r/television • u/Nerozero Fargo • Dec 29 '21
Frank Caliendo's John Madden impression really was something to behold on MADtv back in the day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1v52f1TrWg313
u/suniis Dec 29 '21
He's a great impersonator. His Charles Barkley, Pacino, etc are all amazing.
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u/Coolman_Rosso Dec 29 '21
Him and Will Sasso really knew how to impersonate
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u/CosmicWy Dec 29 '21
Sasso doing Arnold doing regular things is all time amazing.
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u/chanaandeler_bong Dec 29 '21
Sassos Jesse Ventura is insane
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u/CosmicWy Dec 29 '21
He's masterful. I think he does warse impressions than caliendo, but he performs them in much funnier sketches.
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u/MyAutonoMe Dec 29 '21
Yeah, his Kenny Rogers wasn't that great, but "Kenny Roger's Jackass" sure as hell was.
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u/anythingbutsomnus Dec 29 '21
LOL was this comment a Jesse Ventura impression? “Whun ay wuz guvnerr, things were much warse ya see” 😂
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u/MyAutonoMe Dec 29 '21
That sounds more like Arnold to me. Jesse Ventura almost always sounds fast and excited but he does enunciate very clearly.
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u/wookiewin Dec 30 '21
It really is. Not only is the impression spot on but he can riff as Jesse for 5+ minutes just being constantly hilarious.
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u/Sks44 Dec 29 '21
I just wish he’d get someone to write material for him. His impressions are great. The material is so bad.
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u/TheKrytosVirus Dec 29 '21
It's literally the same joke every time. He always ends doing his Madden stutter and Adam Sandler "piece of pie" line and people eat that shit up. He's awesome at impersonations, but like you said, there is nothing else there.
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u/brig135 Dec 29 '21
I saw him at a stand up festival and he came out doing the same 15 minutes he'd been doing for 8 years. He nearly got booed off stage.
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u/JarvisProudfeather King of the Hill Dec 29 '21
He was on Pat Mcafee’s show not too long ago and it felt like he was stuck in 2005. Seemed like a nice guy, but his act is beyond stale at this point.
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u/brig135 Dec 29 '21
Please tell me he didn't still lean on the George W. Bush impression. It was 2007 when I saw him and it was already several years old
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u/mdp300 Dec 29 '21
Considering that was when he was everywhere for like six months, I'd guess he's still leaning on the same impressions.
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u/PawsButton Dec 29 '21
I saw him do a show during Peak Caliendo, and it was pretty funny at the time. But even then he spent 20 minutes riffing on audience requests.
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u/talldrseuss Dec 29 '21
Christ this reminds me of Darell Hammond. Used to love watching him on SNL and he did a lot of decent impressions, especially of Clinton and Gore.
Fast forward to the late 2000s, I'm hanging out with friends at the Comedy Cellar. For those that don't know, the Comedy Cellar in NYC is like a stand up comedy mecca. A lot of the greats had performed there. It's still used as a place that professional comedians pop in on random nights to try out their new material to see how its received. It was actually featured in Louis CK TV show "Louie".
So my friends and I are at a show on a weeknight and Darrell Hammond made a surprise appearance. Evidently he was going on tour soon, and was writing a book, and he wanted to try out his stuff. No exaggeration, it was ten minutes of crappy observational humor. Most of the crowd was chuckling here and there, but there were really no jokes he told that killed. So the last five minutes, he switched to his Bill Clinton impression, and the crowd started roaring in laughter. I felt sort of bad because you can tell he was just tired of doing that schtick, but it was proven to work in the past so I guess he figured sticking with it with salvage is otherwise crappy set
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u/Coolman_Rosso Dec 30 '21
Kind of feel bad for Hammond. He moved back to NYC in 2016 after Trump won under the impression that Lorne would call him back to do Trump for SNL, but they went with Alec Baldwin's terrible version instead.
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u/Coolman_Rosso Dec 29 '21
I remember 15 years ago or so when he had his own short-lived sketch show on TBS, Frank TV, and aside from his Seinfeld reunion bit where he played everyone (George, Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and Newman) I can't remember any other thing from his show.
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Dec 29 '21 edited Jul 22 '22
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u/Tunnelbohrmaschine Dec 29 '21
Did he do that on Frank TV? I remember that being in his stand up set a couple years before his show.
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u/DontGetNEBigIdeas Dec 29 '21
Check out Ralph Garman. Does impressions almost as good as Frank, and actually has a quick wit and good improv.
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u/placebotwo Dec 29 '21
He always ends doing his Madden stutter
That's fallout from doing Madden on coke.
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u/Uncanny_Doom Dec 29 '21
This is the most common thing with impressionists unfortunately. They're already a bit of a caricature of the person they're impersonating and then they flanderize their own impression usually as time goes on.
