Impressionist (entertainment)
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 penchant for impressions has been 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.
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.
*
James Adomian*
Carlos Alazraqui*
Ronni Ancona*
Dan Aykroyd*
Rory Bremner*
John Byner*
Frank Caliendo*
Jim Carrey*
Dana Carvey*
Dave Chappelle*
Phil Cool*
Billy Crystal*
Jon Culshaw*
Jay Diamond*
Jimmy Fallon*
Will Ferrell*
Pablo Francisco*
David Frye*
André-Philippe Gagnon *
Frank Gorshin*
Kevin Spacey*
Bill Hader*
Darrell Hammond*
Phil Hartman*
Phil Hendrie*
Will Jordan*
George Kirby*
Rich Little*
Alistair McGowan*
Eddie Murphy*
Kevin Pollack*
Joe Piscopo*
Jeff Richards*
Harry Shearer*
Aries Spears*
Fred Travalena*
Mike Yarwood
