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Frank Caliendo Pays Tribute to NFL Broadcasting Icon John Madden

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If there was anyone who reaped the benefit in his professional career from the late NFL coaching and broadcasting legend John Madden, it's Frank Caliendo. Lampooning the Hall of Famer and former Raiders head coach, who passed on December 28, the actor & comedian's impression of him became one of the most popular recurring acts on the late-night variety series MADtv from 2002-2007. On top of being one of the most recognizable personalities in NFL history, Electronic Arts built their signature NFL sports series around Madden becoming a video game staple in households for over 30 years. Caliendo took to Twitter to offer his tribute in a couple of tweets.

Frank Caliendo Pays Tribute to NFL Broadcasting Icon John Madden
Frank Caliendo as John Madden. Image screencapped courtesy from ESPN.

While Caliendo admits not really knowing Madden personally, he recalled a personal story of meeting him and his family during a Super Bowl. Since his run on MADtv, the comedian continued making appearances on several sports talk shows often recreating his popular Madden bits capturing his commentating quirks often stating the obvious to how he often over-compliments former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. He was a popular regular on Fox NFL Sunday from 2000 to 2011 bringing his range of impersonations on top of his Madden like Fox Sports analyst Terry Bradshaw.

madden
John Madden at Primetime NBC Network Upfronts – 2007-2008, Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, May 14, 2007 (Shutterstock.com)

Following his coaching career, Madden joined the broadcast booth and was paired with former NFL kicker Pat Summerall to commentate the games making their debut together in 1979 with the Minnesota Vikings taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their final broadcast together was during Super Bowl XXXVI on FOX where the New England Patriots defeated the heavily-favored St. Louis Rams in 2002. Madden would then be paired with Al Michaels for the remainder of his career when he retired in 2009. Despite Madden largely being out of the public eye in retirement, Caliendo continued to make bank with his impersonation doing bits for ESPN and even appearing in character on The Late Show with David Letterman, and more.

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Tom ChangAbout Tom Chang

I'm a follower of pop culture from gaming, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, film, and TV for over 30 years. I grew up reading magazines like Starlog, Mad, and Fangoria. As a writer for over 10 years, Star Wars was the first sci-fi franchise I fell in love with. I'm a nerd-of-all-trades.
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