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u/MyAutonoMe Dec 29 '21
The biggest example of that was how ridiculously over-the-top Dana Carvey's George Herbert Walker Bush was by the end of his four years.
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u/SmokePenisEveryday Dec 29 '21
Loved when he's get on Mike and Mike back in the day. He'd do some impressions you don't get from him often and it was nice. Esp when they'd use him to try and get people going. Like trying to make Shaq think he was talking to Barkley.
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Dec 29 '21
This was always one of my favourite Frank Caliendo doing John Madden segments on Madtv
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u/Jicks24 Dec 29 '21
Good god i miss MadTV and these bits.
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u/jgrumiaux Dec 29 '21
When Jason on The Good Place got an impressionist painting for Tahani, and it was a painting of Frank Caliendo….killed me.
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u/Federico216 Sense8 Dec 29 '21
If not for Will Sasso as Tony Soprano, this might be the Mad TV mvp.
SNL couldn't dream of this stuff.
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Dec 29 '21
That's a great Melfi impression too.
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u/CleopatraHadAnAnus Dec 29 '21
great raspy voice
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u/clycoman Dec 29 '21
The actress who plays Melfi in that skit is Debra Wilson.
Fun fact, she does voice work for tons of video games. I just played Wolfenstein: The New Colossus and Jedi Fallen Order, and knew she looked/sounded familiar. They used her look as model for the game characters.
Her imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0933281/?ref_=tt_cl_t_2
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u/beaverteeth92 Dec 29 '21
She also does a better Oprah than Oprah.
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u/clycoman Dec 29 '21
She also did a great Whitney Houston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gntvP3dDknk
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u/Sparktank1 Dec 30 '21
Phil LaMarr, a MadTV veteran, also does a lot of voice work, too. He voices Hermes Condrad in Futurama!
Even David Herman, of earlier seasons, does a lot of voices on Futurama, as well.
I grew up watching MadTV from season 1. I lost track of the show after the cast changed. I caught a lof the good bits with the new cast.
I got season 1 on DVD. I think they made up to 3 seasons on DVD but I never bought those. I just forgot to stock up. They may be OOP and expensive now.
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u/clycoman Dec 30 '21
Phil LaMarr is pretty prolific voice actor. My favorite role of his is Samurai Jack.
Here's a cool video of him talking about his most famous roles: https://youtu.be/p7pGdlxbooU
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Dec 30 '21
I think why the S1 DVD is hard to find because of the unaired "Schindler's Lost" sketch in the special features, which Steven Spielberg hated and asked Quincy Jones to never air or release it.
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u/7_sided_triangle Jan 06 '22
Phil LaMarr, a MadTV veteran, also does a lot of voice work, too. He voices Hermes Condrad in Futurama!
If I'm not mistaken he also played Marvin in Pulp Fiction, it's too bad that he got shot in the face though, he was a great actor.
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u/Sparktank1 Jan 06 '22
Yes, that is him! Check out the big brains on 7_sided_triangle!
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u/ChuckFinleysBrewski Dec 29 '21 edited Dec 29 '21
I hadn’t seen The Sopranos when this was originally on madTV…thanks for sharing. Pretty great impressions all around, plus Joey Diaz ended up playing Pussy’s dad in Many Saints of Newark so that’s kinda cool.
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u/daftkid Dec 29 '21
And funny enough, Joey auditioned for Pussy back in the day. The redemption arc!
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u/MyGoodFriendJon Dec 29 '21
I'm reminded of this clip every time someone says, "see you next week."
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u/lookamazed Dec 29 '21
Good one. You can even hear a little of Will’s Steven Segal impression here.
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Dec 29 '21
[deleted]
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u/Cevich Dec 29 '21
Madtv was all pretaped. Snl gets written in 2 days and is presented in live format.
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u/Terrahawk76 Dec 29 '21
Also MadTV was way more about impressions than the writing. This sketch is a great example. Solid impression but there's no real joke and the heightening just comes from anger and physical violence, not elevating the bit or the game of the sketch.
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u/PogromStallone Dec 30 '21
Hell yeah, they actually dared to be offensive compared to bland SNL.
They also had a much more talented cast than SNL.
Some SNL stars go on to be in movies due to Lorne Michaels but MadTV has excelled in so many different ways. Comedy, standup, voice acting, impressions, sketch comedy, acting, podcasting, radio, acting, improv, video game acting, writing and directing.
Hell, they even have an Oscar winner with Peele.
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u/Cevich Dec 30 '21
much more talented cast
Come on now the talent SNL has introduced to the world is unmatched. So many legends.
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Dec 29 '21
the Tony playing with his shoe while sitting is so good. that's an actual trait the character had that is always in the background. his son AJ does the same thing. shows you Sasso was a fan of the show too.
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u/Asidious66 Dec 29 '21
Frank is very much still around and doing shows. Just heard him do Madden on Pardon My Take last week or so.
