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Al Madrigal

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Al Madrigal
Birth nameAlessandro Liborio Madrigal
Born (1971-07-04) July 4, 1971 (age 53)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
MediumStand-up, television, film
NationalityAmerican
GenresObservational comedy, Satire
Subject(s)American culture, Human behavior, Family, Fatherhood, Cultural Assimilation
WebsiteOfficial Website
Official Twitter

Alessandro Liborio "Al" Madrigal (born July 4, 1971)[1] is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a regular correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and co-founder of the All Things Comedy podcast network. He is known for his co-starring roles in the CBS prime-time situation comedies Gary Unmarried and Welcome to The Captain, as well as NBC's About A Boy.[1] He was a regular sketch performer on The Late Late Show[2] with Craig Ferguson and has also appeared on Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Early life

A native of San Francisco, California, Madrigal grew up in the city's Inner Sunset District, where his neighbors included future comedians Mike Pritchard, Margaret Cho and the Meehan Brothers. His father is of Mexican heritage while his mother is of Sicilian heritage.[3][4] He attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School where he was salutatorian for the class of 1989. He then attended the University of San Francisco, but left the school two credits shy of receiving a degree. Madrigal worked for 10 years in a human resources staffing agency run by his family, where one of his main responsibilities was firing people. He often worked humor into the job. For example, he once called a man into his own office and spun around in the man’s chair to greet him. He credits his experiences at the staffing company with preparing him for stand-up comedy. “I was in so many scary situations (that) by the time I got on stage, I had no stage fright. Speaking in front of a group was nothing.”[5] In 1998, he decided to pursue a full-time career in comedy.[6]

Career

Stand-Up Comedy

Madrigal’s stand-up comedy is story-based, centering on his personal life, family, and the confusion caused by his multiethnic background.[7] Early in his comedy career, he was often pigeonholed as a “Latino comic.” Madrigal, who is half-white, half-Mexican, says he has been criticized as not being Latino enough.[8]

Madrigal began his career in San Francisco's comedy clubs, both as a solo performer and as a member of the sketch group Fresh Robots, which he co-founded. In 2002, he enjoyed his first major exposure in two comedy festivals: SF Sketchfest, as part of Fresh Robots,[9] and the "New Faces" showcase of the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.[10]

In 2004, Madrigal won a jury award for best stand-up comedian at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. After winning the award, he signed a talent holding deal with CBS.[11]

Madrigal's Comedy Central Presents half-hour special premiered in July 2005. In April 2013, Madrigal’s first one-hour special, "Why is the Rabbit Crying?," also premiered on Comedy Central. The special was named one of the top 10 comedy specials of 2013 by both Westword and The Village Voice and was praised for "deconstructing stereotypes rather than enforcing them" and "milking incongruity between expectations and reality to hilarious effect."[12][13]

Madrigal has been a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on July 8, 2009.[14] He later appeared on Conan's TBS Show, Conan, on May 10, 2011.[15]

Acting

In 2003, Madrigal successfully auditioned for a starring role on The Ortegas, a comedy series for the Fox Network. The series, which was based on the BBC comedy The Kumars at No. 42, cast Madrigal as the son of a Mexican American family in California who hosts a TV talk show from a studio he operates in the backyard of his parents' home.[16] However, the network dropped the series from its schedule before broadcasting any of its six filmed episodes.[17]

In January 2008, Madrigal was cast as a building attendant named Jesus (pronounced “Jee-sus”) in the CBS comedy Welcome to The Captain.[18] The series was cancelled after five episodes.[19]

He co-starred in the CBS series Gary Unmarried (originally titled Project Gary), which debuted on September 2008.[10]

On March 14, 2013, it was announced that Madrigal would be joining NBC's About A Boy as Andy, the main character's best friend.[20] He received a 2014 Imagen Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the role.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

On May 17, 2011, it was announced that Madrigal would be joining The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He is often presented as the “Senior Latino Correspondent.”

Madrigal auditioned for the show on the recommendation of stand-up comedian Adam Lowitt, one of the show’s producers. Madrigal and Lowitt performed a piece at Carolines on Texas Representative Debbie Riddle, who proposed a bill that would create state punishments for those who “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” hired unauthorized immigrants except for domestic workers.[21] Madrigal later did a reading of the piece with Jon Stewart, who hired him on the spot.

All Things Comedy

In 2012, Madrigal and comedian Bill Burr founded All Things Comedy, a comedy podcast network and artist cooperative.[22] Madrigal and Burr started the network as a way to help comedians maintain full ownership of their work.[23] The network hosts over 50 podcasts and garners nearly 5 million listeners per month.[24]

At South by Southwest 2015, Madrigal, Burr, and comedian Doug Benson spoke on the “Owning Your Work: The Future of All Things Comedy” panel, where they “discussed the ins and outs of their operation and how they are working to help comics carve out their own paths in show business and avoid traditional gatekeepers.”[25]

From 2010-2014, he co-hosted a podcast called “Minivan Men” with comedians Maz Jobrani, Aaron Aryanpur, and Chris Spencer, in which they discussed marriage, parenting, and domestic issues.[26]

Madrigal and Burr host the “All Things Comedy Live Podcast,” which streams monthly. The podcast has featured comics including Sinbad, Nick Thune, Felipe Esparza, Doug Benson, Pete Holmes, Ian Edwards, and Fred Stoller.[27]

