Frank Caliendo Bio

Frank Caliendo

American comedian and impersonator Frank Caliendo has wowed audiences with his dead-on impressions of everyone from John Madden to George W Bush for many years. These impressions even earned him a recurring slot on FOX NFL Sunday, Mad TV, and most recently, Frank TV.

Frank Caliendo was born January 19, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois. He was subsequently raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and it was here he attended Waukesha South High School. He pursued his secondary education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Shortly after graduating, Caliendo took his love of comedy to the stage. Beginning his standup career as an MC at a small comedy club, it only took one year before he was the headlining act.

By 2000, he had enough clout and talent to land a spot on the sketch comedy show Hype with Paul Morente, Jennifer Elise Cox, Gavin Crawford, and others.

The show was poorly received, however, and Caliendo was forced to move onto other endeavors. His next major gig was in 2001 with FOX NFL Sunday. He appeared opposite Jimmy Kimmel as a guest comedian, and it was here Caliendo first introduced the world at large to his now famous impressions. In particular, he performed his John Madden impression to rave reviews. This situation lasted until 2002.

In 2003, however, Kimmel left the show and Caliendo took over his slot indefinitely. He made his weekly predictions while performing one of his many impersonations. These ranged from James Brown to Terry Bradshaw.

2001 was also noteworthy because he landed a lead role on Mad TV. The sketch comedy show would launch him into the public eye, and he would stay with the program until 2006. His costars over the years included Crista Flanagan, Mo Collins, Alex Borstein, Will Sasso, and Stephnie Weir.

With a full-time gig ensured, Caliendo could devote his time to other creative projects. And like many comedians before him, Caliendo landed a career changing spot on Comedy Central Presents. Coming in 2004, the show introduced his brand of comedy and impressions to a wide audience.

The exposure led to subsequent appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Last Call with Carson Daly, and Late Night with Conan O Brien.

Although Caliendo has not been active on the film front, he did appear in one movie in 2007. It was the comedic flop The Comebacks with leads David Koechner, Carl Weathers, Melora Hardin, and Matthew Lawrence.

Most recently, Caliendo earned a huge break when his own show, Frank TV, was picked up by TBS. The show features his laundry list of impersonations, and it is receiving positive press in its first year.

On the award front, Caliendo received a 2005 nomination for a Sports Emmy Award in the category of outstanding writing. 




     del.icio.us     Stumble It