Al Franken
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Al Franken
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2 Recent controversies 3 Radio show 4 Political career 5 See also 6 Books 7 External links |
Career
Franken was one of the original writers on Saturday Night Live, and received three Emmy Awards and seven Emmy nominations for television writing and producing for his work there. He created characters such as self-help guru Stuart Smalley and schtick like 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'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 SNL's sixth season.
Besides having written numerous books, Franken wrote the original screenplay for the movie, Stuart Saves His Family and co-wrote (with Tom Davis) the screenplay for The Coneheads.
Franken has often been the subject of controversy for writing satirical works that convey his liberal political views.
Recent controversies
The Ashcroft letter
In June 2003, Franken wrote a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft seeking Ashcroft's “personal story” for a book Franken claimed to be writing (to be called Savin' It) about abstinence-only sex education. Ashcroft is a social conservative who opposes premarital sex and who once ordered the covering of a bare-breasted statue at the Department of Justice. “Don't be afraid to share a moment when you were tempted to have sex, but were able to overcome your urges through willpower and strength of character,” wrote Franken. The fatuous wording of the letter made it clear that this was a practical joke, but Franken later expressed regret for using Harvard stationery (see external link below).
In August 2003, Penguin Books published Franken's book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, subtitled A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Fox News sued, claiming that Franken violated its alleged trademark rights in the phrase “Fair and Balanced.” A Federal judge found the lawsuit to be “wholly without merit”; Fox then withdrew the suit. In an interview on the National Public Radio program Fresh Air on September 3, 2003, Al Franken noted that Fox's case against him was literally laughed out of court by many in the courtroom. The lawsuit provided Franken's book with a great deal of media attention and probably enhanced its sales.
On January 26, 2004, a few supporters of perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche were at a campaign rally for Howard Dean, who was running for the office at that time. They began to shout accusations at Dean, bringing the ire of Franken, who felt it was not an appropriate way to voice opinion. A scuffle broke out, and Franken (a former wrestler), it was alleged, broke his eyeglasses in the incident and used a wrestling move to knock down one of the LaRouche supporters. Afterward, Franken said of the event, "I'm neutral in this race but I'm for freedom of speech, which means people should be able to assemble and speak without being shouted down." However, Franken has been criticized for using force to subdue the protesters. Franken's office denies the allegation that he used undue force in the incident.
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 show, The O'Franken Factor. The show kicked off the network's launch at 12 Noon EST on March 31, 2004. See also: The O'Franken Factor.
Franken had been a strong supporter of Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone, who was dealing with a difficult re-election campaign in 2002. Wellstone's chief rival, Republican Norm Coleman, had been running a very negative campaign which ran many attack ads against Wellstone. When the Senator died on October 25th, less than two weeks before the polls opened, a tumultuous election followed and Coleman won. Franken announced in November 2003 that he was considering moving back to Minnesota, the state in which he grew up, in order to run for Coleman's Senate seat, when Coleman runs for re-election in 2008. Now that his youngest daughter has left for college, such a move is more appealing to him. He has also said that he'd take lessons from Hillary Clinton on how to run for Senator.
Lies and the Lying Liars Book, Lawsuit
Body Slam
Radio show
Political career
See also
Books
- I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and Doggone It, People Like Me
- Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right (ISBN 0525947647)
- Oh, the Things I Know!: A Guide to Success, or Failing That, Happiness (ISBN 0452284503)
- Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations (ISBN 0788161857)
- When a Man Loves a Woman. (co-written)
- Why Not Me? (1999), a parody-journal of the “Franken campaign” for President (ISBN 0385334540)
External links