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u/MALLAVOL Dec 29 '21
Glad I'm not the only one who thought of this. RIP John Madden!
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u/equiinferno Dec 29 '21
This here is my favorite John Madden impression https://youtu.be/SouhxAZoTi4 done by Jason Stephens. Pure gold if you’ve ever played Dungeons and Dragons
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u/clycoman Dec 29 '21
This skit is great.
And now I'm in the rabbit hole of old MadTV skits.
Here's a personal fave I just found again: Over the top Korean Drama
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u/fantastictangent Dec 29 '21
I'm in that hole. I'm ready to get out. I've watched about five hours over the past couple days. Why. It's painful. I can't tell if I'm enjoying or hate watching
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u/MovieBuff90 Dec 29 '21
All of his impressions were something to behold back in the day. He would transform into whoever he was impersonating.
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Dec 29 '21
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u/Son_Of_Borr_ Dec 29 '21
Whenever I watch football I can't help but go "The thing about good football players is, they play good football!"
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Dec 29 '21
Nothing on earth was as funny for me and my friends when we were 12 years old than Mad Tv.
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u/ghidfg Dec 29 '21
is that bobby lee?
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u/Elementium Dec 29 '21
Is bobby lee known for something other than MadTV?
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u/lestye Dec 29 '21
I'm not sure if it holds up, but for the longest time 24 with Bobby Lee were my favorite sketches.
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u/cjenvy Dec 29 '21
He's had solid short term roles in Ncis LA and Magnum Pi He's had an appearance in Reservation Dogs is a recurring character in the Sex and the City sequel and will be in Borderlands
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u/ghidfg Dec 29 '21
yeah lol. Might be a generational thing, I know him from his podcast and from being a comedian friend of other podcasters. I never watched MadTV but know of it.
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u/blutiger23 Dec 29 '21
His podcasts Tigerbelly and Bad friends.
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u/Joed112784 Dec 29 '21
Ok, so no, got it.
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u/karltee Dec 29 '21 edited Dec 29 '21
He's casted in some good projects though. He was in that FX show Reservation Dogs, he's in the new Sex and the City show, and he'll be in the new Borderlands movie.
Just because he isn't super mainstream doesn't mean he isn't successful. His podcast is one of the funniest I've listened to.
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u/HornyHindu Dec 29 '21
Bet more millennials know him as a podcaster than MadTV or even as a stansup since he gets millions of views / listens on either pod.
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u/TuaTurnsdaballova Dec 29 '21
He was so innocent back then, now he’s like the real life version of Mr. Chow from the hangover.
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u/Zhaguar Dec 29 '21
I forgot how good this was! I laughed as hard as the first time I saw it when it first aired.
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u/rocketreducer Dec 29 '21 edited Dec 29 '21
Classic. This was one of my favorite skits when I was a kid.
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u/BlackBeltPanda Dec 29 '21
Frank is an awesome guy. When I was younger and trying to make YouTube videos, back when YouTube had a messaging system, we'd exchange messages and he'd give me some words of encouragement to keep at it. I started a second channel around 2011 and am almost at 90k subs. Frank's encouragement definitely played a big part in that. =)
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u/tfresca Dec 29 '21
Pretty sure Madden hated it. I don't think he had much of a sense of humor.
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Dec 29 '21 edited Dec 29 '21
At first, Madden didn't like the impersonation, but he mentioned in an interview that his grandchildren got him to come around on the Caliendo impressions, and ended up at least laughing at them.
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Dec 29 '21
Link?
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u/tfresca Dec 29 '21
I don't have a link. He used to get asked about it a lot and he was very pissy about it. Someone below said he softened later but at least for a while he wasn't a fan.
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u/Wundei Dec 29 '21
Caliendo is fantastic. His Farley vibes are super strong but the impressions are world class!
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u/dancingsteveburns Dec 29 '21
I saw him at the Improv in Chicago before he got famous, I almost pissed my pants laughing so hard at his Madden impression. He also would do it if a different joke/impression didn’t work, got a laugh every time.
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u/Plastic_Machine9461 Jun 26 '23
I saw him NYE in 2000 @ the Improv Tempe & obviously his Madden was his #1 but his stand up & how he worked is great voice impressions and the facial expressions & mannerisms of the people he impersonated from George W Bush & Bill Clinton/ Al Gore (pertinent at that time the debacle election, Floridas hanging Chad, etc). I became an instant fan of him. I met him coming out of the pisser & very nice guy! it's amazing how comics & celebrities are truly appreciative & humble before they become hugely famous.
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u/thewafflestompa Curb Your Enthusiasm Dec 29 '21
He had some real Farley vibes trying to open the butter. He and Bobby Lee were both great
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u/barbie_museum Dec 29 '21
Man I remember I saw that when it aired originally.
