Al Franken

Alan Stuart "Al" Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an Emmy Award–winning American comedian, actor, author, screenwriter, political commentator, radio host and, recently, politician. He is noted for his work on Saturday Night Live and his liberal political views. Franken grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. On February 14, 2007, Franken announced his candidacy for the 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which will select its candidate in the 2008 Minnesota Primary on September 9, 2008. The seat is currently held by Republican Norm Coleman and was previously held by Franken's close friend Paul Wellstone.[1]

Franken was born in New York, the son of Phoebe G. Kunst, a homemaker and real estate agent, and Joseph P. Franken, a printing salesman.[2][3] Franken had a Jewish upbringing and grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb near Minneapolis. Franken is a distant cousin of CNN's Bob Franken.[4] His older brother, Owen Franken, is a photojournalist. Franken attended St. Louis Park High School until the tenth grade. He graduated in 1969 from The Blake School, where he was on the wrestling team. He attended Harvard College and graduated cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor of arts [5]

Franken met his wife, the former Franni Bryson, in his first year of college at a Harvard-Simmons mixer, and they have been together ever since. They have a daughter, Thomasin, and a son, Joe, who both attended New York City's Dalton School. Joe graduated from Princeton University in June 2007. Thomasin was a public school teacher in New York City, with a degree in sociology from Harvard College, but is now volunteering full time with her father's campaign. The Frankens reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota.