Born in
New York City, Franken moved to Minnesota when he was four. With his writing partner
Tom Davis, with whom he had developed an interest in
improvisational theater at the prestigious college preparatory school
The Blake School, he was hired as a writer for
SNL at its inception in 1975. He worked on the show as a writer and performer until 1980, and returned from 1985 to 1995. After leaving
SNL, he wrote and acted in movies and television shows. He also hosted a nationally syndicated political
radio talk show,
The Al Franken Show, and wrote seven books, four of which are political satires critical of
conservative politics. His latest book,
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate, about his time in the Senate, was a
New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller.
[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Franken was born on May 21, 1951, in New York City, the son of Joseph Franken, a printing salesman, and Phoebe Franken (born Kunst), a real estate agent. His paternal grandparents emigrated from
Germany; his maternal grandfather came from
Grodno,
Belarus, and his maternal grandmother's parents were also from the
Russian Empire.
[2] Both of his parents were
Jewish, and Al was raised in a
Reform Jewish home.
[3] The Franken family moved to
Albert Lea, Minnesota, when Al was four years old.
[4] His father opened a quilting factory – but after just two years, the factory failed. The family moved to
St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a
suburb of
Minneapolis.
[5] Franken graduated from
The Blake School in 1969, where he was a member of the wrestling team.
[6] He attended
Harvard College where he majored in
political science, graduating
cum laude (top 25% of the class) with a
Bachelor of Arts in 1973.
[7] His older brother Owen is a
photojournalist, and his cousin
Bob is a journalist for
MSNBC.
[8]
Franken began performing in high school where he and his friend and long-time writing partner
Tom Davis were known for their humor.
[9] The two first performed on stage at Minneapolis'
Brave New Workshop theater, specializing in
political satire.
[10] They soon found themselves in what was described as "a life of near-total failure on the fringes of show business in Los Angeles."
[11]
Saturday Night Live[edit]
Franken and Tom Davis were recruited as two of the original writers (and occasional performers) on
Saturday Night Live (
SNL) (1975–1980, 1985–1995). In Season 1 of
SNL, as apprentice writers, the two shared a salary of $350 per week.
[9] Franken received seven
Emmy nominations and three awards for his television writing and producing while creating such characters as
self-help guru
Stuart Smalley. Another routine proclaimed the 1980s the
Al Franken Decade.
[12] Franken and Davis wrote the script to the 1986 comedy film
One More Saturday Night, appearing in it as rock singers in a band called "Bad Mouth". They also appeared in minor roles in
All You Need Is Cash and in the
Eddie Murphy and
Dan Aykroyd film
Trading Places.
On
Weekend Update near the end of
Season 5, Franken delivered a commentary called "
A Limo For A Lame-O". He mocked controversial
NBC president
Fred Silverman as "a total unequivocal failure" and displayed a chart showing the poor ratings of NBC programs. As a result of this sketch, Silverman refused
Lorne Michaels' request that Franken succeed him as producer, prompting Franken to leave the show when Michaels did, at the end of the 1979–80 season.
[13] Franken later returned to the show in 1985 as a writer, and also as an occasional performer. Franken has acknowledged using
cocaine and other illegal drugs while working in the television business, and stated that the overdose death of
John Belushi was the catalyst that caused him to stop.
[14][15] In 1995, Franken left the show in protest over losing the role of
Weekend Update anchor to
Norm Macdonald.
[16]
Post-SNL[edit]
In 1995, Franken wrote the original screenplay and starred in the film
Stuart Saves His Family, which was a critical and commercial failure.
[17] Franken became depressed following the movie's failure.
[18] With an aggregate rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes,
[19] Stuart Saves His Family did receive a number of favorable reviews, including from
The Washington Post[20] and
Gene Siskel.
[21]
Franken signed a one-year contract in early 2004 to host a talk show for
Air America Radio's flagship program with co-host
Katherine Lanpher, who remained with the show until October 2005. The network was launched March 31, 2004. Originally named
The O'Franken Factor but renamed
The Al Franken Show on July 12, 2004, the show aired three hours a day, five days a week for three years. The stated goal of the show was to provide the public airwaves with more progressive views to counter what Franken perceived was the dominance of conservative syndicated commentary on the radio: "I'm doing this because I want to use my energies to get
Bushunelected," he told a
New York Times reporter in 2004.
