From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Crank Yankers
Crank Yankers
Crank Yankers With the exception of a few outside sources (includ-
ing previous material from Jim Florentine and the Touch-
Created by Adam Carolla Tone Terrorists), all the calls are made from Nevada. The
Daniel Kellison
Jimmy Kimmel Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
makes it illegal in most states to record telephone calls
Starring Tony Barbieri without both parties’ consent. Under Nevada law, only
Adam Carolla
one of the parties has to give consent (i.e., the caller), so
Jim Florentine
Jimmy Kimmel prank calls can be recorded without the consent of the
Tracy Morgan prank victims. One result of this was the series’ schedule
Kevin Nealon of creating and airing new episodes was fairly sporadic
Sarah Silverman due to most of the celebrities living in Los Angeles, hav-
Wanda Sykes
ing Los Angeles-based jobs, and so were only periodical-
Biz Markie
ly able to go to Las Vegas to make calls. Adam Carolla,
Theme music Adam Schlesinger for example, took his radio program to Las Vegas once or
composer Steven Gold[1] twice a year, and while there would record new calls for
Opening theme Adam Schlesinger, Steven Gold the program.
The puppets are then constructed based on the vari-
Country of United States
ous marks’ voices, and, along with a series of stock char-
origin
acters (such as "Niles Standish", "Bobby Fletcher", and
No. of seasons 4 "Special Ed") based on the performers’ character voices,
No. of episodes 70 the calls are re-enacted for the skits.
The main character puppets for first season were
Production constructed by Bob Flanagan’s company Den Design with
Running time 21-22 minutes additional puppets built by BJ Guyer, Carol Binion, Rick
Lyon, Ron Binion, Jim Kroupa, and Artie Esposito. An in-
Broadcast
house puppet shop was set up for the following seasons
Original channel Comedy Central (2002-2005) to accommodate the fast paced schedule of the show and
MTV2 (2007) the sheer volume of puppet characters required for each
Original run June 3, 2002 (2002-06-03) – episode.
March 30, 2007 (2007-03-30) The puppets are puppeteered by Ronald Binion, Rick
Lyon, BJ Guyer, Victor Yerrid, Paul McGinnis, Alice
Crank Yankers is an American TV show produced by Adam Dinean Vernon, and Artie Esposito. [2]
Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison that featured
actual prank calls made by show regulars and celebrity
guests, and re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a visual
Regular characters
aid to show the viewer what is happening in the call. The • Jimmy Kimmel’s impression of NBA basket ball star
show premiered in 2002 on Comedy Central and returned Karl Malone
to MTV2 on February 9, 2007, running again until March • (Wanda Sykes) – A boisterous black woman who
30, 2007. The show screened in Australia on SBS Televi- makes embarrassing announcements, generally of a
sion and The Comedy Channel between 2003 and 2008. scatological or sexual nature. Her many children are
very mischievous, going so far as to glue her
buttocks to the toilet and stealing money from a
Behind the scenes malfunctioning bank machine.
The performers are given a basic outline of a premise • (Tony Barbieri) – A British Earl, he is a rich and
by the writers, and call telephone numbers from a list eccentric middle-aged pervert with homosexual
of selected targets (known as "marks"). Using the basic tendencies. He frequently calls various services and
premises, the performers improvise most of their lines, asks for their price, then orders them to "double it".
playing off of the responses of their marks, with the in- • (Jim Florentine) – A "challenged" 16-year-old who
tention to keep them on the phone as long as possible. constantly repeats himself, makes random
comments and shouts "Yay!" (his catchphrase) until
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Crank Yankers
the other caller gets frustrated. He is also Bobby votes as "district selectman". He also occasionally
Fletcher’s younger cousin. tries to use his political power to get things for free.
• (Adam Carolla) – A 62-year-old psychotic Vietnam • (Lisa Kushell) – An oversexed, conceited and
War veteran, whose hobbies include carpentry, condescending 22-year-old exotic dancer.
Shotokan karate, spying on women in their beds or • (Jimmy Kimmel and Patton Oswalt) – Two obnoxious
bathrooms by drilling holes or a hidden camera and morning radio disc jockeys who call people to make
gun ownership. He has a 600-pound wife, conjoined "on-air dares".
twin daughters and is missing part of his right leg • (Touch-Tone Terrorists) – An obstructionist in the
(which he lost in the war) and three fingers on his form of a gravely-voiced black man who is actually
right hand (a carpentry accident). He frequently an import from the Touch-Tone Terrorists where he
refers to his time spent in Vietnam and "smoking is a regular character. He appears in two sketches
hash out of a human skull". where he is a supervisor at YPS ("Yankerville
• (Jimmy Kimmel) – A grown man who lives with his Package Service").
mother, who is after Jimmy Kimmel himself. He also • (Dane Cook) – He is the overly enthusiastic host of a
has two young children (voiced by Kimmel’s own phone game show called "The Phone Zone" where he
kids) who make juvenile pranks and use foul calls people and asks ridiculous random trivia
language. questions for cash prizes and interjects his own
• (Jim Florentine) – An under-achieving drug user who sound effects.
