Information AboutAl Franken |
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Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21 , 1951 ) is an American Comedian , Author , Screenwriter , Political Commentator , and Radio Host , noted for his Liberal politics. Franken first achieved national prominence on '' Saturday Night Live '' as the writing and performing partner of Tom Davis . His more recent career accomplishments are politically-oriented, authoring books such as '' Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot And Other Observations '', serving as host of the flagship program from Air America Radio , and taking steps (such as creating a PAC ) which may lead to a possible 2008 Run against U.S. Senator Norm Coleman as Minnesota's Democratic candidate. PERSONAL LIFE Franken was born in New York City into a Jew ish family, and grew up in St. Louis Park , Minnesota , in suburban Minneapolis . He graduated from The Blake School in 1969 , where he was on the school Wrestling team. He attended Harvard University and graduated '' Cum Laude '' in 1973 with a Bachelor Of Arts in Government . He met his wife, Franni, in his first year at college at a Harvard-Simmons mixer and they have been together ever since. They have a daughter, Thomasin, and a son, Joe (both attended New York City's prestigious Dalton School ). Joe attends Princeton University and Thomasin is a public school teacher in New York City, with a degree from Harvard University . The Frankens reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota . Franken is also a Grateful Dead fan, as made evident in the use of their music as segues to commercials on his radio show. Al Franken is a distant cousin of CNN 's Bob Franken . His older brother, Owen Franken , is a Photojournalist . Franken is 5'5" (165 cm). CAREER Writer and performer Franken's performing career began in high school, where he and Tom Davis (his long-time writing partner) were known as class clowns. Franken honed his writing and performing skills at Dudley Riggs ' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, a theater specializing in political satire. He and Davis soon found themselves in "a life of near-total failure on the fringes of show business in Los Angeles." Franken and Davis were recruited as two of the original writers on '' Saturday Night Live '' (1975-1980, 1985-1995). Franken was awarded three Emmy Award s and seven Emmy nominations for his television writing and production. He created characters such as self-help guru Stuart Smalley and Schtick s such as proclaiming the 1980s to be the "Al Franken Decade". Franken was associated with ''SNL'' for more than 15 years and in 2002 interviewed former Vice President Al Gore while in character as Smalley. Franken and Davis wrote the script to the 1986 comedy film '' One More Saturday Night '' and they both had roles as rock singers in a band called "Bad Mouth." Franken's most notorious ''SNL'' sketch may have been "A Limo for the Lame-O," a commentary delivered by Franken near the end of the 1979 – 80 season. Franken mocked the controversial president of NBC, Fred Silverman , describing him as "a total unequivocal failure" and displayed a chart showing the poor ratings of NBC programs. Al proclaimed that Silverman did not deserve a limo, but that Al — who was a comedian on a popular NBC program — deserved it instead. According to associates of the show, Silverman's anger over the sketch was one of the factors prompting him to abandon negotiations with the show's creator Lorne Michaels and seek a different producer for the sixth season of ''SNL''. Besides having written five #1 New York Times Bestselling books (including '' Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot And Other Observations ''), Franken co-wrote (with his former partner Tom Davis) the screenplay for '' The Coneheads '' movie. He also wrote the original screenplay and starred in the theatrical Flop , '' Stuart Saves His Family .'' Though the movie failed at the box office, it is still used to this day at rehabilitation and family counseling centers. He also co-wrote the hit film '' When A Man Loves A Woman .'' He co-created and starred in the NBC sitcom '' LateLine '', but low Ratings led to its cancellation halfway through the second season, with only twelve of the nineteen episodes airing. He had a cameo as "Baggage Handler #2" in the Eddie Murphy / Dan Aykroyd film '' Trading Places ''. In 2003, Franken served as a Fellow with Harvard 's Kennedy School Of Government at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy. He also became the first nationally syndicated radio talk show host to visit Iraq , where he headlined two USO shows. Franken has done five USO tours to date. Since May 2005 he's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post . His most recent book, '' The Truth (with Jokes) '', was released on October 25 , 2005 . Conflict with the Fox News Network ''Main article: Fox V. Franken '' In ''. Fox News sued, claiming that Franken Infringed its registered Trademark rights in the phrase, "Fair and Balanced." Fox was unsuccessful, with a federal judge finding the Lawsuit to be "wholly without merit." The lawsuit focused a great deal of media attention upon Franken's book and is credited with enhancing its sales. Reflecting later on the lawsuit during an interview on the National Public Radio program '' Fresh Air '' on September 3 , 2003 , Franken said that Fox's case against him was "literally laughed out of court," and he further stated that the judge's comment that the case was "wholly without merit" was a good characterization of Fox News itself. ''See also:'' Great Liberal Backlash Of 2003 . Apology to Attorney General and conservative leaders In June 2003, Franken wrote a satirical letter to then Attorney General John Ashcroft. In the letter he asked Ashcroft to be a role model for the youth of America by sharing "a moment when you were tempted to have sex, but were able to overcome your urges through willpower and strength of character." Franken proposed including the contribution in a book he said he was writing called ''Savin' It!''