing experience of meeting Minnesota’s greatest musical export and the perpetually enigmatic anecdote subject who has captured the minds of comics for decades.
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Every comedian who had ever met Prince (or met someone who met Prince) has told the story of their encounter with the Purple One on stage or on camera, and, just like Prince’s albums, every story is an absolute banger. Here are some of our favorite funny stories about Prince from funny people, starting with…
Prince Surprised Conan With “Superstition”
Conan’s story on Tuesday’s The Tonight Show is a fine addition to the canon of comedic Prince anecdotes. As Conan told Fallon, he served as master of ceremonies for a benefit show featuring Stevie Wonder where Prince was rumored to appear onstage alongside the piano legend. When Conan saw Prince backstage, he assumed that the rumors were true, but Prince shot them down — only to immediately walk out shredding the opening lick to “Superstition” on the guitar with a devilish look for the late-night host.
Said Conan, “There’s a beauty to it — it’s a surprise. It’s a surprise for the, whatever, 30,000 people in the crowd, but also for Conan too. That was so weird, but I loved it.”
Fallon’s ping-pong match against Prince gets an honorary mention as well.
This Motherfucking Voice Is Coming From the Motherfucking Walls
In Living Color star David Alan Grier’s story about His Royal Badness comes secondhand, but hits just the same. While on tour, Prince caused a late-night commotion when he heard a woman’s voice coming from the walls of his hotel room. Upon closer inspection by hotel staff, bodyguards and police officers, there turned out to be a proselytizing trespasser in the crawlspace reading bible verses to the star in an attempt to sway him to whichever brand of Christianity she preferred. This story is especially funny when you remember that Prince was a dedicated Jehovah’s Witness — this time, it was his turn to have an unwanted visitor attempt a conversion.
Prince Preferred ‘Finding Nemo’ to Fela Kuti
The Tonight Show bandleader and Roots drummer Questlove had more experience with Prince than most members of the late-night community, and as such, he has an absolute treasure trove of Prince stories. But none is better than the tale of a partying, pool-sharking Prince relieving Questlove of his DJ duties and putting on Finding Nemo instead. We’ll never know for sure why Prince wanted Marlin and Dory on the ones and twos that night instead of Questlove, but it somehow wasn’t because Fela Kuti couldn’t cut it as Questlove sadly found out years later.
Prince Serves the Murphy Brothers in Basketball With A Side of Pancakes
Honestly, what other story could take the top spot? This “True Hollywood Story” from Chappelle's Show is the stuff of comedy legend, but, somehow, it’s all (mostly) true. Prince would later say that he “loved” the sketch, saying it’s a “true story,” clarifying of his legendary basketball skills, “To be honest, it ain’t that I’m that great, it’s that (Murphy) is so bad.” Said Prince of their post-match pancakes, “I didn’t make ’em, but we did have pancakes.”
And, in case anyone ever accused Prince of not having a sense of humor, the next time Dave Chappelle came over to his house after the sketch aired, he asked his guest, “Hey Dave, want some pancakes?”