Star Facts
  • Category Television

    Address 6372 Hollywood Blvd.

    Ceremony date 07/27/1983

About
Rich Little
Born:
1938-11-26,
Ottawa,
Canada
Education:
NA
Ethnicity:
Caucasian
Death Date:
-0001-11-30
Addition Websites

Rich Little

Richard Caruthers "Rich" Little is a Canadian – American impressionist and voice actor. Little has long been known as a top impersonator of famous people throughout the world, which has resulted in him being referred to as "The Man of a Thousand Voices". 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 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'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.

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. One of his best known impressions is of U.S. President Richard Nixon. In 1991 he reprised the role of Nixon as ideal sperm donors in Gina's fantasies on soap opera Santa Barbara. 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 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.

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