Listen to me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:
As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.
The Sesame Street episode "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" aired on
Thanksgiving Day in 1983 so that the entire family could watch the show
that dealt directly with the death of character Mr. [Harold] Hooper
(actor Will Lee had died the previous year). Head writer Norman Stiles
and his writing staff fashioned a script following extensive research,
and the show is most remembered for the scene in which Bird Bird comes
to fully understand what is meant by his friend Mr. Hooper's death. The
show was aired once and never rerun and is considered a landmark in
children's television programming. For the 1983-84 season of the show,
performer Carroll Spinney (Bird Bird) and the writers of Sesame Street were awarded the Peabody Award; the show also won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing as well.
November 26, 1938
Richard Caruthers “Rich” Little is born.
The Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor, nicknamed “The Man of a Thousand
Voices,” by voice actor Mel Blanc. Little was an
usher at the Elgin Movie Theatre in Ottawa where he would perfect his voices
while standing at the back of the theatre. He started his amateur acting career
at Ottawa’s Little Theatre, winning his first acting award at the Eastern
Ontario Drama Festival in Deep River, Ontario. He went on to become 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‘s The Judy Garland Show,
where he imitated various male celebrities, including James Mason in A Star Is Born.
In 1966 and 1967, Little appeared in ABC-TV‘s Judy Carne sitcom Love on a Rooftop as the Willises’ eccentric neighbor, Stan
Parker. He appeared on That Girl in 1967 as a writer who impressed Marlo Thomas‘ character with his impersonations. He also made two
memorable appearances as accident-prone Brother Paul Leonardi on The Flying Nun in 1968; it marked one his few appearances as a
character actor rather than an impressionist.
Little was a frequent guest on variety and talk shows. With Johnny Carson he captured The Tonight Show host’s voice and many on-stage mannerisms (and
later played Carson in the HBO TV-movie The
Late Shift). One of his best
known impressions is of U.S. President Richard Nixon (reprising in 1991 the role of Nixon as ideal
sperm donor in Gina’s fantasies on the soap opera Santa
Barbara.) During the 1970s,
Little made many television appearances portraying Nixon. He was a regular
guest on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in the 1970s and was also a semi-regular on the
Emmy-winning ABC-TV variety series The
Julie Andrews Hourin 1972–1973.
In response to his imitation of Jack Benny, the 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 Little, Frank Gorshin,Marilyn Michaels, George Kirby, British comedian 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 also appeared on a second season episode of The Muppet Show.
In 1981 Little appeared in a comedy LP called The
First Family Rides Again, which was the fourth and final ‘First Family’
comedy LPs originally created by Bob Booker and Earle Doud. Little starred
along with Melanie Chartoff, Micheal Richards, Shelly Black, Jenilee Harrison,
Earle Doud, and Vaughn Meader, making light of U.S. President Ronald Reagan‘s years in the White House.
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. (Ironically, Little provided the voice for the
Pink Panther in two experimental 1965 cartoons, Sink Pink and Pink Ice, in Niven’s voice). He rendered similar assistance
for the 1991 TV special Christmas at the Movies by providing an uncredited dub for
actor/dancer Gene Kelly who had lost his voice. 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 and The
Raccoons on Ice.
Little was the host for the 2007 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Although President George W. 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).”
Little voices as a guest star in Futurama such as Futurama:
Bender’s Game, playing his
own celebrity head: “This is
Rich Little, impersonating Howard Cosell.” Many times he plays a sports commentator.
November 29, 1948
Children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie premieres
on prime time network TV.
The show
featured beloved puppets Kukla, Ollie (a dragon), and others, with live actress
Fran Allison as host. The show began as a local Chicago program before debuting
on NBC.
It was one of the two most important series made in Chicago, along with Garroway at Large, during the city's brief period as an important production center for network programs in the late 1940s.
After its network cancellation in 1957, PBS revived the series from 1969 to 1971.
It was one of the two most important series made in Chicago, along with Garroway at Large, during the city's brief period as an important production center for network programs in the late 1940s.
After its network cancellation in 1957, PBS revived the series from 1969 to 1971.
November 30, 1918
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is born.
Best known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset
Strip and The
F.B.I.
He is also known as recurring character “Dandy Jim Buckley” in the seriesMaverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series and its numerousspin-offs.
He is also known as recurring character “Dandy Jim Buckley” in the seriesMaverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series and its numerousspin-offs.
To
quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
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