impressionist

This article is about the comedic performing art. For the art movement of the 19th century, see Impressionism.

An impressionist is a performer whose act consists of giving the "impression" of being someone else by imitating the other person's voice and mannerisms.

The word usually refers to a professional comedian who specializes in such performances, has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, and regularly seeks to add to them, often to keep pace with current events. Someone who imitates one particular person without claiming a wide range, such as a lookalike, is instead called an impersonator. In very broad contexts, "impersonator" may be substituted for "impressionist" where the distinction between the two is less important than avoiding confusion with the use of "impressionist" in painting and music.

Usually, the most "impressive" aspect of the performance is the vocal fidelity to the target — usually a politician or famous entertainer. Props may also be employed, such as glasses or hats, but these are now considered somewhat old-fashioned and cumbersome: the voice is expected to carry the act.

Because animated cartoons often lampoon famous people (sometimes obliquely), a facility for impressions is one of the marks of a successful voice actor. Many cartoon characters are intended to be recognized by the audience as evoking a specific celebrity, even when not explicitly named. With such indirect references, the entertainment value does not lie so much in the technical achievement of exactly reproducing the voice so much as in merely making it recognizable; the joke lies in the reference to a celebrity, not in its rendition.

In any case, there is a difference between being able to do "impressions" and being an "impressionist," which usually refers to a stage performer.

Impressionists in Britain

During the 1970s British television was awash with impressions of Frank Spencer, a character from a hugely popular British sitcom called Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. This may have been because Frank had such distinctive mannerisms and dress sense which gave performers a number of visual shortcuts to cover for failings in their abilities. At any rate it seemed that, for about a decade, no British impressionist's act was complete without a dose of Frank.

From the mid 1960s to the early 1980s Mike Yarwood dominated the impressionist scene, with his own TV shows regularly attracting more than 10 million viewers.

Impressionists were very popular on the televised talent shows of the 1970s; Lenny Henry is a notable example of an act that developed from these roots.

In the 1990s there was a certain absence of impressionists on television, with the demise of Spitting Image and Rory Bremner mainly concentrating on political figures (notably John Major, Tony Blair Gordon Brown and also members of the Royal Family). Then in 1999 came Alistair McGowan's Big Impression with Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona, and in 2002 came Dead Ringers. Both these shows featured impressions of celebrities and television personalities, and also sporting figures on the former and politicians on the latter.

Impressionists in North America

From the 1970s, Rich Little (Canadian expatriate working in America) has been the pre-eminent impressionist, mimicking politicians and celebrities.

Performers in the Saturday Night Live cast have regularly performed impressions of politicians and celebrities.

Frank Caliendo has recently come to fame for his uncanny impressions.

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