- Born: November 26, 1938, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Active: '50s, '60s, '70s
- Genres: Comedy
- Instrument: Vocals, Percussion, Main Performer
- Representative Albums: "Unclear & President Danger," "Rich Little's Dumb-Ettes," "Ronald Reagan Slept Here"
Rich Little
| Artist: Rich Little |
| Discography: Rich Little |
| Actor: Rich Little |
- Born: Nov 26, 1938 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Occupation: Actor
- Active: '60s-2000s
- Major Genres: Comedy
- Career Highlights: Happy Hour, Rich Little's Robin Hood, Dirty Tricks
- First Major Screen Credit: Doris Day Today (1975)
Biography
Despite being an avid pre-'60s movie buff, Canadian born comedian/actor/singer (both in film and on-stage) Rich Little is known best for his vast repertoire of uncanny celebrity impressions. Little began his career at an early age; at 12 years old, he had taken to answering his teachers in their own voices. After spending time working as a disc jockey, Little was hired to impersonate Elvis Presley for an afternoon television program as part of an April Fool's joke, and successfully convinced hundreds of Elvis fans that their idol was at a local TV station. In 1963, Little was discovered in the United States by Mel Tormé, who asked him to audition for CBS's Judy Garland Show -- allegedly, Garland was immediately impressed and personally requested Little's presence on the show. Before long, Little starred in many a variety show and worked with the likes of Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Mike Douglas, and Dean Martin. Little would go on to host a Christmas special in 1978, contribute his voice to various animated series, and even star in John DeBello's 1987 spy comedy Happy Hour, which follows Little and Jamie Farr's plight to put an end to the corporate machinations of two rival beer companies. In 1988, Little took the reins for Rich Little: One's a Crowd, a one-man show which featured some of his best celebrity impressions, and offered tips on how to cheat at golf in Rich Little: Little Scams on Golf (1991). After lending his vocal chords to 1992's Bebe's Kids, Little played Johnny Carson in The Late Shift (1996), a made-for-cable docudrama chronicling the battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman, who both hoped to take over Johnny Carson's role as the king of late night television. In 2002, Little impressively portrayed every president of the United States between 1960 and 2002 -- not to mention Billy Carter, James Carville, Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Kissinger, and Walter Cronkite -- for Richard Little Staring in the Presidents (2002). Though the impressionist complains that today's "vanilla" entertainment icons don't have distinct enough voices, he continues to make jaws drop impersonating on the Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and New York show circuit. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide| Filmography: Rich Little |
| Wikipedia: Rich Little |
| Rich Little | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Rich Little performing as George Burns in 2004 | |
| Born | November 26, 1938 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Medium | Stand-up comedy, television |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Years active | 1963-present |
| Genres | Observational comedy |
| Subject(s) | Impersonations, popular culture |
| Spouse | Marie Marotta (2003-present) Jeannette Markey (1994-1997) Jeanne Worden (1971-1989)(1 daughter) |
| Website | richlittle.com |
Richard Caruthers "Rich" Little (born November 26, 1938 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian impressionist and voice actor. Little has long been known as a top impersonator of famous people throughout the world, which has earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Voices," a name which notable voice actor Mel Blanc once held.
Contents |
Early life
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Little was the middle of three sons. His father was a doctor. In his early teens, he formed a partnership with Geoff Scott, another budding impressionist, concentrating on reproducing the voices of Canadian politicians such as then-Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and Ottawa mayor Charlotte Whitton (Geoff went on to become a politician.) They were performing professionally in night clubs by age 17. Rich acted in Ottawa's Little Theatre and became a successful disc jockey, frequently incorporating impersonations into his show. In 1963, he was asked to audition by Mel Tormé, who was producing a new variety show for Judy Garland. The audition won him the job and in 1964, Little made his American television debut on CBS-TV's The Judy Garland Show, where he astounded Garland with his imitations of various male celebrities. His impression of James Mason in A Star Is Born absolutely thrilled her, and with that memorable appearance, he broke into show business.
Career
In 1966 and 1967, Little appeared in ABC-TV's Judy Carne sitcom Love on a Rooftop as the Willises' eccentric neighbor, Stan Parker.
