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Frank Caliendo Brings Bush, Cheney, Pacino and More Impressions to 'The Tonight Show' (VIDEO)
by Jason Hughes, posted Jan 27th 2011 2:55AM
Frank Caliendo doesn't even have to be doing a stand-up routine to break into his various impressions. On 'The Tonight Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM on NBC), he started off telling a story about performing at the Congressional Dinner, but it got derailed almost immediately.While he didn't get the chance to do his famous George W. Bush impression for the President, he was able to perform it for Vice President Dick Cheney.
For Leno and his audience, Caliendo brought Bush and Cheney, along with random asides from his impressions of Al Pacino, Charles Barkley, Robin Williams and even Leno himself.
Frank Caliendo Is Working on His Obama Impression (VIDEO)
by Jeremy Taylor, posted Sep 7th 2010 2:30PM
Comedian Frank Caliendo gained prominence by imitating the voices of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, among other luminaries. This weekend on 'Huckebee' (Saturday 8 PM ET on Fox News), he broke out his new Obama impression, though admitted it's still a work in progress."(Obama) begins sentences with the words 'look' or 'here's the deal,' Caliendo explained to Huckabee's audience, while imitating the President. "Now if he says both of them he thinks it's pretty important, and its probably going to cost you a couple bucks."
It's the cadence, like he talks slow at the beginning," Caliendo continued. "And-speeds-up-at-the-end."
Given the lack of good Obama impersonators out there, Caliendo's early efforts are already pretty solid. Still, it's unlikely Caliendo will become the go-to imitator of the president, because, as he pointed out "it (looks) like Cartman from South Park trying to do him."
Frank Caliendo Imitates Bush, Obama on 'Tonight Show' (VIDEO)
by Aimee Deeken, posted May 5th 2010 4:13AM
Frank Caliendo, the former 'MADtv' funnyman and impressionist extraordinaire, was in fine form on 'The Tonight Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC), imitating past presidents and our current Commander in Chief.He told Jay Leno how former Vice President Dick Cheney responded to his impression of President Bush at the Congressional Correspondents Dinner a few years ago. "I'm doing the Bush impression. Right next to me is Vice President Cheney, laughing his rearend off," said Caliendo.
The comedian also pulled out former President Bill Clinton and his latest imitation: President Barack Obama. "I've been working on the Obama, he's a great communicator... First of all, I think he's a Jedi. He's got this cadence," began Caliendo, before launching into a perfect rendition.
Four Reasons Why Conan Will Thrive On TBS
by Joel Keller, posted Apr 13th 2010 2:37PM
It goes without saying that when Conan O'Brien announced that he had signed with TBS to do a new late night show, mostly everyone who follows these things was shocked. TBS? Didn't they already have George Lopez at 11PM? What happened to Fox, FX and Comedy Central? Is anyone even going to see Conan on cable?But it didn't take long to realize that going to TBS was the right move for Conan, especially after some of the details of the deal were revealed. In fact, the longer you look at it, the better the deal looks, for these four reasons.
1. Conan will own the show. This is a big one. TBS had no problem letting Conan own his show and just paying him a licensing fee to air it. Fox was never going to allow him to do that. And control was a big deal to Conan, according to The Daily Beast's Peter Lauria, especially after everything he went through with NBC and 'The Tonight Show.'
Say goodbye to Frank TV
by Nick Zaino, posted Mar 6th 2009 1:31PM
The first season of Frank Caliendo' s Frank TV debuted with some of the strongest numbers TBS had seen with over three million viewers for its first episode. That was bolstered by a constant barrage of spots during the MLB playoffs, and although that first run was cut to five episodes by the writers' strike, the show's future seemed bright. Now season two is in the books, and that will do it for Frank TV. Broadcasting & Cable reported yesterday that Caliendo's series has been canceled.
Caliendo entered the second season in an optimistic mood. He had made some changes with the bigger budget TBS gave him, adding people to the cast to address the major criticism from Season One that Caliendo was playing every part. When doing impressions is your main strength, you're probably going to need an ensemble cast. Caliendo is one of the most talented mimics in comedy - watch his face during his signature George W. Bush or John Madden impressions. He gets the physical tics, as well as the voice, perfect.
Giveaway Tuesday: An iPod Nano (and a talking bottle opener), courtesy of Frank TV
by Joel Keller, posted Nov 18th 2008 8:03AM
On this Tuesday morning, we've got an Apple iPod Nano and a Frank TV-branded talking bottle opener for one lucky, random commenter. The prize package comes courtesy of Frank TV, which airs Tuesdays at 11 PM ET on TBS.To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, November 21 simply telling us why you'd like to own this prize package. As always, we'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own the Frank TV prize package (the iPod Nano and talking bottle opener).
- The comment must be left before November 21, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
- One winner will receive an Apple iPod Nano (valued at $149) and a Frank TV-branded talking bottle opener (valued at $4).
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
John Madden parks the Cruiser for a week
by Joel Keller, posted Oct 13th 2008 7:08PM
Two-and-a-half years ago, I asked the (admittedly) dumb question, "Could Frank Caliendo take John Madden's place?" At the time, my contention was that Caliendo's loopy Madden impression was no longer that far off reality, and that Madden had become such a caricature of himself that Frank could have stepped in and no one would have known the difference.If NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol had a sense of daring, he could have tried that experiment this Sunday night, as Madden is going to sit out NBC's broadcast of the Buccaneers-Seahawks game in Tampa. The week off was Ebersol's idea; last night's game was in San Diego, making a cross-country trek for Madden and his famous Cruiser (he doesn't fly) right before a week off, as NBC defers to the World Series.
Here's the lineup for Letterman's "Impressionist Week"
by Bob Sassone, posted Nov 10th 2006 6:35PM
David Letterman has been talking a lot lately about doing an "Impressionist Week" on the show. Some viewers thought it was just one of his jokes, but he already did a "Ventriloquist Week" a few weeks ago, and he's going through with the plan. The shows start this Monday. Here's the lineup:- Monday: Rich Little
- Tuesday: Fred Travalena
- Wednesday: Gordie Brown
- Thursday: Frank Caliendo
- Friday: Kevin Pollak
Frank Caliendo: Can he take Madden's place?
by Joel Keller, posted Feb 6th 2006 11:06PM
Being an impressionist is one of the toughest careers to maintain in
the world of comedy. Instead of being able to do new material, audiences want you to do certain voices all the time.
And at a certain point, your impressions become so outdated no one wants to hear them anymore (I'm sure Fred Travalena isn't getting requests for his Jimmy Carter
impression, for instance).Which is why I'm proposing this request to MadTV's Frank Caliendo: get a job as an analyst in an NFL booth. Now.
For those who've never seen Caliendo, he does some pretty good impressions: Al Pacino, Terry Bradshaw, Robin Williams, even President Bush; all of them are pitch-perfect (he does one of the most true-to-life Dubya impressions out there). But his signature impression is of soon-to-be-NBC football analyst John Madden. It's amazing how good it is; close your eyes and you'll swear that you're hearing the man himself. What Caliendo adds to the impression, though, is a sense that the cheese has slipped off Madden's cracker a bit, as he repeats himself, talks in circles, and states the obvious.
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