Al Franken, A Life

Yesterday, Minnesota's Supreme Court declared Al Franken the winner of his long-fought senate race against Norm Coleman. Shortly after the ruling, Franken delivered a victory speech outside his home in Minneapolis:

Franken has been an Saturday Night Live writer and actor, author of several books, and host of his own radio show on Air America. Click through for a look at memorable moments from Franken's life.

Senator-elect Franken began performing in high school, but sharpened his acting and writing skills at Minneapolis's Brave New Workshop theater. Soon, Saturday Night Live recruited him as one of the show's original writers and as an occasional actor. He stayed at the show from 1975-1980, then came back from 1985-1995. This interview is from his early SNL days.

In 1980, Franken teamed with his high school friend and writing partner Tom Davis to host a Grateful Dead trivia game during Radio City Music Hall's Halloween show.

Franken and Davis united again to impersonate the Rolling Stones in the mid-'80s. The performance featured Franken as Mick Jagger and Davis as Keith Richards.

Franken appeared on David Letterman in 1987, where he demonstrated his hidden talent: he can draw all 48 contiguous states in under two minutes. (See the 7:00 mark.)

In 2003, Fox News filed a copyright infringement suit against Penguin Group, the publisher of Franken's book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, over the use of Fox's trademark term "fair and balanced."

Fox dropped the lawsuit after a federal court refused to halt sales of the book in April 2003, but two months later Franken got into a shouting match with Fox commentator Bill O'Reilly at BookExpo America in Los Angeles. It was captured on C-SPAN:

In 2004, Ann Coulter and Al Franken faced off at The Connecticut Forum in Hartford. When asked what historical figure each would choose to be if they could be anyone, Coulter answered first that she'd be FDR so she could "not introduce the New Deal." Franken cleverly replied that he'd be Adolf Hitler, so he could call off the Holocaust.

In 2005, Franken appeared on The Daily Show to promote his book The Truth (with jokes). Around the 2:28 mark, Franken reveals his plan for how Democrats can "take back America," hints at a Senate run, and predicts his own victory.

Franken returned to SNL in 2008 to help write this parody of John McCain's campaign ads:

Satirist Franken officially became Senator-elect Franken yesterday afternoon, when Norm Coleman announced that he would not appeal the decision.

By Sharon Eliza Nichols