Frankly speaking ... at least we think it's him
Frank Caliendo, dressed up as "Late Show" sidekick Paul Shaffer as he talks to segment producer Bill Richards, slides in and out of character so quickly and fluidly, even he can't keep track of it sometimes, causing him to pause and say, "Wait, what was I saying?" The surreal moments are when he's in Shaffer mode, but then morphs into an immitation of President George Bush, as he did Thursday afternoon while he watched him work for a few hours in Century City taping this Sunday's segment for Fox's NFL pregame show.
Spinning off on the topic of how much longer the impressionable impressionist/comedian would like to continue this Fox gig -- he's done it four years, the same number as Jimmy Kimmel did before him -- Caliendo sat in the makeup chair getting into his Letterman character and went more indepth about on how he manages to pull this two-minute spot off week after week, mostly after flying in from his home in Phoenix to the Century City studios to get it done.
In addition to the story in today's Daily News, which also has a great slideshow of pictures showing him getting in and out of makeup, he gave us this Q-and-A exchange:
Q: How are you able to sustain your energy and creativity all this time?
A: At the beginning of the season, I have no idea how it's going to work out. This year, we knew we'd do James Brown at the beginning (he'd left the show and went to CBS), but we know how many characters we can generally do and make them fit.
Q: Take us through a typical work week.
A: After watching the games Sunday, we get together with Bill Richards (the segment producer) on the phone and start talking things out. By Monday, we decide what the character will be and the gist of the sketch. Between Bill and Jeff Cesario and my friend, Scott Long, we'll get the jokes down and punch them up. Then we have to make sure they're approved (by the Fox bosses) and we see what we can or can't sneak in. They trust us. Some things do get cut out. After all, we are a Sunday morning show. We've never been dirty, but there've been times we've come up with jokes that aren't even worth trying to get in. We then shoot either Wednesday or Thursday.
Q: How would you rate your performance this year?
A: Honestly, we've been very consistent, especially compared to the first three years. Rarely is anything been bad. We've had a couple of segments not have the payoff. If a show goes great, I think it gives us confidence the next week to take some chances. And they seem to be working. The toughest part about this season, with the show mostly on the road, is trying to make the impressions make sense and seem more organic.
Bill was once a sports producer who loved comedy, but now I think of him as a comedy guy who knows a lot about sports. Sports TV is about fast cuts, emotions, music, sound bites. But comedy has to build, there are moments of stopping and thinking. It's almost like filmmaking. It takes awhile to get it there, and I think as our group has done, we've gotten there. It seems stupid, but it takes awhile to find the characters. We have to please the audience, the executives here and the four guys on the set. If they don't like it, why do it? It's really their show, not mine. And no matter how many times Bradshaw it's "not funny, not funny," he'll say off camera, "That was funny, Frank." And I'll say, "Why didn't you say that on the air?" And he'll say, "Because Howie finally explained it to me."
Q: We've heard John Madden isn't all that crazy about your immitation of him, but he's never approached you about it. What about Jim Rome?
A: First, any time I've done someone, it's because I'm a fan. Back when I was doing MadTV, there'd be this attitude that, 'Let's take 'em down.' I'm not trying to bring anyone down. I'm all about recreating the mannerisms, the menutia. Even when I'm on stage, half of the jokes are just sailing through voices. I'm not afraid to call myself on that for what the gimmick is.
Rome created a whole new way of doing sports radio and I can't look past that. When I was doing shows on the college circuit, I'd listen to him all the time. There's something about doing him that's just fun to push his radio character. ... Incredible ... Great job by me ... Phen-om-inal ... That's not a rip, it's the character he's created. He doesn't get enough credit for being as funny as he is on the radio. I don't believe what I just said.... He references himself, that it's a joke and that people don't always get it.
More Q-and-A, read on:
On the set, Caliendo goes into Letterman mode, doing the Top 10 Signs You Know Nothing About the NFL. He's done little with makeup: Just some hair touchup, glasses and a gaptooth insert. The camera will later squeeze the shot to make the 5-foot-6 Caliendo appear to be close to the 6-foot-3 Letterman. Caliendo goes through three or four takes, mostly sticking to script but occasionally letting himself blend into the character and see what comes out. At one point, Caliendo stops and pauses as he tries to massage a joke comparing Britney Spears' clothing and the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coverage and finally says, "Let me see if something happens" as he reads the list again. He generates more original material -- some funnier than the original script -- and has the producer, cameraman and stage hands busting up. It's up to the editors to see what sticks.
Q: We've also read the one impression you'd like to eventually do on Fox is Chris Berman. How close are you to that, or does Scott Ackerson (the show's producer, who used to work at ESPN with Berman) discourage it?
A: I haven't got it down yet. It sounds too much like Pacino. Really, we haven't come up with a framework yet.
(Ackerson later said Caliendo could do Berman "in a heartbeat, but my guess Boomer wouldn't enjoy it as much as everyone else at ESPN would.")