Little was a frequent guest on variety and talk shows. He cracked up Johnny Carson by capturing the Tonight Show host's voice and many on-stage mannerisms perfectly (he later played Carson in the HBO TV-movie The Late Shift). One of his best known impressions is of U.S. President Richard Nixon. During the 1970s, Little made many television appearances portraying Nixon. He was a regular guest on Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts in the 1970s and was also a semi-regular on the Emmy-winning ABC-TV variety series The Julie Andrews Hour in 1972-1973. This particular series proved to be a wonderful showcase for Little's talents as an impressionist. In fact, because of his uncanny yet brilliant imitation of Jack Benny, the legendary comedian sent Little an 18-carat gold money clip containing this message: "With Bob Hope doing my walk and you doing my voice, I can be a star and do nothing." He was named "Comedy Star of the Year" by the American Guild of Variety Artists in 1974.
His best-known continuing TV series was The Kopycats, hour-long segments of The ABC Comedy Hour, first broadcast in 1972. Taped in England, these comedy-variety shows consisted entirely of celebrity impersonations, with the actors in full costume and makeup for every sketch. The cast included Rich Little, Frank Gorshin, Marilyn Michaels, George Kirby, Joe Baker, Fred Travalena, Charlie Callas, and Peter Goodwright.
The Rich Little Show (1976) and The New You Asked for It (1981) were attempts to present Little in his own person, away from his gallery of characterizations.
Little has starred in various HBO specials including the 1978 one-man show, Rich Little's Christmas Carol. He has also appeared in several movies and released nine albums. When David Niven proved too ill for his voice to be used in his appearances in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) and Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Little provided the overdub; he rendered similar assistance for the 1991 TV special Christmas at the Movies by providing an uncredited dub for the aging actor/dancer Gene Kelly. As a native Canadian, he also lent his voice to the narration of two specials which were the forerunners for the animated series The Raccoons, The Christmas Raccoons [1], and The Raccoons on Ice [2]. He was also briefly featured on Futurama, impersonating Howard Cosell in the 2000 episode Raging Bender.
Little was the host for the 2007 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Although President Bush was reported to have enjoyed Little's performance, it was panned by some reviewers for "his ancient jokes and impressions of dead people (Johnny Carson, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan)."[1][2][3]
Other interests
Little has been active in several charities including the Juvenile Diabetes Fund and the Children's Miracle Network. He has been named to Miami Children's Hospital International Pediatrics Hall of Fame and been honored by the naming of the Rich Little Special Care Nursery at Ottawa Civic Hospital.
Personal life
Little was married to Jeanne Worden from 1971 until their divorce in 1989. The couple have a daughter, Bria. He married Jeannette Markey in 1994; they divorced in 1997. He married his current wife, Marie Marotta, in 2003.
Although Little is a Canadian citizen, he lives in Las Vegas, where he often performs.
References
- ^ Rich Little Bravely Answers Washington's Call, Mary Ann Akers, The Washington Post, April 23, 2007
- ^ Every day is a whining Rove, Richard Adams, The Guardian, April 23, 2007
- ^ Jokes leave Washington a Little cold, Tim Harper, The Toronto Star, Apr 23, 2007.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rich Little |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Learn More
 | Rich Little's Christmas Carol (1978 Comedy Film) |
| Rich Little: Great Hollywood Trivia Game (1984 Comedy Film) |
| Rich Little: One's a Crowd (1988 Comedy Film) |
Help us answer these
 | When is the rich man happiest in In the little lizarad's sorrow? |
| Was George F. Handel rich when he was little? |
| Was martin luther king jr rich when he was little? |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
 |
 | Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
|
| Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rich Little". Read more |
Related answers
- Was selena gomez rich when she was little?
- How do you get rich fast with little money to start?
- How rich is rich?
ADVERTISEMENT
Answer these
- When did Impersonator Rich Little?
- Is rich little still alive?
- How can a country with little land or unproductive land become so rich?
Mentioned in
- Rich Little's Christmas Carol (1978 Comedy Film)
- Rich Little: Great Hollywood Trivia Game (1984 Comedy Film)
- Rich Little: One's a Crowd (1988 Comedy Film)
- Rich Little: Little Scams on Golf (1991 Comedy Film)
- Roast Tommy: The Tommy Lasorda Roast (1990 Comedy Film)
- Rich Little: Will the Real Rich Little Please Stand Up (Film)
- Rich Little's Robin Hood (1982 Comedy Film)
- The Brainiacs.com (2000 Comedy Film)
- Rich Little Starring in The Presidents (2002 Comedy Film)
- Billie Jo and the Big Big Star: Petticoat Junction (TV Episode) (1969 Comedy TV Episode)
- oxymoron (Grammar)
- Summertime Switch (1994 Comedy Film)
- Lucky Luke (1971 Western Film)
- Precious Moments: Who's Who at the Zoo? (25 Children's/Family Film)