[28] Franken's last radio show on Air America Radio was on February 14, 2007, at the end of which Franken announced his candidacy for the
United States Senate.
[29]
Political activism prior to election[edit]
According to an article by
Richard Corliss published in
Time, "In a way, Franken has been running for office since the late '70s." Corliss also hinted at Franken's "possibly ironic role as a relentless self-promoter" in proclaiming the 1980s "the Al Franken Decade" and saying, "Vote for me, Al Franken. You'll be glad you did!"
[34] In 1999, Franken released a parody book,
Why Not Me?, detailing his hypothetical campaign for President in 2000. He had been a strong supporter of Minnesota Senator
Paul Wellstone and was deeply affected by the Senator's death in a plane crash shortly before the
2002 election. Wellstone was a mentor
[35][36] and political and personal role model for Franken, with Franken stating his hopes of following in the late Senator’s footsteps.
[37][38]
Franken said he learned that 21% of Americans received most of their news from
talk radio, an almost exclusively conservative medium.
[34] Said Franken, "I didn't want to sit on the sidelines, and I believed Air America could make a difference."
[34] In November 2003, Franken talked about moving back to his home state of Minnesota to run for the Senate. At the time the seat, once held by Wellstone, was occupied by Republican
Norm Coleman. At a 2004 Democratic presidential campaign event, Franken tackled a man who was heckling Governor
Howard Dean.
[39] In 2005, Franken announced his move to Minnesota: "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."
[40] In late 2005, Franken started his own
political action committee, called
Midwest Values PAC. By early 2007, the PAC raised more than $1 million.
[41][42]
Franken initially supported the
Iraq War but opposed the
2007 troop surge. In an interview with
MSNBC’s
Joe Scarborough,
[44] Franken said that he "believed
Colin Powell", whose presentation at the
United Nations convinced him that the war was necessary. However, since then he had come to believe that "we were misled into the war" and urged the Democratically controlled Congress to refuse to pass appropriations bills to fund the war if they didn't include timetables for leaving Iraq. In an interview with
Josh Marshall, Franken said of the Democrats, "I think we've gotta make
President George W. Bush say, 'OK, I'm cutting off funding because I won't agree to a timetable.'"
[45]
Franken favors transitioning to a
universal health care system,
[46] with the provision that every child in America should receive health care coverage immediately. Franken objects to efforts to privatize
Social Security or cut benefits. He favors raising the cap on wages to which Social Security taxes apply.
[47] On his 2008 campaign website, he voiced support for cutting
subsidies for oil companies, increasing money available for college students, and cutting
interest rates on
student loans.
[48][49]
During the 2008 election, New York state officials asserted that Al Franken Inc. had failed to carry required
workers' compensation insurance for employees who assisted him with his comedy and public speaking from 2002 to 2005. Franken paid a $25,000 fine to the state of New York upon being advised his
corporation was out of compliance with the state's workers' compensation laws.
[50] At the same time, the
California Franchise Tax Board reported that the same corporation owed more than $4,743.40 in taxes, fines, and associated penalties in the state of California for 2003 through 2007 because the corporation did not file tax returns in the state for those years.
[51] A Franken representative said that it followed the advice of an accountant who believed when the corporation stopped doing business in California that no further filing was required.
[52] Subsequently, Franken paid $70,000 in back
income taxes in 17 states dating back to 2003, mostly from Franken's speeches and other paid appearances. Franken said he paid the income tax in his state of residence, and he would seek retroactive credit for paying the taxes in the wrong states.
[53]
U.S. Senate[edit]
2008 elections[edit]
Franken campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 2008
On July 8, 2007, Franken's campaign stated that it expected to announce that Franken had raised more money than Republican opponent
Norm Coleman during the second quarter of the year, taking in $1.9 million to Coleman's $1.6 million,
[56][57] although in early July 2007, Coleman's $3.8 million cash on hand exceeded Franken's $2 million.
[57]
In late May 2008, the
Minnesota Republican Party released a letter regarding an article Franken had written for
Playboy in 2000 entitled "Porn-O-Rama!". The letter, signed by six prominent GOP women, including a state senator and state representative, called on Franken to apologize for what they referred to as a "demeaning and degrading" article.
