Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell (born
July 16,
1967) is an American
comedian,
impressionist, and
actor who first established himself as a cast member of
Saturday Night Live.
Ferrell was born in
Irvine,
California to
Lee Ferrell (a keyboardist for
The Righteous Brothers) and Kay Overman. He attended
Rancho San Joaquin Middle School and
University High School in Irvine and became interested in performing while making his school's daily morning announcements over the public address system in disguised voices. He then enrolled at the
University of Southern California, where he studied Sports Broadcasting and was a member of
Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. After graduating in
1989, Ferrell developed his
improvisation skills as a member of the comedy group
The Groundlings.
Saturday Night Live
Ferrell joined Saturday Night Live in 1995 (he was chosen over future co-star Steve Carell). He had planned to perform a comedy bit to win a spot on the show from producer
Lorne Michaels who traditionally sits down for a final interview with prospective cast members. It was Will's idea to arrive with a suitcase full of monopoly money and say, "I'm prepared to do anything to be on this show, Mr. Michaels." After bringing the suitcase to the audition and subsequent meetings, it became apparent that there would be no need for the suitcase bit and Will aborted the idea.
During his time on
SNL, Ferrell made a name for himself with his impersonations, which included:
*
U.S. President George W. Bush ("
strategery" was one of several "
Bushisms" created by Ferrell during skits about the
2000 campaign),
*
announcer Harry Caray (even after Caray's death),
*
singer Robert Goulet (crooning
a cappella pieces of music by
Sisqó,
Baha Men, and
Notorious B.I.G.),
*
singer Neil Diamond,
*
Inside the Actors Studio personality
James Lipton,
*
Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy,
*
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno,
* convicted Unabomber
Ted Kaczynski,
* game show host
Alex Trebek, and
*
professional wrestler-turned-
Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura.
His original characters included "Morning Latte" co-host Tom Wilkins, Ed the Horse's twin brother Ned, music teacher Marty Culp, Spartan cheerleader Craig Buchanan, Dale Sturtevant "Dissing Your Dog", and night clubber Steve Butabi in a sketch that went to the big screen in
1998's A Night at the Roxbury.
Ferrell returned to
Saturday Night Live as a guest host on
May 14,
2005. In one sketch, he reprised his role as Robert Goulet, advertising a series of crooned
ringtones. Also on the same episode, during the performance of the song "
Little Sister" by musical guests
Queens of the Stone Age, Ferrell came onstage playing the
cowbell: this was in reference to
a famous 2000 sketch in which he portrayed Gene Frenkle, a fictional member of
Blue Öyster Cult, as the band recorded
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper". He also reprised his famous role as Alex Trebek in
a parody of Celebrity Jeopardy! with
Darrell Hammond also reprising his role as
Sean Connery,
Kenan Thompson as
Bill Cosby, and
Amy Poehler as
Sharon Osbourne.
In
2004, Ferrell hosted the
USC School of Cinema-Television's 75th Anniversary Gala
["Will Ferrell to Anchor Cinema-TV Gala", Chang, Emmy; University of Southern California PR Newsroom], where his
alma mater was recognized as the first educational institution of its kind in the country.
On
July 17,
2006, Ferrell threw the second pitch of the night at
Fenway Park for the
Boston Red Sox game against the
Kansas City Royals, performing an impersonation of former Sox pitcher
Luis Tiant.
Death hoax
An announcement on I-Newswire.com reported that Ferrell had died in a paragliding accident. The site accepts press releases from users for publication on its website. A user submitted the aforementioned hoax, which was published before its factual inaccuracy was noticed. The story was further propagated when it appeared on
Google News. It should also be noted that this was a play off a joke in 2005's hit summer comedy
Wedding Crashers, in which Ferrell's character calls someone an idiot for dying in a paragliding accident.
["Will Ferrell Isn't Dead and Google Hasn't Hired A 15 Year-Old"; Ryan, Jack; March 15, 2006; The Post Chronicle]Ferrell is part of the unofficial
Frat Pack group that also includes
Ben Stiller,
Owen Wilson,
Luke Wilson,
Vince Vaughn, and
Steve Carell.
[BOYS' LIFE; Frat Pack back on traqck this summer"; Stewart, Sara; April 30, 2006; New York Post Online Edition] This group of actors have worked with one another numerous times in several collaborations from movies to show appearances to award shows. Ferrell's first official connection to the frat pack could be considered
2001's Zoolander, in which Ben Stiller starred and directed alongside
Owen Wilson,
Will Ferrell, and
Vince Vaughn in a cameo appearance.
Ferrell's frat pack filmography includes
Old School,
Starsky & Hutch (uncredited),
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (as well as its DVD-only alternate version,
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie) and
Wedding Crashers.
One win:
* Worst Screen Couple (with
Nicole Kidman, for
Bewitched)
Will Ferrell has been married to
Swedish actress
Viveca Paulin since August
2000. They have one son, Magnus Paulin Ferrell, born
March 7,
2004.On July 27th, 2006, Ferrell announced, on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, that he and his wife are expecting another child. He has three dogs. He stands 6ft 3" (191 cm) tall. He is Irish and has stated on the Old School DVD commentary that he has a little filipino in him that a lot of people don't know about.
Saturday Night Live (cast member from
1995-
2002)
Cow and Chicken (
1997-
2001) (voice in various episodes)
Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2000 (
2000)
Undeclared (Guest star)
The Oblongs (
2001-
2002) (voice)
Family Guy (
2000-
2001) (voice in various episodes)
Strangers with Candy (Guest star)
*King of the Hill (voice)
Bewitched (
2005) $20,000,000
Kicking & Screaming (
2005) $20,000,000
*
Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches
*
The Frat Pack tribute page