The guy I wish I could really do is Bill Walton (then launching into a Walton diatribe). Joe Buck, I really haven't been able to hone in on. He's just an outdoor voice to me, very much into presentation. He's not as big of a freak as the others on that group. I think the Scientologists are right. Aliens did once come here and populate this place. How else can you explain Bradshaw, Howie and Jimmy Johnson. Just look at that crew.
Q: What other projects are you working on that might lead to you wanting to focus on them more than this show?
A: The Fox Sports Net thing is about different fans at different stadiums. The TBS pilot had a meeting last week. That's more of a sketch comedy show like I did for MadTV except I'll pick the characters and things to do. MadTV was very hard. It was not a lot of fun at the end. Some people still say they lilked it better than "Saturday Night Live," but when I ask them what do they like, they mention some of the actors who haven't been on the show in six years. They must be watching reruns on Comedy Central. My theory is that the best comedy on TV these days is the one-hour drama. There's so many funny lines that they're getting into "House" or "Grey's Anatomy," stuff I could never get away with as straight comedy.
Q: What will determine how long you keep doing this for Fox?
A: At the beginning of the season, it's daunting but by the end, we're having fun. If I had my own way of doing it from here, I might do just five-to-10 episodes, and have more really good ones. I haven't been able to watch an NFL game the last four years without thinking of work. I still watch as many games as I can at home. Since I'm in Arizona where they don't sell out, I only get two games a Sunday. I don't have the NFL Network. I don't even have DirecTV Sunday Ticket. I'm not sure if I should admit that.
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The week by week highlights of Caliendo season on Fox's NFL pregame show, and how he did with his picks:
Week 1: As James Brown; went 1-3 with his picks.
Week 2: As Andy Rooney, went 3-1 with his picks. His tagline: "Let's throw it back to three guys who don't even equal one Buck."
Week 3: As Jay Leno; went 3-1 with his picks. Best line: "NBC has changed the name of its pregame show to '3-and-a-half men."
Week 4: As John Madden, in the Maddencruiser, talking about the Curse of the Madden Video; went 2-2 with his picks. Best line: "I miss the Fox pregame show. Have you seen NBC's show? The desk looks so big. Or is it just the host is so small? I like Fox. The desk is small but the egos are big."
Week 5: As David Letterman and Paul Shaffer; went 3-1 with his picks. A Top 10 list of the differences between Rocky Balboa and Howie Long. No. 5: Joe Buck is a fan of Rocky. Long ends up calling Caliendo "a little furball ... a funny little man sitting in L.A."
Week 6: As Jack Nicholson, as the show moves back to L.A. "We missed you in LA," says Nicholson. "Like we missed rolling blackouts." ... "I hear Terry and Howie are calling a game for the BCS. A game in the booth? You can't handle the booth. Who writes this crap?" Went 2-2 with his picks.
Week 7: As Jim Rome. Best line: "Mel Gibson and spinach have had better years than the Raiders." Went 1-3 with his picks.
Week 8: As George Bush, doing a comedy club monologue. Best line: "The way Sean Payton is rebuilding New Orleans, I should have made him the head of FEMA." Went 2-2 with his picks. Said Long afterward: "That's as funny as he's been in a long time."
Week 9: As Al Pacino, in a spinoff of the commercial where the actor speaks for the customer. Went 1-3 with his picks. Said Johnson afterward: "I think he mailed it in."
Week 10: A look back at all the skits done about Terry Bradshaw. Buck refers to the fact Bradshaw has had "an ongoing feud with a sweaty, well-fed comedian." Went 3-1 with his picks.
Week 11: As Dr. Phil taking care of babies with bad behavior. Went 3-1 with his picks, including calling the Cowboys' win over the previously unbeaten Colts.
Week 12: As Madden, on Thanksgiving, making the turducken into a tortilla. Best line: "Tonight there's a game on the NFL Network. If you thought tryptophan made you sleepy, try four quarters of Bryant Gumbel." Went 2-0 with his picks.
Week 12 (continued on Sunday): As Jay Leno. Best line: "I hear Terry and Howie are in the booth calling the Sugar Bowl. Hey, Kev, I think the BCS stands for 'Both Could Suck.'" Went 2-2 on his picks.
Week 13: As Robert DeNiro in a New York taxi cab. Best line: "(Bradshaw) is like the Empire State building: Tall, stiff with a shiny top." Other best line: "Hey driver, stop by 30 Rock and pick up Costas ... you have a car seat, right?" Went 2-2 with his picks.
Week 14: A look back at the best of Howie Long (including impressions of James Lipton, Madden and Rooney). Went 2-2 with his picks.
For more on what's going on in Caliendo's career, check out his website: www.frankcaliendo.com. The site also has links to every segment he has done so far this season for Fox, and his appearance earlier this year on Letterman while doing Madden.
And here's a link to Caliendo's very first segment for the Fox pregame show in 2002, which includes his impression of William Schattner, which Ackerson says is his favorite but hasn't been able to work into a show yet.
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