Frank Caliendo
Frank Caliendo
Frank Caliendois an American comedian and impressionist, best known for his work on the Fox Network television series MADtv, and as 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 Charles Barkley, NFL color commentator John Madden, sportscaster Jim Rome, comedian Robin Williams, actors Morgan Freeman and William Shatner, and United States Presidents George W. Bush and...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth19 January 1974
CityChicago, IL
CountryUnited States of America
With Twitter, it's a little harder to tell jokes that somebody hasn't heard already. You have all these people out there sharing their opinions and telling jokes in real time, and by the time you get on, somebody's already done some version of what you're trying to do.
Most people want to be on TV as much as possible. I went up the ranks so fast because I was doing impressions, and nobody was really doing it when I started. I never got a chance to explore what's my comfort level onstage.
I was very stale at Fox. Much of it was my own fault. I was lazy and didn't fight for things I wanted to do at other times. Most of my stuff consisted of setup/punchline jokes to the camera - a very old-school approach. I was part of the establishment, I guess.
I think sometimes comedians and entertainers and artists, sometimes they get onstage, and it's all for what they want to do. I think you still need to do stuff for the audience. They're the ones who are making it possible.
Fox does the NFL a lot like they program the rest of the network. There's sort of a locker room sense of humor that prevails. With ESPN, it's more like a pat-you-on-the-back kind of comedy. I mean, they'll all get on each other a little bit, but it's never mean-spirited.
I'm kind of the antithesis of a comedian. People that don't like me will agree with that.
ESPN takes itself very seriously, but for some reason, I'm allowed to be the court jester.
ESPN has so many characters, it's like 'The Simpsons.'
I didn't apply to different schools. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do.
I made the grandkids laugh. John Madden finally liked me!
People expect me to do the classics, and it is a lot like playing a favorite song.
Jay Leno's the only guy on earth who could have a bobble head made of him that would bobble less than his actual head.