is Ed’s older cousin. He is extremely rude and • (Kevin Nealon) – An accountant with obsessive-
insulting, and repeatedly burps into the phone. compulsive disorder who prefers cleanliness and
• (Jimmy Kimmel) – A crabby, long-winded stereotype even numbers. He often requests people to press the
of an elderly man, often calling people to complain pound key as a part of his disorder.
about things. He frequently goes off on unrelated • (David Alan Grier) – A man who repeatedly gets
and long-winded tangents about his younger days nervous or disgusted causing him to vomit over the
and various irrelevant subjects. He also frequently phone. The vomit is depicted as an Exorcist-like liquid
blames or relates the situations with his gay shooting out of the puppet’s throat.
grandson. Based on Kimmel’s Real-life grandfather. • (Fred Armisen) – A Mexican immigrant who is
He and Helen have been married over 60 years. perpetually building a house with minimal supplies
• (Susie Essman) – Elmer’s wife, she is an elderly and poor command of the English language.
Jewish woman who likes to proposition young men. • (Katie Kimmel) – Jimmy Kimmel’s daughter made
She also has a pet parrot her son gave to her, who is occasional appearances from 2003, initially with only
well-versed in curse words. She would die later in a few short lines but later making entire crank calls
the series, mentioned in a sketch where Elmer wants herself (notably pretending to be drunken 9-year-old
to take driving lessons. trying to order alcohol over the phone).
• (David Alan Grier) – A former football player who • (Kevin Kimmel) – Jimmy Kimmel’s son made
likes to rap. occasional appearances from 2003, including as
• (Tracy Morgan) – A smooth-talking, African Elmer Higgins’ grandson.
American hip hop-type character who makes lewd • (Dane Cook) – A nameless immigrant who calls
and suggestive comments. He often refers to himself various places looking for assistance or to purchase
as "Spoonie Luv from up above". something. To confuse the person he calls, he
• (Sarah Silverman) – A Jewish female college student frequently switches between speaking in extremely
who works various part-time jobs, including broken English in a very hard to comprehend accent
conducting surveys for O magazine. She frequently to speaking the language fluently, without any
asks intrusive questions and makes veiled passive- accent.
aggressive insults. Her sexuality, as well as her • (Dane Cook) – A young man who uses a wheelchair
sanity, seem questionable at times. and calls libraries requesting books with titles
• (Jimmy Kimmel) – An effeminate, red-headed man referring to disabilities, such as "Johnny
who acts as spokesperson for various celebrities, NoodleLegs".
such as Tom Cruise, Bill Cosby, Jared Fogle, J.K.
Rowling, Mr. T, and the Olsen twins. He calls various
places of business to book appearances and asks
Performers
them to comply with the celebrities’ ridiculous Jimmy Kimmel Jack Osbourne
demands. Terrence is Elmer’s grandson.
• (Bob Einstein) – A loud-mouthed, fast-paced Adam Carolla Sharon Osbourne
politician who calls people at random to pander for
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Crank Yankers
DVD Name Release Date Ep Additional Information
#
Season 1 Uncensored September 28, 10 "Dial ’T’ for Torment: Mini-Documentary, Two Unaired Calls.
2004
Season 2 Volume 1 Un- April 26, 2005 15 Unaired Calls.
censored
Season 2 Volume 2 Un- November 29, 15 4 exclusive audio calls from Fred Armisen, Eminem, Jim Florentine,
censored 2005 and Jimmy Kimmel.
The Best of Crank December 4, N/A Includes 60 favorite calls.
Yankers 2007
Drew Carey Billy West Wanda Sykes
Dave Chappelle Lisa Kushell Snoop Dogg
Dane Cook Stephen Colbert Ludacris
David Cross Patton Oswalt Chief artists working for the show include:
Xavier Corby Dutch Merrick
Eminem Denis Leary
Chris Davis Kristie Moore
Tracy Morgan Biz Markie
Todd Hulin Brook Shafer
Sarah Silverman Chamillionaire
Shane Klein Jason Tyne
Tony Barbieri Seth MacFarlane
David Kolodny-Nagy Mark Walbaum
Jeff Goldblum Mitch Hedberg
Jamie Kennedy Dr. Drew Pinsky
Jack Black Wu-Tang Clan
DVD releases
Tom Kenny Seth Green CD releases
Kyle Gass Lil’ Jon • The Best Uncensored Crank Calls, Volume 1 (2002)
• The Best Uncensored Crank Calls, Volume 2 (2002)
Susie Essman Andy Milonakis • The Best Uncensored Crank Calls, Volume 3 (2003)
Jim Florentine Steve-O
References
Touch-Tone Ryan Dunn
Terrorists [1] [1] "Crank Yankers" at IMDB
Nick Cannon [2] http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Crank_Yankers
Fred Armisen
Kenan
Nicole Sullivan Thompson
External links
• Official website from MTV2
Kevin Nealon Robert Smigel • Official website from Comedy Central
• Crank Yankers at the Internet Movie Database
Super Dave Osborne Josh Gardner
David Alan Grier Good Charlotte
Rick Rosner Jonathan Kimmel
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crank_Yankers&oldid=455240927"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Crank Yankers
Categories:
• 2002 American television series debuts
• 2007 American television series endings
• 2000s American television series
• Comedy Central shows
• Television programs featuring puppetry
• MTV television series
• American sketch comedy television shows
• Prank calling
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