[58] Al Franken's campaign spokesman responded that, "Al had a long career as a satirist. But he understands the difference between what you say as a satirist and what you do as a senator. And as a Senator, Norm Coleman has disrespected the people of Minnesota by putting the
Exxons and
Halliburtonsahead of working families. And there's nothing funny about that."
[58]
On June 7, 2008, Franken was endorsed at the
DFL convention.
[59] In a July 2008 interview with
CNN, Franken was endorsed by
Ben Stein, the noted entertainer, speechwriter, lawyer and author who is known for his conservative views and generally supports Republican candidates.
[60] Stein said of Franken, "He is my pal, and he is a really, really capable smart guy. I don't agree with all of his positions, but he is a very impressive guy, and I think he should be in the Senate."
During his campaign for the Senate, Franken was criticized for advising
SNL creator
Lorne Michaels on a political sketch ridiculing Senator
John McCain's ads attacking
Barack Obama in the
2008 presidential election.
[61] Coleman's campaign reacted, saying, "Once again, he proves he's more interested in entertainment than service, and ridiculing those with whom he disagrees."
[62]
Preliminary reports on election night, November 4, had Coleman ahead by over 700 votes, but the official results certified on November 18, 2008, had Coleman leading by only 215 votes. As the two candidates were separated by less than 0.5 percent, the
Secretary of State of Minnesota,
Mark Ritchie, authorized an automatic recount provided for in Minnesota election law. In the recount, ballots and certifying materials were examined by hand, and candidates could file challenges to the legality of ballots or materials for inclusion or exclusion with regard to the recount. On January 5, 2009, the
Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified the recounted vote totals, with Franken ahead by 225 votes.
[63]
On January 6, 2009, Coleman's campaign filed an
election contest, which led to a trial before a three-judge panel.
[64] The trial ended on April 7, when the panel ruled that 351 of 387 disputed absentee ballots were incorrectly rejected and ordered them counted. Counting those ballots raised Franken's lead to 312 votes. Coleman appealed to the
Minnesota Supreme Court on April 20.
[65][66][67] On April 24, the Minnesota Supreme Court agreed to hear the
case.
[68][69] Oral arguments were conducted on June 1.
[68][70]
On June 30, 2009, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously rejected Coleman's appeal and said that Franken was entitled to be certified as the winner. Shortly after the court's decision, Coleman conceded.
[71] Governor
Tim Pawlenty signed Franken’s election certificate that same evening.
[72]
In July 2010, Minnesota Majority, a conservative watchdog group, conducted a study in which they flagged 2,803 voters for examination, including some 1,359 they suspected were ineligible convicted felons in the largely Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul area who voted illegally in the Senate race.
[73][74] Subsequent investigations of Minnesota Majority's claims by election officials found that many of their allegations were incorrect.
[75][76][77]
2014 elections[edit]
Franken was re-elected to a second term in 2014. He faced primary challenger Sandra Henningsgard, winning the nomination on August 12, 2014 with 94.5% of the vote.
[78] He won the election against Republican
Mike McFadden with 53.2% of the vote.
[79] [80]
Franken meeting with Vice President
Joe Biden in May 2009
Franken was sworn into the senate on July 7, 2009, 246 days after election.
[81][82] Franken was sworn in with the
Bible of late Minnesota Senator
Paul Wellstone, whose old seat was set aside by senate leaders for Franken.
[83][84]
A video began circulating on the Internet of Franken at the
Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 2009, engaging in a discussion with a group of
Tea Party protesters on health care reform, and soon went
viral.
[87][88] The discussion was noted for its civility, in contrast to the explosive character of several other discussions between members of the
111th Congress and their constituents that had occurred over the summer.
[87][89][90]
Citing the case of
Jamie Leigh Jones, Franken offered an amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill that would withhold defense contracts from companies that restrict their employees from taking workplace
sexual assault, battery, and discrimination cases to court. It passed the Senate in November 2010, 68 to 30 in a roll-call vote.
[96]
In May 2010, Franken proposed a financial reform legislation amendment that would create a board to select which
credit rating agency would evaluate a given security. Currently any company issuing a security may select the company that evaluates the security.
[97] The amendment was passed; however, the financial industry lobbied to have Franken's amendment removed from the final bill.
[98] Negotiations between the Senate and
House, whose version of financial reform did not include such a provision, resulted in the amendment's being watered down to require only a series of studies being done upon the issue for two years.
