About Al Franken
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, screenwriter, and actor who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 until his resignation in 2018. Born in New York City and raised in Minnesota, he attended Harvard College and began performing comedy in high school with his longtime writing partner Tom Davis. Franken first gained fame as a writer and occasional performer on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, working there from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1985 to 1995, where he created characters such as self-help guru Stuart Smalley and received five Emmy awards. He later became a liberal political activist, hosting a show on Air America Radio and writing best-selling satirical books including Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the Senate in 2008 by a margin of just 312 votes and was reelected in 2014.
Videos (212)
Videos 1 to 24 of 212.
10:01Sen. Franken Questions an Arbitration Lawyer about Binding Arbitration
320.8K views
9:45Senator Franken's Q & A with Brian Roberts, Jeff Zucker, and Dr. Mark Cooper
96.4K views
44:36Sen. Franken's Floor Statement on the Debt Crisis
31.9K views
1:18Senator Franken Explains a Tom Toles Cartoon
31K views
30:59Senator Al Franken Speaks out in Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
11.5K views
7:17Sen. Franken's Amendment to Force Corporations To Give Assault Victims Day In Court
10.4K views
12:35Sen. Franken's Floor Speech on the Defense Authorization Bill
10K views
0:46Franken Co-Sponsors Amendment Promising that Senators will use the Public Option
9.4K views
10:11Sen. Franken's Opening Remarks On The Supreme Court Nomination Hearing Of Solicitor General Kagan
9.4K views
4:06Sen. Franken's Introductory Statement on the Comcast/NBC Merger
8.5K views
39:56Sen. Franken's Speech On The Economy, Unemployment, And The Budget
8.2K views
37:20Sen. Franken's Full Floor Speech On Health Care
8.2K views
10:01Sen. Franken's Floor Speech Against the Blunt Amendment
8.2K views
3:13Sen. Franken Questioning FBI Director Mueller about Carrier IQ in the Senate Judiciary Committee
8.2K views
2:11We Will Make It Better
8.1K views
8:06Sen. Franken's Floor Speech on Conservative Judicial Activism
7.7K views
3:04Sen. Franken questioning FBI Dir. Robert Mueller on Anti-Muslim Bigotry at the FBI
7.6K views
4:48A Message of Hope from the United States Senate
5.9K views
3:58Sen. Franken on the constitutionality of his amendment
5.6K views
1:01:29Sen. Franken's Colloquy with Sen. Whitehouse on Climate Change
5.2K views
18:26Sen. Franken's Floor Statement on Tax Cuts and Unemployment Insurance
5.1K views
17:56Chairman Franken questioning Apple, Google, and Experts on Mobile Privacy and Location Tracking
4.9K views
2:20Sen. Franken and Mr. Minnery of Focus on the Family debate a HHS Report on Families
4.8K views
22:57Sen. Franken's Speech to Netroots Nation 2011 on the Attack on the Middle Class
4.8K viewsGuest appearances (46)
Videos on other comedians' channels featuring Al Franken.
Guest appearances 25 to 46 of 46.
2:39Senator Al Franken: There's No Humor In Politics | CONAN on TBS
Conan O'Brien
99K views
3:41Al Franken Can Still Be Elected Senator Of Alabama | CONAN on TBS
Conan O'Brien
66.8K views
1:11:34Al Franken From SNL to U.S. Senator | Howie Mandel Does Stuff
Howie Mandel
66K views
2:19Senator Al Franken On The Good He Hopes Trump Can Do | CONAN on TBS
Conan O'Brien
59.4K views
1:16Senator Al Franken: Hillary Has A Goofy Sense Of Humor | CONAN on TBS
Conan O'Brien
50.7K views
4:35Al Franken On His New Sirius XM Show | CONAN on TBS
Conan O'Brien
50.1K views
8:53Al Franken Refuses To Answer Single-Payer Question
Jimmy Dore
44.2K views
0:31Cunts! - WMBD - Al Franken, Sam Morril, mark normand
Mark Normand
39.5K views
1:29The time I stabbed Al Franken when I was a writer on .
Sarah Silverman
21.5K views
1:50:42Al Franken | You Made It Weird
Pete Holmes
17.5K views
6:40Al Franken's B.S. Logic For Supporting Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland For
Jimmy Dore
12.8K views
0:29Al Franken shows us that words are important | Howie Mandel Does Stuff
Howie Mandel
4.6K views
0:30Jew have to work every day Al Franken | Howie Mandel Does Stuff
Howie Mandel
3.9K views
8:10Becoming A Senator w/ Al Franken | You Made It Weird
Pete Holmes
3.6K views
1:05Grateful Dead Radio City Music Hall 10/21/80 with Al Franken
Josh Adam Meyers
671 views
1:33Obama's Sister, Antonio Villaraigosa, Al Franken, etc.
Dan Nainan
659 views
1:20:05Album 261 | American Beauty by Grateful Dead with Al Franken
Josh Adam Meyers
272 views
2:15Al Franken shares who was his favorite SNL President
Dean Obeidallah
85 views
1:07Al Franken: Trump is telling us the only way he can win in 2020 is by cheating
Dean Obeidallah
70 views
2:17Al Franken says he would support impeaching Trump and Bill Barr
Dean Obeidallah
65 views
59:48376: Al Franken
Judy Gold
53 views
50:12377: Al Franken (Part II)
Judy Gold
4 viewsChannels on this page: Conan O'Brien, Howie Mandel, Jimmy Dore, Mark Normand, Sarah Silverman, Pete Holmes, Josh Adam Meyers, Dan Nainan, Dean Obeidallah, Judy Gold
Frequently asked questions
Was Al Franken a writer on Saturday Night Live?
Yes. Al Franken worked on the NBC sketch series Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1985 to 1995, as a writer and occasional performer.
Which Saturday Night Live character did Al Franken create?
Franken created the self-help guru Stuart Smalley, among other characters, and received five Emmy awards for his work on the show.
Who was Al Franken's writing partner?
Al Franken began performing comedy in high school with Tom Davis, who became his longtime writing partner.
What satirical books did Al Franken write?
As a liberal political activist, Franken wrote best-selling satirical books, including Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, and hosted a show on Air America Radio.
Was Al Franken a senator?
Al Franken, a member of the Democratic Party, served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018.
Where did Al Franken grow up?
Franken was born in New York City on May 21, 1951, was raised in Minnesota and attended Harvard College.
