Rich Little

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Rich Little's Bio: U.S. Presidents: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, both George Bushes...Rich Little has an impression of each of them.

Infamous for his skewing of political figures, Little has charmed, amused, annoyed, and lampooned politicians from here to his native Canada. He entertained at the Reagan inaugurals and spent much of 2003 touring the United States with his show The Presidents.

A master mimic of over 200 voices, Little continues to impress in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Reno, Hawaii, Chicago, New York, and London.

A professed classic movie buff, he's particularly fond of doing Alan Ladd (his hero as a kid) and others who are no longer generally remembered, but Little has also latched on to Baby Boomer-friendly characters like Edith Bunker, Kermit the Frog, Robin Leach, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, just to name a few.

Some of his favorite current stars are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, and Clint Eastwood. "They're easy to do," he says. "They are larger than life."

Little says,"an impression is what you think a person sounds like. It could be an exaggeration or a cartoon. It's your impression. I think of an impersonation as more of an exact copy. Knowing the person personally is not important; it's knowing the speech patterns and mannerisms [in order] to imitate the person the way the public sees him." It took him seven years to perfect Frank Sinatra, but only several minutes to mimic Dr. Ruth.

The son of a doctor in Ottawa, Canada, Rich started his "career" at the age of 12 when he answered back to his teachers in their own voices. Observing the teachers in action was infinitely more fun than paying attention to classwork. To get dates, he'd find out the girl's favorite actor, then call her up imitating that actor's voice. Then when Rich showed up, he'd say, "Sorry, Cary can't make it."

Rich's first appearances were in a small club in Canada. "I got booked into this place in Quebec, and when I started my act, I discovered that no one in the audience understood English. It was strictly a French-speaking audience." He figured he was dead until an inspiration hit him. "I did walks . . . Jack Benny's walk, Bob Hope's walk, John Wayne's walk. They all walk the same in French as in English," he recalls.

While working as a disc jockey and talk show host, for one April Fools Day marathon he had "Jimmy Durante" emcee the morning show; "James Mason" was a rock 'n' roll deejay; and "Elvis Presley" hosted an afternoon program. Like the infamous 1939 broadcast of "War of the Worlds," 500 autograph-hungry Elvis-believing fans besieged the station, thinking the King was really there.

While still in his early 20's, Little was "discovered" in the United States. His friend, singer Mel Torme, then on the musical team of CBS' The Judy Garland Show, asked him to make a tape. Instead of the usual impressions, he did Fred MacMurray, Dana Andrews, James Mason and Van Heflin,"the kinds of people nobody did." Garland thought it was "great" and Little was signed for the show. … Read more