Frank Conniff

Frank Conniff Jr. ( ;) is an American writer, actor, comedian and producer, who is best known for his portrayal of TV's Frank on '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). He is the son of journalist and editor Frank Conniff.

Early work

Although a native of New York City, where he had accumulated some experience in stand-up comedy, Conniff found himself in Minneapolis in the mid-1980s undergoing rehabilitation for substance abuse. He stayed in the city following treatment, working simultaneously at a fast-food restaurant and in local comedy clubs. Eventually he won out-of-town engagements across the upper Midwest. It was during this period that he struck up friendships with future ''MST3K'' stalwarts Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Bridget Jones and others, as well as Lizz Winstead, later co-creator of ''The Daily Show'' on the Comedy Central network. Conniff was appearing in a North Dakota venue when he was informed by ''MST3K'' head writer Nelson that he had been selected to replace one of the show's original cast members, J. Elvis Weinstein.

''Mystery Science Theater 3000''

From the second through sixth seasons of ''MST3Ks run on Comedy Central, Conniff played TV's Frank, one of the "mads" (short for "mad scientists") along with Dr. Clayton Forrester (played by Trace Beaulieu). During his years with the program, Conniff was also part of the writing team, and the individual responsible for screening and selecting many of the films shown.

Work after ''MST3K''

After leaving ''MST3K'', Conniff went on to become executive story editor for the ABC series ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch''. He made a few on-air appearances on the show, most notably as "Rootie Kazootie", a baby-turned-adult due to Sabrina's wishing spell. He later became a writer and later head writer on the Nickelodeon TV series ''Invader Zim''. ''Invader Zim'' was cancelled in the middle of its second season, but received positive critical reception during its run. In the summer of 2005 Conniff provided the voice for legendary cowboy Buffalo Bill Cody in two episodes of '' The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd''. He has made many appearances on 'Dr. Floyd'.

Currently, Conniff hosts Cartoon Dump, a monthly comedy/music revue that ends by showcasing some of the worst cartoons of all time, at The Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles. Recently, fellow ''Mystery Science Theater'' alum Joel Hodgson joined the cast, creating his own puppet, "Dumpster Diver Dan".

In March 2008, Conniff starred in the web series ''The Writers Room'' on Crackle.

He starred in the 2010 computer game '' Darkstar: The Interactive Movie'' as both Navigator Alan Burk and the voice of the robot SIMON (Semi Intelligent Motorized Observation Network).

In 2011, he was one of the contributing writers and performers on the Jimmy Dore show.

In October 2013, he appeared as a contributing performer on '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell''.

From January 2015 through February 2019, Conniff appeared on John Fugelsang's daily talk show ''Tell Me Everything'', on SiriusXM Insight.

Conniff appeared on Ken Reid's ''TV Guidance Counselor'' podcast on June 16, 2016.

Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu, along with comedian Carolina Hidalgo, host a movie review podcast on the Last Podcast Network, Movie Sign With The Mads since July 2016.

''Cinematic Titanic''

On October 30, 2007, original ''MST3K'' host Joel Hodgson announced he was starting a new show with the same "riffing on bad movies" premise as ''MST3K'' called ''Cinematic Titanic'', together with former ''MST3K'' cast and crew members Conniff, Beaulieu, Weinstein, and Mary Jo Pehl. Conniff continued to tour with ''Cinematic Titanic'' until they stopped touring in December 2013.

''The Mads Are Back''

Since 2015, Conniff has joined his former MST3K co-star Trace Beaulieu (" Dr. Clayton Forrester") and gone on tour as "The Mads Are Back", riffing older B-movies in front of live audiences. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beaulieu and Conniff moved the show to a ticketed livestream format, offering monthly live-riffs of movies, including some they had previously screened on tour including ''Glen or Glenda'', ''The Tingler'', and ''Walk The Dark Street''.

References

External links

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Interview with Frank Conniff

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conniff, Frank
American comedy writers
American male comedians
American male television actors
American television writers
California Democrats
Living people
Male actors from New York City
American male television writers
New York (state) Democrats
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Year of birth missing (living people)