. Franken said he wanted administration officials who promoted abstinence before marriage to provide examples of when they had actually abstained themselves, showing the youth that they "truly walked the walk — instead of just talking the talk — by not having sex until they are married." The letter stated that other conservative leaders (then HHS secretary Tommy Thompson , William J. Bennett , then White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer , Senator Rick Santorum and then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice ) had already submitted their testimonies. All of these figures either supported abstinence from sex until marriage promotional programs in school, or worked for people that did. The letter was written on letterhead from the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University 's Kennedy School Of Government where Franken was a Fellow at the time. In truth, Franken was not working on a serious book about abstinence nor had he received testimony from any of the people he mentioned. Al Franken claimed that the letter was an attempt at satire. Although Franken's fans clearly saw the prankish spirit in his letter, some conservative critics claimed there was no obvious satirical intent in his actions and charged the comedian with being a hypocritical "liar". The following month Franken wrote a letter of apology to Ashcroft in which he told the truth about the subject matter of his book, the purpose of his original letter to the Attorney General, and apologized for "any discomfort" caused to those conservative leaders about whom he said he had received material from but in reality hadn't. It also stated all those who had received his original letter would receive his letter of apology. Franken expressed his biggest regret over "sending the letter on Shorenstein Center stationery" writing, "I am very embarrassed to have put them in this awkward and difficult position, and I ask you not to hold this against the Center, the Kennedy School, or Harvard in general." He then asked that Ashcroft take his "original letter with a measure of humor with which it was intended." Radio show On January 13 , 2004 , it was announced that Franken would enter the Radio business. He signed a one-year contract to become a Talk Show host for Air America Radio 's flagship program, '' The O'Franken Factor '' with co-host Katherine Lanpher . The inaugural Broadcast kicked off the network's launch at 12 Noon EST on March 31 , 2004 . Franken stated that the reason why he chose the "O'Franken" name was "to annoy and to bait" Bill O'Reilly to sue him again, to bring publicity to the show. O'Reilly never did, so on July 12 , 2004 , the program was renamed '' The Al Franken Show ''. Franken is arguably the most moderate of the Air America Radio hosts. He said that one of his goals was to "get Bush unelected" and that he might end the show if Bush lost the 2004 election. He decided in 2005, after Bush won reelection, that he would keep doing the show for at least two more years. Franken's time at Air America Radio has not been without some scandal and controversy. In September of 2005, The New York Sun reported that Al Franken was among the signers of a confidential agreement in November 2004 that said the Air America network would repay $875,000 it had borrowed from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club , a Bronx nonprofit organization. The legality of the loan is under criminal investigation by NY State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer . Although Al Franken was one of the signers of the November 2004 confidential agreement to repay the Gloria Wise loan, Franken maintains that he was not aware of the details regarding Gloria Wise in the agreement and simply signed it under the advice of legal counsel. See Air America-Gloria Wise Loan Controversy . The New York Sun on September 8, 2005 quoted Air America CEO Danny Goldberg's defense of Al Franken: "Al Franken does not have and never had any responsibility for this loan." It is still unclear whether or not this loan has been repaid. In October 2005 his on-air partner Katherine Lanpher left the show to meet a book deadline. In November Franken told an audience in Berkeley, CA that he would not seek a replacement for Lanpher. In December 2005 , the show moved from New York to Minneapolis. POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS Franken had been a strong supporter of Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone , who was killed shortly before the 2002 election in a plane crash. Franken announced in November 2003 that he was considering moving back to Minnesota, his home state, in order to run for the Senate seat held by Wellstone's successor Norm Coleman in the 2008 election. On April 28 , 2005, Salon.com reported that Franken, who had previously promised that if he was to run for office he would move to Minnesota and broadcast from the Twin Cities , was doing just that. "I can tell you honestly, I don't know if I'm going to run, but I'm doing the stuff I need to do, in order to do it," Franken said. He has said that he would run as a Democrat, stating that "Democrats care so much more for the poor than Republicans do". He talked about his political aspirations when he went on '' The Daily Show '' on October 25 , 2005 , to promote his book, '' The Truth (with Jokes) ''. He said, if he chose to run, he would run on a platform of universal health coverage and expanding alternative energy. It is a message that he would repeat during his appearance on the March 15 , 2006 episode of '' The Colbert Report .'' Stephen Colbert jokingly egged him on to make a declaration, telling him to announce his candidacy right there (to which the audience broke out into applause), but he refused. He has previously claimed that he would not be able to decide if he ran for a seat in the Senate until 2007 , stating that he has written this in a chapter of his new book. However, a potential signal came on January 3 , 2006 , when the ''Al Franken Show'' starting airing from Minneapolis, Minnesota . Among his own positions which Franken explores in his books are strong support of a woman's right to choose an abortion, gun control laws, same sex marriage, environmental protections, and a more progressive income tax system that taxes the wealthy more than the poor and middle class. He has also joked in his book that if elected to the Senate, in the two week window between the Senate's swearing in and Bush's leaving office, he would push for a "quickie impeachment." In late 2005, Franken started his own Political Action Committee called Midwest Values PAC . In a period of a little over two months, the PAC raised nearly $170,000. BOOKS )'']]
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