Richard Caruthers “Rich” Little (born November 26, 1938) is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor….who was nicknamed “The Man of a Thousand Voices” by voice actor Mel Blanc of Looney Tunes fame.
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….as he went on to become a successful disc jockey….while frequently incorporating impersonations into his show. In 1963, Little issued two LPs in Canada….with the first, My Fellow Canadians, concentrating on Canadian political satire which featured Little and two other actors impersonating figures well-known to a Canadian audience. The second album, Scrooge and the Stars, featured Little acting out Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol entirely on his own by playing all the roles as 22 different Hollywood stars….ranging from Jack Benny to Jack Webb. In 1965, Little provided the voice for the Pink Panther in two experimental cartoons, Sink Pink and Pink Ice. Little was a frequent guest on variety and talk shows. With Johnny Carson he captured The Tonight Show host’s voice and many onstage mannerisms….and later played Carson in the HBO TV-movie The Late Shift.
Little starred in various HBO specials including the 1978 one-man show, Rich Little’s Christmas Carol, in which Little portrayed famous comedians in established roles with W. C. Fields as Ebenezer Scrooge, Paul Lynde as Bob Cratchit, et al.
In this video, Rich Little does an incredible piece where he impersonates 100 different celebrity personalities in the very short span of three (3) minutes….for this part of the video alone makes this an epic in impersonations….and well worth the watch. Also, in this video clip….Rich introduces a really good impersonator in Bob Anderson….then comes a piece from a wonderful impressionist Johnny Dark….who was has been a comic actor on television since the 1970s. He is most recently known for his recurring appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, the Donny and Marie show and the The Alan Hamel Show. He has also done stand-up comedy in Atlantic City and, as an actor, appeared in several films.