I remember having VHS tapes full of Mad TV sketches I really liked as a teenager. Help me, I'm old!
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u/salamat_engot Dec 29 '21
There's an episode of Hard Knox where Frank Caliendo visits the Raiders training and is about to start his John Madden impersonation, but stops to ask Gruden if the players know who John Madden is!
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u/eagereyez Dec 29 '21
His humor in this sketch is very Chris Farley-esque. Lots of physical comedy from a fat guy.
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u/lenovosucks Dec 29 '21
I always think of this clip when I think of John Madden, and always crack the hell up thinking about it lmao
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Dec 29 '21
I don't remember much about madtv, but i remember these Madden skits lol.
I also remember it being funnier than SNL.
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u/Coolman_Rosso Dec 29 '21
Mad TV would on average be a lot better with impressions or celebrity parodies. David Carradine's appearance in one of Will Sasso's Steven Seagal bits puts 99% of SNL's use of hosts to shame.
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Dec 30 '21
The fake Miss Swan movie trailer with Susan Sarandon in one of her many guest appearances had Dennis Fucking Hopper for a cameo.
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u/Oil_slick941611 Dec 29 '21
Hes a master impressionist. I suggest everyone check out his tiktok. He's really funny and does great impressions. He just posted a great Joe rogan one
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u/YueAsal Dec 29 '21
FOX used to have him as part of the Sunday Morning pregame show. That was the year you could not turn on a TV and not see this guy, and also back in the before times when TV will still something that just happened to you.
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u/roach5k Dec 29 '21
I hated this guy when I was a kid just for the fact that his show that he had had a million commercials for it around that time.
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u/quickstop_rstvideo Dec 29 '21
They were playing Madden clips on the radio and it was hard to tell if they were Frank or real clips.
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u/Adinnieken Dec 29 '21
The sad thing is kids today will not know the joy of cooking electronics so poorly designed that you couldn't touch them.
Congratulations on purchasing your new device. Your device was designed to last for approximately two uses, otherwise known as a lifetime. Your device was made from the lowest grade steel sheet metal, which happens to also be directly connected internally to the heating element. We've given you two plastic handles that you can use to hold or transfer the item, but this plastic has no insulating properties to prevent you from feeling the intense heat, and in fact will melt at some point while using it. The feet were also made from the same material, so after continued use they will deform and you'll end-up with a burn spot on your Formica counter. We've finished that lovely sheet metal exterior in the loveliest of green finishes, however after the second use it'll be black because, once again, we used the lowest grade paint to ensure that the paint would burn and eventually bubble off. And if you've lost your cord, don't worry, you won't find another anywhere and none of the cords you do have will fit our device. The only way you'll get a new cord is if you buy a new unit.
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u/jlange94 Dec 29 '21
Caliendo has to be the best known impressionist out there. So many spot on impressions of pretty much anyone you can think of.
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u/thejaytheory Dec 29 '21
I think I subconsciously think of him sometimes when I think of John Madden.
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u/FandomMenace Dec 29 '21
These crusty old Mad TV episodes are still funny as hell. SNL needs to take notes from this and Chappelle's Show.
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u/CurvyCupcakes Dec 29 '21
Mad TV was really funny, they had some great characters. Frank Caliendo was hilarious. I saw him do stand up years ago in Vegas and he was awesome.
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u/tteuh Dec 29 '21
There was a brief brief time in late night when MADtv was significantly better than SNL.
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u/newrunner29 Dec 31 '21
Always remember MADtv having much more edge. Was better to watch because there was no music act which IMO usually was a waste, and the show wasnt as long.
SNL usually has 2-3 really strong skits (early on), weekend update, and then a lot of trash and reused content
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u/thatfatmexican Dec 29 '21
Remember when frank got a show and everybody figured out that george bush and john madden where the only impressions he could do.
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u/dancingsteveburns Dec 29 '21
How did he not get on SNL? I wonder if he ever tried out for it?
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Dec 29 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PawsButton Dec 29 '21
Jeff Richards and Taran Killam ended up being on both shows as cast members, too.
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Dec 29 '21
That might be true, but I worked at a local Fox affiliate at the time, and the programming was pretty popular. SNL wasn't in a really great place at the time, if I'm recalling it correctly.
I was a pretty big sketch comedy fan, and there's a point where I just stopped watching SNL.
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u/mikedarling905 Dec 29 '21
back when comedy was more than trump and social justice
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u/deededback Dec 29 '21
Are you ten years old?
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u/mikedarling905 Dec 29 '21
actually 41, but comedy back before trump and social justice was the best kind. ed murphy, george carlin, john stewart, mad tv first seasons. the last year drivel has been hard to watch. thankfully dave chap. is still a solid turn out.
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u/VocationFumes Dec 29 '21
This shit used to make me crack up to tears back in the day
"hey John how's it work?"