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Star Of 'Frank TV' Makes Good Impression

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

Frank Caliendo may be just a little weary of doing his popular John Madden impression, but as long as people like it, he'll keep doing it.

"It's not about me. It's about entertaining people, and it still gets laughs," he said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Of course, it doesn't entertain Madden.

"I don't think he likes me," Caliendo says. "He's definitely not the head of my fan club.

"But it's all in fun," he adds. "I'm not even doing the real Madden anymore. I am doing a kooky monstrous version of John Madden that's just silly stuff."

Madden recently said he has no opinion on Caliendo's impression.

"I'm like Switzerland; I'm neutral," he told a Denver TV station.

The 33-year-old comic is best known for his comedy bits on "Fox NFL Sunday" and his long run on Fox's "MADtv."

Last year, he showed up as the wild and crazy Madden on David Letterman's late-night talk show.

"Letterman kept asking for it, and I couldn't say no because he's an icon to me," Caliendo says.

Series, Comedy Special On TBS

Caliendo has a new sketch comedy show, "Frank TV," that debuts at 11 p.m. Tuesday on TBS.

At 10 p.m. Friday, TBS will show "Frank Caliendo, All Over the Place," a comedy special that was taped in Las Vegas.

He says the comedy special is 99 percent stand-up, while "Frank TV" will feature a variety of sketches featuring his impressions of celebrities, such as a bitter Dr. Phil, a devilish Jack Nicholson, an eccentric Al Pacino, a cranky Robert De Niro and a befuddled President George W. Bush.

"I think I did about 20 characters in the episodes that we taped before the writers strike," he says. "We lost about three episodes, but enough will air to give people a chance to sample it."

Caliendo, who writes much of his own material, is a member of the Writers Guild of America.

"It's confusing about what I can and can't do," he says. "I think I can punch up my own material, but I can't write for anyone else. I can act, but I may have to ad-lib."

Caliendo was born in Chicago and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in broadcasting 11 years ago.

"I thought I would be a sports commentator for ESPN or something like that, but I went straight into comedy," he says.

His talent for mimicking people resulted in a fast rise up the performing ranks.

Soon after moving to Los Angeles nine years ago, he was cast in "Hype," a sketch show on The WB network.

The series didn't make a blip on the Nielsen radar. But network executives and TV producers remember Caliendo's impressions, especially his "Five Minutes of Fury" - during which he does impressions of Sean Connery, Jay Leno, Letterman, Pacino, Drew Carey, the "Seinfeld" cast and The Muppets.

'Midwesterner' In Phoenix

Caliendo lives in Phoenix with his wife, Michele, and two children, Joey, 3, and Juliet, 1.

"I can get to a studio in Los Angeles by plane faster than some people who live a few blocks away can drive it," he says.

"Phoenix is like the Midwest in the desert."

Caliendo has nailed down more than 100 impressions, from Yoda to Rush Limbaugh. Most recently he added former NBA great Charles Barkley.

"I did a bit with him during the NBA post-game show last week that is getting a lot of replays on YouTube," Caliendo says.

The comic says the guys from "Fox NFL Sunday" (Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw and James Brown) will make a guest appearance on "Frank TV."

"They love me because I am cherubic," he says.

Next to Madden, the most-requested impression is his George W. Bush. "You have to keep doing him because he's topical," he says. And he's looking ahead to the next election. If Hillary Clinton wins, he can dust off his Bill Clinton impression.

He says Hillary would be hard but he's willing to put on a wig and a dress for the sake of comedy.

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