Al Franken

Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, screenwriter, author, radio host, and former United States Senator from Minnesota. Born in Manhattan, New York, to a Jewish family and raised in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Franken graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in 1973 before joining the inaugural writing team of Saturday Night Live (SNL), where he served as a writer from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1985 to 1995, also performing on-air and earning five Emmy Awards for his comedic contributions. Transitioning to political commentary, he authored books such as Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot (1996) and Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them (2003), which critiqued right-wing media and policies, and hosted the liberal Al Franken Show on Air America Radio from 2004 to 2007. Franken won election to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in 2008 after a prolonged recount and legal challenge against incumbent Norm Coleman, taking office in 2009 and securing reelection in 2014; he served on committees including Judiciary and Veterans' Affairs, advocating for measures like expanded mental health services in schools, service dogs for veterans with PTSD, and bipartisan reforms to foster care education under the No Child Left Behind Act. His Senate tenure ended on December 7, 2017, with his resignation following accusations of sexual misconduct from eight women, primarily involving unwanted physical contact such as groping or attempted kisses, with the most publicized incident a 2006 USO tour photo showing Franken simulating a breast grab over the clothing of a sleeping radio host Leeann Tweeden; while Franken issued apologies, described some actions as poor comedy judgment, and an Ethics Committee investigation was pending, intense pressure from Democratic colleagues amid the #MeToo movement—later regretted by several senators who acknowledged insufficient due process—prompted his departure to avoid partisan distraction.

Alan Stuart Franken was born on May 21, 1951, in New York City to Joseph Franken, a printing salesman, and Phoebe Franken (née Kunst), a homemaker. He was raised in a Reform Jewish household alongside his brother, Owen Franken, who later became a photographer.

When Franken was four years old, his family relocated from New York to Minnesota, initially to Albert Lea in the south, where his father attempted to operate a quilting factory. The venture did not succeed, and Joseph Franken subsequently worked as a printing salesman while the family settled in St. Louis Park, a Minneapolis suburb known for its Jewish community. Franken grew up in this middle-class environment at 7931 West 25th Street, attending local public schools amid a predominantly Jewish neighborhood that shaped his early cultural and religious identity.

Franken was born on May 21, 1951, in New York City to Joseph Franken, who owned a printing factory, and Irene Franken; the family relocated to the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, when he was four years old. Raised in a Jewish household affiliated with Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue, Franken absorbed early lessons on justice from his childhood rabbi, alongside his father's enthusiasm for comedy routines viewed together on television.