Al Franken was born on May 21, 1951. Originally born in New York City, his family moved to a small, southern
Minnesota town, Albert Lea, where his father opened a quilting factory. Despite his father's best efforts, the venture eventually failed. At the age of 6, Franken moved to the city of Minneapolis, where he spent most of his adolescence. Here, he lived in a district known as "St. Louis Park," but was also known as "St. Jewish Park." Franken's father worked as a printing salesman while his mother became a realtor.
Growing up, Franken was initially a Republican, following in his father's footsteps, who supported men like Herbert Hoover, Alf Landon and Thomas Dewey. However, in the wake of the '60s civil rights movement and Barry Goldwater's staunch opposition to civil rights, Al and his father changed party affiliation. From that time on, both Frankens considered themselves Democrats.
Al Franken began comedy at an early age. While a second grader, Franken watched in horror as a group of girl classmates performed a silly, second grade skit. Seizing the moment, Franken teamed with his boy classmates and wrote a skit mocking the girls. It left his female classmates in tears.
In high school, Franken performed well academically, maintaining an "A" average and participating on his high school wrestling team. He was accepted to Harvard University. During this time, Franken also performed stand-up comedy and stage shows with his partner, Tom Davis, a long-time friend from Minnesota.
Upon graduating from Harvard in 1973, Franken continued performing with Davis. Their witty-yet-raunchy performances, mainly for college crowds, caught the eye of then-unknown Canadian producer Lorne Michaels. Michaels, a fan of Monty Python, was contracted to develop a variety show for NBC. Michaels, seeing talent in the two, signed the duo for $500 a week each and flew them to New York City. Franken and Davis were the only people hired without actually meeting with Michaels. At the time, little did they know, Franken and Davis would help start one of the most innovative shows on television, "Saturday Night Live."
During his run on "Saturday Night Live," Franken won 5 Emmys, four for writing and one for producing. During 1975-1980, Franken created such sketches as "The Final Days," a parody of the Nixon presidency and "The Me Decade," a commentary about why the 70s was about him, Al Franken.
When Franken, along with Lorne Michaels and most of the cast , left SNL in 1980, he trekked to Hollywood and tried his luck at movies. Most of his projects were unsuccessful, such as the 1986 movie, "One More Saturday Night," which Al wrote and performed. Franken did, however, make an appearance as a baffoonish baggage handler in the successful "Trading Places," with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.
In 1985, Franken returned to Saturday Night Live, where he stayed until 1995. Here, Franken expanded his acting resume, with impressions of Pat Robertson, Paul Simon and Paul Tsongas. He also developed his most popular character, self-help guru Stuart Smalley.
Aside from his work on SNL, Franken co-wrote and produced Touchstone Pictures' "When a Man Loves a Woman," with Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan. The movie was domestically and internationally popular, drawing strong reviews and over $100 million worldwide.
Franken also wrote and starred in "Stuart Saves His Family," a 1995 Paramount Picture based on his SNL character. Directed by Harold Ramis and co-starring Laura-San Giacomo and Vincent D'Onofrio, the movie received strong reviews but never clicked with audiences, generating only a million dollars in box office revenue. As Al Franken told Franken Web in an interview in 1996 about future Stuart endeavors, "when a movie loses 15 million bucks, studios don't exactly break down your door to make a sequel."
In 1997, independent film-makers Rob Rollins Lobl and Sam Sokolow approached Franken to film a cameo in their movie, "The Definite Maybe," the story of 25-year-old New Yorker searching for meaning in life. Franken played a Vagabond the title character meets in the subway.
A year later, Franken also appeared in the HBO miniseries, "From the Earth to the Moon." Filmed in Florida, the $80 million, Tom Hanks-produced production chronicled NASA's first babysteps into space. Franken played Presidential Science Advisor Jerome Weisner in the first segment of the film.
Franken is a well-known political satirist. In 1988, CNN hired him to provide commentary at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. In 1992 and 1996, he anchored Comedy Central's election coverage with then-Republican Arianna Huffington. Franken has also contributed to Newsweek, The Nation and Rolling Stone.
In 1998, Franken wrote and starred in NBC's "Lateline," a behind-the-scenes look at a "Nightline"-type news program. Featuring guest stars like Richard Gephardt, Jerry Falwell and Robert Reich, the political show received strong reviews (People Magazine gave the show an "A") but in the wake of the Clinton-scandals, failed to capture an audience. NBC renewed the show after its 1998 run but cancelled it in 1999. Overall, "Lateline" filmed 19 episodes.
Franken is also the author of four books, all NY Times best-sellers. "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and Doggone It, People Like Me," was released in 1992 and chronicled the life of Stuart Smalley, Al's SNL self-help guru. A New York Times bestseller, it was also nominated for a Grammy in the "best comedy" category.
"Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot," was released in 1996 and became an instant classic. Fueled by strong reviews (even the NY Post liked it) and a distaste for the "nutcase right," the book spent five weeks at the #1 spot and eight months on the list. The audio version also won a Grammy in the "best comedy" category. Indeed, Franken is among few political figures who can claim to have won a "Grammy."
His successful follow-up, "Why Not Me?" chronicling the fictional Al Franken presidency, enjoyed similar success, staying on the NY Times bestseller list for several months. In May of 2002, Franken published another book, "Oh, the Things I Know : A Guide to Success, Or, Failing That, Happiness," which poked fun at self-help books. That, too, was a NY Times bestseller.
In 2001, Franken and his daughter played themselves in the movie, "Harvard Man." Franken has also made appearances on hundreds of radio and television shows, including "3rd Rock from the Sun." "Clerks: The Animated Series," "The Tonight Show" and "The Late Show."
Franken is also an active lecture speaker. He has given speeches to hundreds of corporations, universities, and other organizations. He has been a speaker at the White House Correspondents Dinner, National Press Club, USO tours and commencement speaker at Harvard.
Franken currently lives in New York City with his wife, Franni. He has two children, Thomasin and Joe.