 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Impressionist" entertainment – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Animpressionist or amimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating sounds, voices andmannerisms of celebrities and cartoon characters. The word usually refers to a professionalcomedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire ofimpressions, including adding to them, often to keep pace with current events. Impressionist performances are a classiccasinoentertainment genre.
Someone who imitates one particular person without claiming a wide range, such as alookalike, is instead called animpersonator. 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" inpainting andmusic.
Usually the most "impressive" aspect of the performance is the vocal fidelity to the target – usually a politician or a famous person. 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.
Becauseanimated cartoons oftenlampoon famous people (sometimes obliquely), a facility for impressions is one of the marks of a successfulvoice 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.
During the 1970s,British television was awash with impressions ofFrank Spencer, a character from the hugely popularBritish sitcomSome 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. For about a decade, no British impressionist's act was complete without 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 televisedtalent shows of the 1970s;Lenny Henry is a notable example of an act that developed from this.
In the 1990s, there was a certain absence of impressionists on television, with the demise ofSpitting Image andRory Bremner mainly concentrating on political figures (notablyJohn Major,Tony Blair,Gordon Brown, and also members of theRoyal Family). Then, in 1999, cameAlistair McGowan's Big Impression, withAlistair McGowan andRonni Ancona, and in 2002Dead Ringers. Both of these shows featured impressions of celebrities and television personalities, as well as sporting figures on the former and politicians on the latter. In the same year asDead Ringers' debut,Channel 4 began broadcasting the adult sketch showBo' Selecta!, created by and starring comedianLeigh Francis, which spoofed singers, includingCraig David,Mel B andMichael Jackson; however, the show focused on making caricatures out of celebrities rather than impersonating them.
The Icons in London, which ran at The Venue in Leicester Square from 4 January to 28 February 2007 and starred the notable impressionistGreg London, is the first original musical to have dealt with impressions in depth. The book was by Greg London, West End theatre director David Taylor and London playwright Paul Miller. In 2009, a newBBC One impressions show,The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson, was a big hit, starringJon Culshaw andDebra Stephenson donning Britain's most famous faces. A third series of the programme premiered in October 2011.
From the late 1960s,Rich Little has been the pre-eminent impressionist, mimicking a wide range of celebrities and politicians. The cast ofNBC'sSaturday Night Live have performed impressions of politicians and celebrities since the program debuted in 1975.Jimmy Fallon, aSaturday Night Live alumnus and current host of NBC'sThe Tonight Show, rose to fame with stand-up comedy routines featuring impressions of many celebrities in various scenarios. FellowSaturday Night Live alumniDarrell Hammond,Bill Hader, andJay Pharoah have been cited as 'master impressionists', each having performed impressions of over 80 different celebrities on the show. American impressionistFrank Caliendo is also widely known for his impressions of celebrities and personalities such asJohn Madden andGeorge W. Bush, which he performed while starring in television seriesMADtv,Fox NFL Sunday and his own showFrank TV.
Many of today's Presidential impressionists have been influenced byVaughn Meader, whose 1962 impersonations ofJohn F. Kennedy on the albumThe First Family made him famous.
Impressionists are a major part of animation; many film and television cartoons (especially adaptations of franchises) use impressions of famous celebrities of any era. Voice actors who are or were known for their celebrity impressions includeDaws Butler,Mel Blanc,Don Messick,Maurice LaMarche,Tress MacNeille,James Arnold Taylor andRob Paulsen.
Some impressionists have more specialized acts in the art. For example, Canadian comedianAndré-Philippe Gagnon, Canadian singerVéronic Dicaire, and AmericanGreg London impersonate singing voices. CanadianTracey Bell impersonates celebrities.Legends In Concert produces musical impressionist shows known as tribute artist productions.
Nerella Venumadhav imitates world politicians, film artists, singers, poets, scenes from Shakespeare's plays, popular movies including musical notes. Other notable actors includeJayaram,Sivakarthikeyan, andDileep.
The entertainment industries in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan are famous for impersonations by singers. Some well-established singers such asAdam Cheng are considered first-generation impersonators. Notable singers/impersonators/comedians includeJohnson Lee,Wong Cho Lam,Show Lo,Eason Chan, andJJ Lin and many more.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, prior to the advent of high quality recording, animal and bird impressionists were popular on stage as entertainers. Some prominent performers includedCharles Crawford Gorst (USA),Charles Kellogg,Joe Belmont,Edward Avis, Alec Shaw andPercy Edwards (UK).[1]
