Who is Al Madrigal?
Comedian Al Madrigal joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in the summer of 2011 and has since become one of the show's most popular correspondents. His style is reminiscent of Steve Carrell - charming, slightly fish-out-of-water, and always slightly non-plussed by the answers his interviewees provide.
Madrigal was born Alessandro Liborio Madrigal in July 1971 in San Francisco, Calif. His stomping ground as a young kid was the Inner Sunset District, a large neighborhood in the west-central portion of San Fran.
And while he could call fellow comedians Margaret Cho and Mike Pritchard neighbors, so could he call the other 85,000 who lived in the district.
Madrigal graduated as 1989's salutatorian from St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School. He went on to the University of San Francisco, but never earned a degree. It is said that he left school with only two credits remaining.
First job outta school
He didn't leave school because his stand-up comedy career was taking off, either, as one might assume. No, Madrigal went to work for his family, who owned a human resources staffing agency. He stayed there for 10 years before turning his sights on stand-up.
But after several years as a amateur, in 1998, Madrigal went full-time, leaving the family business to try to make the comedy thing work. He cut his teeth behind the mic in San Francisco comedy clubs. But he also tried his hand at sketch comedy, often performing with a group that called itself Fresh Robots.
Breakout year
2002 was a bit of a breakout year for Madrigal, performing with Fresh Robots at Sketchfest, a comedy festival in his hometown.
He also was featured as part of Motreal's Just For Laughs "New Faces" showcase.
The very next year, he landed a role on the Fox sit-com The Ortegas. Based on a British sit-com called The Kumars at No. 42, the show featured Madrigal as the son of Mexican-American family living in California. Madrigal's character operated a TV talk show from a studio near the family's home. The show filmed six episodes, but was never picked up.
But it didn't slow Madrigal down. He won a jury award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 2004, signed a talent contract with CBS, and landed another role on a sit-com: the hotel employee Jesus on the super short-lived series Welcome to The Captain with Jeffrey Tambor, from 2008. He also starred on the CBS sit-com, Gary Unmarried, also from 2008.
Since then, Madrigal has appeared as a regular performer on a number of talk shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Then, on May 17, 2011, Madrigal announced he would join The Daily Show as its newest correspondent.
Madrigal was born Alessandro Liborio Madrigal in July 1971 in San Francisco, Calif. His stomping ground as a young kid was the Inner Sunset District, a large neighborhood in the west-central portion of San Fran.
And while he could call fellow comedians Margaret Cho and Mike Pritchard neighbors, so could he call the other 85,000 who lived in the district.
Madrigal graduated as 1989's salutatorian from St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School. He went on to the University of San Francisco, but never earned a degree. It is said that he left school with only two credits remaining.
First job outta school
He didn't leave school because his stand-up comedy career was taking off, either, as one might assume. No, Madrigal went to work for his family, who owned a human resources staffing agency. He stayed there for 10 years before turning his sights on stand-up.
But after several years as a amateur, in 1998, Madrigal went full-time, leaving the family business to try to make the comedy thing work. He cut his teeth behind the mic in San Francisco comedy clubs. But he also tried his hand at sketch comedy, often performing with a group that called itself Fresh Robots.
Breakout year
2002 was a bit of a breakout year for Madrigal, performing with Fresh Robots at Sketchfest, a comedy festival in his hometown.
He also was featured as part of Motreal's Just For Laughs "New Faces" showcase.
The very next year, he landed a role on the Fox sit-com The Ortegas. Based on a British sit-com called The Kumars at No. 42, the show featured Madrigal as the son of Mexican-American family living in California. Madrigal's character operated a TV talk show from a studio near the family's home. The show filmed six episodes, but was never picked up.
But it didn't slow Madrigal down. He won a jury award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 2004, signed a talent contract with CBS, and landed another role on a sit-com: the hotel employee Jesus on the super short-lived series Welcome to The Captain with Jeffrey Tambor, from 2008. He also starred on the CBS sit-com, Gary Unmarried, also from 2008.
Since then, Madrigal has appeared as a regular performer on a number of talk shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Then, on May 17, 2011, Madrigal announced he would join The Daily Show as its newest correspondent.
Source...