[99] After the studies, if the
Securities and Exchange Commission has not implemented another solution to the conflict of interest problem, Franken's solution will go into effect.
[100][101]
In August 2010, Franken made faces and hand gestures and rolled his eyes while Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell delivered a speech in opposition to the confirmation of
Elena Kagan to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
[102][103][104] Franken's actions prompted McConnell to remark, "This isn't
Saturday Night Live, Al."
[104] Following Kagan's confirmation, Franken delivered a handwritten apology to McConnell and issued a public statement saying that McConnell had a right "to give his speech with the presiding officer just listening respectfully."
[102]
The
National Journal reported in 2013 that Franken supports the
National Security Agency’s data mining programs, believing they have saved lives, and that "I can assure you, this is not about spying on the American people."
[105]
When Franken declared his intention to seek re-election
in 2014,
[106] his seat was thought to be a top target for the Republicans due to his very slim margin of victory in the previous election. However,
Politico reported that his high approval rating, large war chest, and the Republicans' struggle to find a top-tier candidate meant that he was a "heavy favorite" to win re-election,
[107] a view subsequently confirmed in the election, which Franken won comfortably.
The Associated Press has noted that contrary to expectations, Franken has not sought out the media spotlight: "He rarely talks to the Washington press corps, has shed his comedic persona and focused on policy, working to be taken seriously."
[108] In interviews he has expressed his desire to be known for a focus on constituency work, keeping his head down, and working hard.
[91][109]
Committee assignments[edit]
Books and CDs[edit]
- I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!: Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley (Dell Books, 1992) ISBN 0-440-50470-8
- Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations (Delacorte Press, 1996) ISBN 0-385-31474-4
- Why Not Me?: The Inside Story of the Making and Unmaking of the Franken Presidency (Delacorte Press, 1999) ISBN 0-385-31809-X
- Oh, the Things I Know!: A Guide to Success, or Failing That, Happiness (Plume Books, 2003) ISBN 0-452-28450-3
- Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right (Dutton Books, 2003) ISBN 0-525-94764-7
- The Truth (With Jokes) (Dutton Books, 2005) ISBN 0-525-94906-2
- Al Franken, Giant of the Senate (Grand Central Publishing, 2017) ISBN 1455540412
CDs and compilations[edit]
- The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization, and High-Finance Fraudsters with Greg Palast (2004)
- The O'Franken Factor Factor — The Best of the O'Franken Factor
- The Al Franken Show Party Album
Filmography[edit]
Electoral history[edit]
| 2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary election |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| DFL | Al Franken | 164,136 | 65.34% |
| DFL | Priscilla Lord Faris | 74,655 | 29.72% |
| DFL | "Dick" Franson | 3,923 | 1.56% |
| DFL | Bob Larson | 3,152 | 1.25% |
| DFL | Rob Fitzgerald | 3,095 | 1.23% |
| DFL | Ole' Savior | 1,227 | 0.49% |
| DFL | Alve Erickson | 1,017 | 0.40% |
2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate election[110][111]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| DFL | Al Franken | 1,212,629 | 41.994% |
| Republican | Norm Coleman | 1,212,317 | 41.983% |
| Independence | Dean Barkley | 437,505 | 15.151% |
| Libertarian | Charles Aldrich | 13,923 | 0.482% |
| Constitution | James Niemackl | 8,907 | 0.308% |
| Write-ins | | 2,365 | 0.082% |
| Margin of victory | 312 | 0.011% |
| Total votes | 2,887,646 | 100 |
| 2014 Minnesota U.S. Senate Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary election |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| DFL | Al Franken (incumbent) | 182,720 | 94.50% |
| DFL | Sandra Henningsgard | 10,627 | 5.50% |
2014 Minnesota U.S. Senate election[112]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| DFL | Al Franken (incumbent) | 1,053,205 | 53.15 |
| Republican | Mike McFadden | 850,227 | 42.91 |
| Independence | Steve Carlson | 47,530 | 2.4 |
| Libertarian | Heather Johnson | 29,685 | 1.5 |
| Write-ins | Others | 881 | 0.04 |
| Margin of victory | 202,978 | 10.24% |
| Total votes | 1,981,528 | 100 |
| DFL hold |
Personal life[edit]
See also[edit]
