Al Madrigal (born 1971) is an American comedian and actor. He has appeared in two short-lived television comedy series and has been a fixture on the stand-up comedy circuit. He is among the most prominent members of the Latino community to achieve recognition in the mainstream U.S. comedy scene.
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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. He 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. In 1998, he decided to pursue a full-time career in comedy.[1]
Comedy career
Madrigal appeared 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: Sketchfest in San Francisco, as part of Fresh Robots,[2] and the "New Faces" showcase of the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.[3]
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.[4] However, the network dropped the series from its schedule before broadcasting any of its six filmed episodes.[5]
Madrigal won a jury award in 2004 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.[6] However, he would not appear on a CBS until January 2008, when he was cast as a building attendant named Jesus (pronounced “Jee-sus”) in the CBS comedy Welcome to the Captain.[7]The series was cancelled after six episodes.[8]
Madrigal was the star of a 2005 Comedy Central special, and has been a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He is set to co-star in the CBS series Gary Unmarried (originally titled Project Gary), which is scheduled to debut on CBS in September 2008.[3]
References
- ^ “Al Madrigal,” LatinoStandup.com
- ^ "Jokers Run Wild," January 3, 2002
- ^ a b "He's Starting Over – Again," The Boston Globe, June 27, 2008
- ^ "Al Madrigal: 'The Ortegas'" Variety, September 11, 2003
- ^ "Fox Drops 'The Ortegas' but Insists the Show Has Not Been Canceled," The New York Times, October 6, 2003
- ^ "Comedy ice," The Hollywood Reporter, March 1, 2006
- ^ "'The Captain' not welcome on my television," Newsday, February 4, 2008
- ^ "CBS Announces Their 2008-09 Schedule. Who's Been Cancelled?" TVSeriesFinale.com