Half Like Me

On January 22, 2015, Madrigal's one-hour comedic documentary special, Half Like Me, premiered on Fusion. The program follows Madrigal on his quest to get closer to his Mexican roots in preparation for a family reunion in Tijuana, Mexico.[28] During the course of the program, Madrigal explores different aspects of Latino culture in America. The A.V. Club called it "solid and thought-provoking" while the Los Angeles Times listed the special as a "Critic's Pick."[28][29] In an interview with LA Weekly, Madrigal said, "'people are actually reaching out and wanting to teach this in their classrooms.'"[8]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Why is the Rabbit Crying? Himself Stand-up Special
2015 Still Punching the Clown Officer Delgado
2015 Half Like Me Himself Short Film

Television

Year Show Role Notes
2003 The Ortegas Luis Ortega TV Series
2004 Americana TV Movie
2004 Shorties Watchin' Shorties Himself Episode 2.9
2008 Welcome to the Captain Jesus 5 episodes
2008 Happy Hour Ray Episode: "The Family Affair"
2008 Buddy 'n' Andy Mucho Gusto Short film
2009 Los Foley Guys Ray TV Series
2008-2009 Gary Unmarried Dennis Lopez 20 episodes
2009 The Very Funny Show TV Series
2007-2010 Wizards of Waverly Place Spanish Pocket Elf 2 episodes
2010 Pretend Time Manuel Episode: "Powdered Doughnuts Make Me Go Nuts"
2010 Tax Man Gilooly TV Movie
2010 3 Non Juans Himself Stand-up
2011-2012 Free Agents Gregg 8 episodes
2014 American Dad! Mexican Security Guard Episode: "Big Stan on Campus"
2014-2015 About a Boy Andy 28 episodes
2011–present The Daily Show Himself (correspondent) 66 episodes
2016 Lucifer Jonathan Medina 1 episode
2016 This Is Not Happening Himself 1 episode

Web Series

Year Show Role Notes
2016 WHIH Newsfront Will Adams 5 episodes

Awards and Nominations

Year Nominated work Award Category Result
2004 Stand-up HBO Aspen Comedy Festival Juror Award Best Stand-up Comedian Won
2014 "Blowing the Whistle on Whistleblowers" from The Daily Show Genesis Awards The Sid Caesar Comedy Award Won
2014 About a Boy Imagen Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2015 N/A Mixed Remix Festival Storyteller's Prize Won

References

  1. ^ a b "'Welcome to The Captain,' Al Madrigal bio," CBS.com
  2. ^ Al Madrigal at IMDb
  3. ^ Tamara Straus (March 4, 2010). "Al Madrigal to play the Punch Line". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  4. ^ Twitter
  5. ^ Borrelli, Christopher. "Al Madrigal: A Comic Who Knows How to Let Go". Chicago Tribune. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  6. ^ “Al Madrigal,” LatinoStandup.com
  7. ^ George, Doug. "In English, Madrigal is doing just fine". Chicago Tribune. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b Minazad, Orly. "THE DAILY SHOW CORRESPONDENT AL MADRIGAL IS FIGHTING LATINO STEREOTYPES — WITH COMEDY". LA Weekly. V Digital Services. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Jokers Run Wild," January 3, 2002
  10. ^ a b "He's Starting Over – Again," The Boston Globe, June 27, 2008
  11. ^ "Comedy ice," The Hollywood Reporter, March 1, 2006
  12. ^ Graham, Byron. "Ten Best Comedy Specials of 2013". Westword. Denver Westword, LLC. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  13. ^ Frank, Aaron. "Top 10 Stand-Up Comedy Specials of 2013". The Village Voice. Village Voice, LLC. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  14. ^ [1] Archived 2009-07-12 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Comedian Al Madrigal Knows How To Pick Em - Video @ Teamcoco.com
  16. ^ "Al Madrigal: 'The Ortegas'" Variety, September 11, 2003
  17. ^ "Fox Drops 'The Ortegas' but Insists the Show Has Not Been Canceled," The New York Times, October 6, 2003
  18. ^ "'The Captain' not welcome on my television," Newsday, February 4, 2008[dead link‍]
  19. ^ "CBS Announces Their 2008-09 Schedule. Who's Been Cancelled?" TVSeriesFinale.com
  20. ^ http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/al-madrigal-boards-about-a-boy-delirium-adds-a-friend-reign-casts-nastradamus/
  21. ^ Castillo, Mariano. "Texas immigration bill has big exception". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  22. ^ Espinoza, Russ. "New Model for a Funny Business". The Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corp. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  23. ^ Espinoza, Russ. [(http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2015-03-13/new-model-for-a-funny-business/) "New Model for a Funny Business"]. The Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corp. Retrieved 15 May 2015. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  24. ^ McGlynn, Katia. "5 Things Comedians Can Learn from Bill Burr, Al Madrigal and the Power of All Things Comedy". Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  25. ^ McGlynn, Katia. "5 Things Comedians Can Learn From Bill Burr, Al Madrigal and the Power of All Things Comedy". The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  26. ^ N/A, N/A. "Minivan Men". All Things Comedy. All Things Comedy. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  27. ^ N/A, N/A. "All Things Comedy Live Podcast". All Things Comedy. All Things Comedy. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  28. ^ a b Lloyd, Robert. "Critic's Pick TV Picks: 'Nightly Show,' 'Half Like Me,' 'Nova,' 'The Fall,' more". LA Times. Los Angeles Times Media Group. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  29. ^ Kallison, David. "Al Madrigal's new special explores how the other half lives". A.V. Club. Onion Inc. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
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