While there’s so much history behind Al Franken’s rise to prominence, he’ll probably be best known for the circumstances surrounding his resignation from the Senate in late 2017. Asides being a politician, only those who’ve followed Al Franken since his early days will ever attribute the titles of comedian, media personality, and author to him. In this post, let’s tell you about the Al Franken you probably didn’t know as we take a peek into his bio, married life, family, and height. We also answer the question – is he gay?
Table of Contents
Bio – Who Is Al Franken?
Al Franken (a.k.a Alan Stuart Franken) was born on May 21, 1951, in New York City, to Parents; Joseph Franken, a printing salesman, and Phoebe Franken, a real estate agent. Franken is of German, Russian and Jewish ancestry. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Germany, his maternal grandfather hailed from Grodno, in the old USSR; and his maternal great-grandparents were also from the USSR. Both of his parents were Jews; thus, Franken and his older brother, Owen, were raised in a Jewish home.
When Alan was just four years old, his family moved to Minnesota; where his father tried his hands on a factory business that crashed only two years later. However, the Frankens later moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Alan would go on to graduate from The Blake School in 1969. He then proceeded to study Political Science at Harvard where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1973.
Career
Franken’s comic stint began way back in high school when he and his childhood friend, Tom Davis, were known for their hilarious performances before classmates. They both had their first stage performance (in political satire) at Minneapolis’s Brave New Workshop theatre and fast forward to 1975 through 1995, Al Franken and Tom Davis were recruited as writers and occasional performers on Saturday Night Live (SNL). In the first season of the show, the two apprentice writers shared a take-home of $350 per week.
Close to the end of Season 5 of Weekend Update, Franken reeled out a ridiculous commentary, A Limo for a Lame-O, about controversial NBC chief, Fred Silverman; calling him a “total unequivocal failure.” Consequently, Silverman declined several recommendations to have Franken as his successor at NBC. Although Franken left Weekend Update in 1980, he later returned to the show five years later as a writer and occasional performer. He finally left the show in 1995 when Norm MacDonald was made anchor instead of him (Franken).
Throughout his career outside politics, Al Franken bagged seven Emmy nominations and three awards for his television writing and production; creating incredible characters such as self-help guru Stuart Smalley.
Al Franken’s career after SNL has seen him write and star in several movies and authored four books that all made the New York Times bestseller list. Back in 2003, Franken became a Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. He has been a contributing writer to The Huffington Post Since 2005.
Franken’s political career began in 2008 when he was first elected to the United States Senate as the nominee of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL, an affiliate of the Democratic Party). He defeated then-incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman by a slight margin of 312 votes; out of about three million votes cast. In 2014, Franken was reelected with 53.2% of the vote over Republican opponent Mike McFadden. However, his once-blossoming political career was halted when he resigned on January 2, 2018, following serious allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by radio station owner, Leeann Tweeden.
Family – Married, Wife
Franken is married to Franni Bryson. The couple first met while schooling at Harvard. They were married in 1975 and together, they have two children. Their first child, a daughter they christened Thomasin, is a Harvard graduate who serves as director of extended learning at DC Prep, a Washington DC-based organization that manages charter schools. Their second child, Joseph, works in the finance industry. Al Franken is a second cousin of the renown actor Steve Franken, famous for his appearances in the TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. In 2005, Franken and his wife moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where they now live.
Is He Gay?
Given his outspoken sexuality and attraction to women, Al Franken is definitely not gay. At least he hasn’t said so publicly. Additionally, the allegations he got roped in do not point to the fact that he is attracted to his fellow men. Thus, until he says otherwise, it is safe to assume his sexuality is straight.
Height And Body Measurements
Al Franken is of average build. He stands at 5 feet 6 Inches (1.70 meters) and weighs 154 pounds (74 Kg). He has grey eyes and wears salt and pepper hair. There are no available details about his shoe, dress, chest, bicep and waist sizes, yet. His favourite hobbies are reading, writing, sketching and listening to music. Franken is a proud Judaist and is worth over $9 million, according to a 2018 estimate.
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