Al Franken
From SNL writer to U.S. senator, Al Franken's career spans comedy, activism, and politics.
Last updated
In the 2008 election, Franken defeated incumbent Norm Coleman by a margin of 312 votes out of nearly three million cast to become a U.S. Senator.[1] Franken has subsequently stated that he regrets having resigned.[2]
Key facts and history
Franken and his friend Tom Davis were recruited as original writers and occasional performers on Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1985 to 1995.[3] After moving to St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Franken completed his secondary education at The Blake School in 1969.[4] For his television writing and producing work, Franken garnered 15 Emmy nominations and won five Emmy awards.[3]
What the cited sources add
A 2008 ABC News article reported that the Minnesota Republican Party released a letter signed by six prominent GOP women calling on Franken to apologize for a Playboy column he wrote in 2000.[5] A CNN article from January 2009 stated that the Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified the recount results showing Franken with a 225-vote lead.[6] A Minnesota Public Radio article from April 2009 reported that Republican Norm Coleman filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court seeking to overturn a ruling that put Franken ahead by 312 votes.[7] A CNN transcript from 2002 confirms that Al Franken and CNN correspondent Bob Franken are cousins.[8]
According to a genealogy source, Franken's father's parents came from Germany, and his mother's father originated from Grodno, which was part of the Russian Empire.[9][10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Al Franken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BPP Newscast", NPR, 2008-07-14 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Al Franken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Washington Post Live, "Al Franken on regretting his resignation", 2022-02-09 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Al Franken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Martin, "Tom Davis, Comedian and 'SNL' Sketch Writer, Dies at 59", The New York Times, July 19, 2012; "Al Franken", Television Academy (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Al Franken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Colapinto, "Enter Laughing", July 20, 2009; Liebovich, "Al Franken Faces Donald Trump and the Next Four Years", The New York Times, December 13, 2016; White, "Profile of Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota", About.com; Sullivan, "Al Franken is taking comedy seriously again", The Boston Globe, 2022-05-11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "GOP Targets Al Franken's Playboy Column", ABC News, May 23, 2008. facts only, no text reused. abcnews.go.com
- Welch, "Franken Declares Senate Race Win After State Ruling", CNN, January 6, 2009. facts only, no text reused. cnn.com
- Stawicki, "Supreme Court Recount Timeline Called Reasonable", Minnesota Public Radio, April 24, 2009. facts only, no text reused. minnesota.publicradio.org
- "CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown Aired April 29, 2002 – 22:00 ET", CNN, April 29, 2002. facts only, no text reused. transcripts.cnn.com
- "Ancestry of Al Franken", William Addams Reitwiesner. facts only, no text reused. wargs.com
- Wikipedia, "Al Franken" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ancestry of Al Franken", William Addams Reitwiesner; "Al Franken"; Mayer, "The Case of Al Franken", July 20, 2019; "CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown Aired April 29, 2002 – 22:00 ET", CNN, April 29, 2002 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Al Franken (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Al Franken (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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