| Franklin "Frank" Caliendo
(born January 19, 1974) is an American comedian and impressionist, best known for his work on the FOX Network television series MADtv
, and has been the in-house prognosticator for FOX NFL Sunday
. In 2007 and 2008, he performed his impersonations on his own show, Frank TV, which aired on TBS. He is known for his impressions of NFL color commentator John Madden and United States Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and for his frequent appearances on the Bob and Tom Show. He has performed as many as 120 impressions including Charles Barkley, George W. Bush, Jay Leno, Dr. Phil McGraw, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Jack Nicholson, the cast of Seinfeld, Don LaFontaine, Donald Trump, Andy Rooney, Terry Bradshaw, William Shatner, Al Gore, Jim Rome, John Madden, and Rod Roddy.
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FRANK CALIENDO TICKETS
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Biography
Early life & career
Caliendo was born in
Chicago,
Illinois, and was raised in
Waukesha,
Wisconsin, where he attended
Waukesha South High School. He is of Italian ancestry.
[1] After graduation from
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Caliendo began performing stand-up comedy, taking a job as a
master of ceremonies at a local
comedy club. Within a year he was headlining. He made his network series debut on the 2000-2001
sketch comedy series
Hype
. He gained significant national exposure on the comedy series
MADtv
.
Caliendo has performed stand-up on such series as
cable's
Premium Blend
,
The Late Show with David Letterman
,
Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
,
The View
,
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
, and
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
.
His signature '
John Madden' impression is frequently seen on
FOX NFL Sunday
,
The Best Damn Sports Show Period
and
Mohr Sports
. Caliendo has also appeared on
Comedy Central's
Comedy Central Presents
, as well as many
radio shows, including
Mike In The Morning Show
in
Detroit on 101
WRIF,
The Dan Le Batard Show
,
The Junkies
,
The Bob & Tom Show
,
Mike and Mike in the Morning
,
Opie and Anthony
,
The Don and Mike Show
,
Rise Guys
,
Bubba the Love Sponge
,
The John Boy and Billy Big Show
,
The Howard Stern Show
,
Mike and the Mad Dog
,
Elliot in the Morning
,
The Sports Inferno
,
The Rick and Bubba Show
,
The Roe Conn Show
,
Preston and Steve
, and
Holmberg's Morning Sickness
, and
Lamont & Tonelli on 107.7 The Bone in San Francisco
Frank TV
For two short seasons, Caliendo starred on
Frank TV
, his own sketch show on the
TBS that began airing in November 2007. Frank is its host and performs in sketches in full makeup as characters he impersonates. Frank joked that he "wanted the show to be called
The Chappelle Show
[
sic ], but the lawyers wouldn't allow it," referring to the publicity he would likely receive from naming his show after
another popular comedian.
The ratings for the first five aired episodes had been good, but reviews were largely negative, with
Entertainment Weekly calling the show "unfunny" and "unoriginal".
In early 2008, TBS announced that they ordered eight more episodes, which ran later that year
[2]. The show ended after the fifteenth episode, which aired on December 23, 2008.
MADtv
Caliendo officially joined the cast of
MADtv
in 2001 as a repertory performer, for the seventh season, and as
MADtv's
equivalent to
Saturday Night Live's
Darrell Hammond. In 2002, Caliendo replaced
Will Sasso as the impersonator of
George W. Bush, but he won audience members over with an offbeat impersonation of former
FOX sports announcer
John Madden and also many other Fox personalities. Both became some of the cast member's most popular impressions on
MADtv
, and were featured quite prominently during his tenure. Frank also did the announcing for the best of scenes on the MADtv season 1 DVD, and the announcing for the Season 2 DVD release which was cancelled due to poor sales of the first season DVD.
In August 2006, Caliendo announced he would not return to
MADtv
for its 2006-2007 season.
FOX NFL Sunday
In
2001 and
2002, Caliendo had a recurring role on
FOX NFL Sunday
, as a guest to comedian
Jimmy Kimmel. Caliendo frequently appeared impersonating announcer
John Madden, or occasionally as pundit
Jim Rome, during some of Kimmel's prognostication skits.
In
2003, Kimmel departed the program, and Caliendo was named his permanent replacement. As the prognosticator for the
NFL on FOX
, he gives his predictions for the day's NFL games. Typically these come during a skit (usually a one-man skit), where he does one of his famous impersonations. For example, for the first week's
FOX NFL Sunday
of the
2006 NFL season, he impersonated
James Brown, who left the show in the off-season to join
The NFL Today
on
CBS. He also imitates the cast of
FOX NFL Sunday
on occasion, most frequently
Terry Bradshaw.
The Comebacks
Caliendo appeared in the 2007
film The Comebacks
. He plays
John Madden and
Al Michaels in the championship game between the
Comebacks
and
The Unbeatables
.
White House Correspondent's Dinner
Caliendo’s impression of President
George W. Bush earned him an invitation to perform during the 2007 annual White House Correspondents Dinner.
The Comedy Festival Presents: Funniest Movies of the Year 2008
During
The Comedy Festival Caliendo hosted a special called
The Comedy Festival Presents: Funniest Movies of the Year 2008
where, from
Caesars Palace, Caliendo introduced the top ten list for funniest films of 2008 based on an Internet poll.
Television & film appearances
| Year
| Title
| Role
| Notes
|
| 2008
| The Comedy Festival Presents: Funniest Movies of the Year 2008
| Himself/Host
|
|
| FOX NFL Sunday
| Various
| 2001-present
|
| 2007
| The Comebacks
| Chip Imitation
|
|
| The 2007 White House Correspondents Dinner
| Himself
|
|
| Frank TV
| Host: Various
| 2007-2008
|
| Frank Caliendo; All Over the Place
| Himself
|
|
| 2005
| Mind of Mencia
| George W. Bush
| Voice Only
|
| 2004
| Comedy Central Presents
| Himself
|
|
| National Lampoon Live: New Faces - Volumes 1 & 2
| Himself/host
|
|
| Wisconsin Born & Bred: The Entertainers
| Himself
|
|
| 2001
| MADtv
| Himself-Various
| Appeared in 117 Episodes (2001-2006)
|
| Late Friday
| Himself
|
|
| 2000
| Hype
| Himself-Various
|
|
References
- TV Talk Q&A: Master Impressionist Frank Caliendo
- TBS Orders Eight More Episodes of Hit Late-Night Sketch Comedy Frank TV, Starring Frank Caliendo, ''The Futon Critic''