Capo, Fran - World's Fastest Talking Woman and Author
By: Dominick A. Miserandino
Fran talks about how she got into comedy from pre-law, her stand up on Larry King and of course breaking the record for the World's Fastest Talking Woman.
DM) How did you get started in the entertainment world?
FC) When I was at Queens College studying to be a lawyer,
and doubling as an accounting and philosophy major someone approached
me and asked if I ever thought of becoming a stand-up comic.
At that time, Joan Rivers and maybe Phyllis Diller were the only
two female comics really making it on the circuit, as far as
stand-ups go. I'm not talking about comedic actress.
DM) Having switched industries, did you not enjoy law at all,
or just enjoyed entertainment too much?
FC) I was in Queens college thinking of being an attorney.
There is no pre-law prerequisite just good grades. After I graduated
QC, I started doing stand-up, then began working at WBLS-FM radio,
and just kept going in entertainment from there. I have fought
law cases Pro-se and won, which is kind of cool though.
DM) Did you ever pursue comedy before?
FC) No, At that point I had never gone to a comedy club. I
wasn't really even sure how you went about it. But the thought
intrigued me. Then I prayed to God and said "If I should
do stand-up comedy, give me a sign." Over the next few weeks
a couple of strange things happened. First, I got my handwriting
analyzed. It read, You have a good sense of humor, use it to
make money." I thought it was just a coincidence. Then,
I was on line at a movie theater and someone overheard me talking
tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I don't mean to intrude
but I overheard your conversation, you are funnier than some
comics at the comedy club." I was stunned, but again didn't
take that as a sign. Call me dense I guess. Then I asked God
if I am meant to do this make it really convenient for me to
know.
The next day I went to go to class. The normal entrance that
I went through was blocked by construction. I had to go in through
the other entrance, which was near the theater. There on the
wall was a large sign "STAND UP COMEDY AUDITIONS TODAY."
The winner get to perform at Creightons & Grays ... a bar
two blocks from my house. This was my sign. I auditioned and
won. I performed got a standing ovation the first night, and
bombed the second. Got both ends of the business in one weekend
but I was hooked.
DM) Are you a religious person?
FC) I consider myself spiritual, not really religious. I believe
in God, I pray every morning, but I don't go to church a lot.
DM) So back to the sitcom, how will it work?
FC) First the cybersitcom is called The Estrogen Files: Money,
Men & Motherhood. It's about two single women trying to figure
it all out. It will go up on Sept. 30 via shesgotittogether.com
(the hot new woman's site that covers all areas for career women..
sports, finances, humor etc.
Myself and a fellow comedienne Anna Collins will play two
characters: Anna Litical and Fran Tastica who are under government
surveillance for the past 24 months. The government is trying
to figure out what makes woman tick. The women communicate through
email that is confiscated without their knowledge and then analyzed
by men in the government.
Characters will be brought in as the sitcom progresses. The
Estrogen files went up on the 30th at Shesgotmale.com. A new
site was created for it. Newsday did a full-page story on it,
since it is the first cybersitcom. A cast of characters is listed
and a reader can click on to see who they are.
Also, we have started an Estrogen greeting card line that
readers click on to order. Two cards are available per episode.
DM) How did you first get into the "World's fastest talking"
role?
FC) I'm a stand-up comic by profession. A couple of years
ago, I was working at a radio station WBLS-FM in New York, doing
the weather and traffic as this character June East (Mae West's
long-lost sister). One day, Dinah Prince from the Daily News
called and said she wanted to do an article on me. When
she had finished interviewing me for the article, she asked,
"What are you planning to do next?'
Next? Well at the time there was nothing I was planning on doing
next, so I asked her what she meant, stalling for time. She said
she really wanted to follow my career. Here was a woman from
The Daily News telling me she was interested in me! So I thought
I'd better tell her something. What came out was, "I'm thinking
about breaking the Guinness Book of World Records for the Fastest
Talking Female." The newspaper article came out the next
day, and she included my parting remarks about trying to break
the world's Fastest-Talking Female record. At about 5:00 P.M.
that afternoon, I got a call from CNN asking me to go on the
Larry King Live Show. They wanted me to try to break the record.
They told me they would send a limo to pick me up at 8:00. That
was only 3 hours. They insisted because they wanted me to do
it
that same night! Talk about pressure.
Now, I had never heard of Larry King Live, and when I heard the
woman say she was from the Manhattan Channel, I thought, "Hmmm
that's a porn channel, right?" She patiently assured me
that it was a respectable national television show and that this
was a one-time offer and opportunity - it was either that night
or not at all.
I stared at the phone. I had a gig that night in New Jersey,
but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which of
the two engagements I should do. I told her I had to find a replacement
for my 7:00 show. I
started calling every comic I knew. By the grace of God, I finally
found one who would fill in for me. With five minutes before
the deadline, I told the producer of the Larry King Live Show
I could make it.
Then I sat down to figure out what on earth I was going to do
on the show. I called Guinness to find out what the rules were
to break a fast-talking record. They told me I would have to
recite something from
either Shakespeare or the Bible.
Suddenly I started saying the ninety-first Psalm, a prayer for
protection that my mom had taught me. Shakespeare and I had never
really gotten along, so I figured the Bible was my only hope.
I began practicing and practicing, over and over again. Timing
myself with a stop watch to see how fast I could do it. I was
both nervous and excited at the same time.
At 8:00, the limousine picked me up. I practiced the whole way
there, and by the time I reached the New York studio I felt as
if my tongue was going to fall off. I asked the producer, "What
if I don't break the record?'
"Larry doesn't care if you break it or not," she said,
"He just cares that you try it on his show first."
So I asked myself, "What's the worst thing that can happen.?
I'll look like a fool on national television! A
minor thing, I told myself, thinking I could live through that.
Then I asked, "And what if I break the record?" Now
that would be great.
So I decided just to give it my best shot, and I did. I broke
the record, becoming the World's Fastest Talking Female by speaking
585 words in one minute in front of a national television audience.
(I broke it again two years later, with 603 words per minute.)
My career took off.
People often ask me how I did that. Or how I've managed to do
many of the things I've done, like lecturing for the first time,
or going on stage or bungee jumping. I tell them I live my life
by this simple philosophy: I always say yes first, then I ask,
Now, what do I have to do to accomplish that?
Then I ask myself, "What is the worst thing that can happen
if I don't succeed? The answer is simply, I don't succeed! And
what's the best thing that can happen? I succeed.
DM) Of all your careers (comedy, writing, acting), which do
you enjoy the most?
FC) Actually I love them all, and I like the fact that I have
the variety in my life to change. Keeps life interesting.
DM) You've done a lot of voice over work too. What is some
of the voice over work our readers might recognize you in?
FC) My first voice over job was for a cartoon called "Candy
Claus", the illegitimate child of Santa, just kidding. It
was a little girl who lived with Santa Claus and helped him deliver
the toys around the world. Mainly I do character and kids voices
for various cartoons and commercials. Other voice over work I've
done: 1-800-flowers, Conair Hair Products, Matching voices for
a Care Bear Commercial, MCI, Nissan, EZ-Mop, Motorola and a few
others.
DM) What is a "corporate imposter"?
FC) Ahhh, well its when a corporation hires me to pretend
I am a high tech representative in their company. I'll come in
during a Christmas party to make an announcement, or at a week
long training session and pretend I am giving them the latest
update on one of their products or sales techniques. But its
all a spoof complete with charts, slides, and lots of fast talking
and ridiculous exercises. It's a way for the company to pull
a fast one on their employees and break the tension of long training
seminars.
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