Al Franken

Al Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American satirist, comedian, bestselling author, and radio host with a predominantly liberal point of view. Franken was half of the comedy duo "Franken & Davis" which wrote for and performed for NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

Career

Writer and performer

Franken's writing and performing career began at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis where he worked with Tom Davis (the comedian, not the politician). He and Davis then found themselves in "a life of near-total failure on the fringes of show business in Los Angeles."{{fn|1}}

Related Topics:
Dudley Riggs - Brave New Workshop - Tom Davis

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Franken and Davis were then recruited as two of the original writers on Saturday Night Live (1975-1980, 1985-1995). Franken was awarded three Emmy Awards and seven Emmy nominations for his television writing and production. He created characters such as self-help guru Stuart Smalley and schticks such as proclaiming the 1980s to be the "Al Franken Decade"{{fn|2}}. 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."

Related Topics:
Saturday Night Live - Emmy Award - Stuart Smalley - Schtick - 2002 - Vice President - Al Gore - 1986 - One More Saturday Night

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Franken's most notorious SNL sketch may have been "A Limo for the Lamo," 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. According to some associates of the show, Silverman's anger over the sketch prompted him to abandon negotiations with the show's creator Lorne Michaels and seek a different producer for the sixth season of SNL.

Related Topics:
1979 - 80 - Fred Silverman - Lorne Michaels

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Besides having written numerous 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 TV show. He also wrote the original screenplay and starred in the theatrical flop, Stuart Saves His Family. 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.

Related Topics:
Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations - The Coneheads - Flop - Stuart Saves His Family - When A Man Loves A Woman - LateLine - Ratings

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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 shows. Franken has done five USO tours to date.

Related Topics:
Harvard - Kennedy School of Government - Iraq

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Since May 2005 he's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

Related Topics:
2005 - The Huffington Post

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His new book The Truth (with jokes) will be released on October 25, 2005

Related Topics:
The Truth (with jokes) - October 25 - 2005

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Conflict with the Fox News Network

In August 2003, Penguin Books published Franken's '. 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 greatly enhanced 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 that "wholly (holy) without merit" is a good characterization of Fox News itself.

Related Topics:
August 2003 - Penguin Books - Fox News - Infringed - Trademark - Lawsuit - National Public Radio - Fresh Air - September 3 - 2003

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See also: Great Liberal Backlash of 2003.

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Apology to Attorney General and conservative leaders

In June of 2003, Franken wrote a letter to then Attorney General John Ashcroft asking for a contribution to a serious book Franken was supposedly writing on abstinence programs in the public school system. In the letter, Franken asked the Attorney General to "share a moment when you were tempted to have sex, but were able to overcome your urges through willpower and strength of character..." and stated that other conservative leaders (HHS secretary Tommy Thompson, William J. Bennett, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, Senator Rick Santorum and then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice) had already submitted their testimonies.

Related Topics:
Tommy Thompson - William J. Bennett - Ari Fleischer - Rick Santorum - Condoleezza Rice

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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.

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In truth, Franken was not working on a serious book about abstinence nor had he received testimony from any of the people he mentioned.

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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 orignal letter to the Attorney General, and apologized to the conservative leaders he lied about in his original letter.

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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."

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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.

Related Topics:
January 13 - 2004 - Radio - Talk show - The O'Franken Factor - Katherine Lanpher - Broadcast - March 31 - Bill O'Reilly - July 12

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Franken 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.

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Gloria Wise loan case

In July, 2005 the Bronx News issued a report alleging that $480,000 was loaned to Progress Media, the original owners of Air America Radio, by the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club of Co-op City in the Bronx. Since the club is heavily funded by the City of New York, the legality of such a transfer between Progress Media and Gloria Wise is in question. Franken has stated that he did not know any details about the loan. However, Franken was a signatory to a settlement agreement which includes details of the loan from Gloria Wise to Progress Media. http://hyperion.hmdnsgroup.com/%7Emalkin/archives/files/settlement.pdf For more information see Air America Loan Controversy.

Related Topics:
Co-op City - Bronx - City of New York - Air America Loan Controversy

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