In North America
From the 1970s, Rich Little (Canadian expatriate working in America) has been the pre-eminent impressionist, mimicking politicians and celebrities. Performers in the Saturday Night Live cast have regularly performed impressions of politicians and celebrities. SNL alum and current host of NBC's Late Night, Jimmy Fallon, rose to fame with stand-up comedy acts featuring him doing impressions of many celebrities in varying scenarios such as auditioning for a Troll doll commercial. Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is also known for his uncanny impressions of other movie stars, and during his appearance on Inside The Actor's Studio, demonstrated nine of these upon request, including Katharine Hepburn, Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon. Frank Caliendo has recently come to fame for his impressions as well.
Impressionists are a major part of animation; many film and television cartoons (especially adaptations of franchises) used impressions of famous celebrities of the era. Voice actors who are or were known for their celebrity impressions include Daws Butler, Mel Blanc, Don Messick, Maurice LaMarche, and Rob Paulsen.
Some impressionists have more specialized acts in the art. For example, the Canadian comedian, André-Philippe Gagnon and the American Greg London are impressionists who impersonate celebrity singing voices. Legends In Concert produces musical impressionist shows known as tribute artist productions.
Read more about this topic: Impressionist (entertainment)
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“I knew that the wall was the main thing in Quebec, and had cost a great deal of money.... In fact, these are the only remarkable walls we have in North America, though we have a good deal of Virginia fence, it is true.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Let north and south—let all Americans—let all lovers of liberty everywhere—join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving. We shall have so saved it, that the succeeding millions of free happy people, the world over, shall rise up, and call us blessed, to the latest generations.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“A government deriving its energy from the will of the society, and operating, by the reason of its measures, on the understanding and interest of the society ... is the government for which philosophy has been searching and humanity been fighting from the most remote ages ... which it is the glory of America to have invented, and her unrivalled happiness to possess.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)