MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Fran Capo, comedienne, motivational speaker, actress, voice-over artist, eleven-time author, adventurer and more!
Fran Capo is a comedienne, motivational speaker, actress, voice-over artist, eleven-time author, adventurer, spokesperson, TV host and five time world record holder. Her first record is as the Guinness Book of world's records fastest talking female clocked at 603.32 wpm (She is presently the voice on the national xm-sirius radio commercials). The second is as the first and only author to ever do a booksigning on the top of Kilimanjaro; the third record was for doing a book signing and the first ever memorial prayer service at the wreck site of the Titanic (You can see photos of these sponsored events at her website, www.francapo.com); the forth was with Chiromission seeing 21, 695 patients in two days; the fifth, fastest song from concept to national broadcast. Whom You Know thinks that Fran is perhaps the most unusual Mover and Shaker to date, and certainly one of the most interesting and multi-faceted!
She currently co-hosts a new tv show called, Live it Up! with Donna Drake and Fran Capo that airs on Friday mornings 6-7 am on Channel TV10/55 reaching 18 million homes. The first show was on April 3rd. It's about hope, motivation, inspiration and education.
In addition she has been on over 350 television shows and 3500 radio shows including, Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Last Call with Carson Daly, Good Morning America, Nick at Nite, Discovery Channel and the Martha Stewart Show and most recently on CNN where her segment was voted top five watched for the week bringing in 2.7 million hits to my website in 1 day.
She presently writes a weekly blog called Fran's World for the WB and for traveling mom. Peachy Deegan interviewed Fran Capo recently for Whom You Know.
Peachy Deegan: How are you able to speak so quickly?
Fran Capo: Here's the story of how I broke the world record. (This story below appears in the Chicken Soup for the woman's soul book on page 82.)
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.
What more can life ask of you? Be yourself, and have a good time!
What are your other goals in terms of record-setting?
I already hold 5 world records:The first record is as the Guinness Book of world's records fastest talking female clocked at 603.32 wpm (I am presently the voice on the national xm-sirius radio commercials). The second is as the first and only author to ever do a booksigning on the top of Kilimanjaro; the third record was for doing a book signing and the first ever memorial prayer service at the wreck site of the Titanic (Yes actually down by the wreck site only 108 people in the world have gone down there more people have been to outer space); the forth was with Chiromission seeing 21, 695 patients in two days; the fifth, is for thefastest song from concept to national broadcast: Adventure Girl: The Fran Capo theme song.
My next adventure: Zero gravity spacecraft, and storm chasing.
the bottom line is I just love anything that challenges me. (On my tv show in one week, I fought a sumo wrestler, ate fire, had knives thrown at me, broke an arrow with my neck and was used as a human canvas by an artist.) I love it. Life is to live, not watch.
What is your favorite place to be in NYC?
I love walking around New York City, me and my good friend Fitness Celebrity John Basedow do 100 block walks every weekend...we call it Walkin with John and Fran.
What is your favorite shop?
Anything with unusual things.
What is your favorite drink?
Hot Chocolate with Carmel Salt Starbucks and Fran Capo's Capo-Cappochino at Chock Full of Nuts.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Spring Natural in the village
What is your favorite NYC book?
Okay don't mean to be biased but I wrote two New York books myself.
There are Two; It Happened in New York by Fran Capo (1999)
and It Happened in New York City by Fran Capo and Art and Sue Zuckerman (due out Christmas 2009.) They are filled with great true and amusing stories that people don't know and tons of trivia.
What is your favorite thing to do in NYC that you can do nowhere else?
Play Ping Pong at 1 am in the morning in Chinatown.
What do you think is most underrated and overrated here?
Underrated is how nice people in New York really are.
What else should Whom You Know readers know about you?
Fact wise:
That I am also a a comedienne, motivational speaker (with talks entitled, "Dare to Do it" and "Creativity in Marketing", "Sucess Made Simple" and "Humor in Speaking"), an actress, voice-over artist, eleven-time author, adventurer, spokesperson.
That I currently co-host a new tv show called, Live it Up! with Donna Drake and Fran Capo that airs on Friday mornings 6-7 am on Channel TV10/55 reaching 18 million homes. First show was on April 3rd. IT's about hope, motivation, inspiration and education. (Check out www.liveituptvshow.com)
In addition I have been on over 350 television shows and 3500 radio shows including, Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Last Call with Carson Daly, Good Morning America, Nick at Nite, Discovery Channel and the Martha Stewart Show and most recently on CNN where my segment was voted top five watched for the week bringing in 2.7 million hits to my website in 1 day.
Also have a new internet comedy tv show comedy out called, "Just Talking With Fran and Janette"
I presently write a weekly blog called Fran's World for the WB and for traveling mom.
My website is www.francapo.com
On a personal note: That I was lucky enough that my mom taught me that nothing is impossible and my dad taught me to always look for the humor in life. With those two things I always win. If I do something and it works, I use it in my talks, if it doesn't it goes into my stand up comedy.
And I always go by my two sayings: IF you want to do something you find a way and if you don't you find an excuse....
And: Live everyday as if its' your last, and one day you'll be right.
How would you like to be contacted by Whom You Know readers?
FranCNY@aol.com or through my contact page at www.francapo.com
Create a great day,
Author of:
Hopeville:The City of Light
Adrenaline Adventures: Dream it, read it, do it!
It Happened in New York
It Happened in New Jersey
It Happened in Pennsylvania
Almost a Wise Guy
Humor in Business Speaking
How to Break into Voiceovers
How to Get Publicity without a Publicist
Check out pictures from my latest titanic expedition at www.francapo.com. Click on the world record button to see snapshots.
