While some might argue Frank Caliendo doesn’t fit the traditional definition of a “voice actor” (since he’s done minimal actual voiceover work), there’s no denying he’s a talented comedian and a highly skilled mimic (both physically and vocally), which has led him to become one of America’s most popular impressionists/impersonators and even landed him his own TV show, Frank TV.
And despite Frank TV’s good ratings, the cost of production outweighing ad revenue caused TBS and Caliendo to decide mutually to end the series after the second season ended.
In an interview with The St. Joe News [link: StJoeNews.net] Caliendo says, “I have nothing but good things to say about TBS. They made me a pretty famous name — or an infamous name — however you want to look at it. But there was just so much me, me, me, me, me.” Caliendo adds, “I was very proud of the show and the network loved it, but now is the time to sit back and develop some new things.”
But Caliendo needn’t worry about “sitting back.” His comedy tour is booked throughout 2009 [link: FrankCaliendo.com], and he just signed a two-year deal to continue his role on NFL Fox Sunday. There’s also a high probability he’ll be returning for the MadTV series finale in May 2009.
[Sources: TVSeriesFinale.com, TVSquad.com, BroadcastingCable.com]