FLOD Spotlight - Issue 3

COVER STORY | RICH LITTLE
“Politicians just say what
they want to do, but they
don’t go into details. I
work with that. If Hillary
goes against Donald
Trump, I’ll have a wealth
of material.”
RICH LITTLE
MISTER PERSONALITIES
By James Arena
With a staggering repertoire that boasts in excess
of 200 voices, Rich Little is the undisputed master of the
imitation game. For decades, the actor and comedian
has been channeling the biggest and brightest stars
of Hollywood, politics and pop culture, entertaining
audiences on countless vintage and contemporary
television programs and on stages throughout the US
and Canada. Reflecting on his secret for recreating the
sounds and styles of the stars so expertly, Little admits,
“Knowing the person personally is not important; it’s
knowing the speech patterns and mannerisms [in
order] to imitate the person the way the public sees
him.” Whatever his formula may be, his skills continue
to earn him accolades (and soldout shows) throughout
the continent, including in the high-energy confines of
Las Vegas, where the artist performs regularly.
If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, Rich
Little is a man proficient at serving up a compliment.
And thanks to him, the voices and personalities of our
favorite stars continue to be heard and enjoyed in a
delightfully unique and enduring way. He sits down
with FLOD to talk about how he’s managed the voices
of celebrities to whom he’s played host.
Rich, tell me a little about your youth and when
you discovered your talent for imitating the
voices of Hollywood’s golden stars.
“I grew up in Canada, in Ottawa – the capital city. As a
kid I was really into radio because you made your own
pictures when you listened to it. I had a wild imagination.
I would go to bed at night and put the radio under the
covers so my folks wouldn’t see me listening at 11 P.M.
I always had a fascination with entertainers and movie
stars. When I started doing impressions it began as a
hobby to amuse my friends. When I started to make
some money at it, I looked at it differently. But until I did
that it was just fun. I never believed I would one day
get to meet these people and get to know them. That’s
probably been the biggest thrill of my life.”
Do you recall the big turning point when you
made the leap into a professional entertainment
career?
“I started out doing [my act] in Canada at coffee houses
and small venues, and then I did a television show in
Toronto with Mel Tormé. We became great friends.
He was going to work for Judy Garland as a musical
arranger for her TV show, and he made a tape of me
doing my impressions and played it for her. She didn’t
seem to be too interested. She wasn’t thrilled with it
until I did my impression of James Mason, who made
the movie A Stars Is Born with her. She asked Mel to
play that part again, and he did. She told him to book
me on her show. [He laughs.] It’s so funny – about 15
or 20 years later I met James Mason and thanked him
for getting me on The Judy Garland Show. He didn’t
know what I was talking about. I told him I got on the
show because I imitated him. [Little uses Mason’s
haughty vocal style.] ‘What on earth for?’ he said, and
walked away.
“Judy wasn’t thrilled with impersonators, but when I
finally did her show, her reaction was just incredible.
That’s what made that spot so appealing. If you see
the clip (I think it’s out on DVD or on YouTube), you
can see her reacting. She never came to rehearsals,
so what you are seeing was her reaction to seeing me
for the first time. It was pretty astounding.”
That’s really quite something to have been a part
of her legendary show. What are your observations
about Ms. Garland and working with her?
“I thought she was a very lonely person and a bit neurotic
and had problems when we shot that show. She wouldn’t
come out of her dressing room. Of course I didn’t know
what was going on at that point. I thought they were just
having technical problems. As I found out later, she was very
insecure, and she was drinking a lot. But she was very nice
to me – extremely nice, actually. I only have great memories
of her, but I found out later she had her problems. Also on the
show was [actor] Peter Lawford, and he was a train wreck
too. We didn’t finish shooting that show until about 3:30 or
four in the morning.”
You mentioned that Judy didn’t care for
impersonators. Did you encounter stars who didn’t
like to be imitated by you, perhaps because it drew
attention to things about their personalities they
may have wanted to suppress?
“Oh yeah, I’m sure it was [that way] with a few people.
What you’re doing in an impression is pointing out their
idiosyncrasies and some of their flaws – a lisp ora voice that
was too high for example. Sometimes they’re not too thrilled
about it. I’ve had many people say to me ‘that doesn’t sound
like me at all,’ with their family standing behind them going
‘yes it does.’ Sometimes the person you are doing doesn’t
really hear themselves.
“But most people are flattered that I imitated them. The only
person that I remember being really annoyed was [comedian]
Paul Lynde of The Hollywood Squares. I’m not telling you
something that probably isn’t well know, but he was an
FLOD SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 3 | FIRSTLADIESOFDISCOSHOW.COM 3

alcoholic. He had a lot of
demons. For some reason
he didn’t like my impression,
and when they’d come to him
on The Hollywood Squares,
he’d say [Rich uses Paul’s
distinctive, tumbling voice],
‘Who’s he doing? Who’s
that supposed to be? Oh,
that stinks!’ That’s kind of
funny. [Rich laughs again.]
I’ve got a few clips from a
Dean Martin roast where I’m
doing Paul, and Paul looks
like he’s sucking on a bad
lemon. He was never thrilled
with it.
“A lot of people think Richard
Nixon was someone who
wouldn’t like my impression,
but that wasn’t true at all.
However, when I did Nixon
one time in front of him, he
didn’t know I was doing him.
He turned to his wife and
said [Little shifts to Nixon’s
distinctive vocal style] , ‘Why
is this young man speaking
in this strange voice?’ Nixon
was a little square. He
didn’t have a great sense
of humor. I still do him in my
show. He used to force a
smile. He’d wear that same
black suit like every day of
his life. I don’t think he took
the hanger out of it either. He
was a bit stiff. Some people
don’t get the humor.
“I did 23 of Johnny Carson’s
mannerisms on another
Dean Martin roast and what
they all meant. I got a great
reaction from the crowd.”
I’m curious. As a
vintage film fan and
with all the stars you’ve
impersonated, what are
some of your favorite
movies?
“Oh, Best Years of Our Lives
and It’s A Wonderful Life.
Casablanca - the classics,
you know.”
COVER STORY | RICH LITTLE
You must indulge me
for this next question.
As a seven-year-old kid,
I was hypnotized by
the show The Flying
Nun with Sally Field.
I can’t explain that. It
was a unique show for
you because you didn’t
do impressions – you
played a character
named Brother Paul.
What do you recall
about doing this ’60s
sitcom?
“It was great. If you look
at it today it’s a little bit
corny – a nun flying? But it
was popular at the time. I
played an accident-prone
priest, kind of a Clouseau
of the monastery. It was an
interesting character. They
could have done a spinoff
of the character – they
talked about that but never
did it. I did three or four
episodes, and it was great
fun. You could see Sally
Field’s potential. She was
very skilled and a very good
actress. She still is.
“The Flying Nun was on for
about three season. That
was a pretty good run. I did
a situation comedy show
that only lasted one year
called Love On A Rooftop
(1966-1967), which nobody
remembers. But you have
to have been on a few years
for people to remember. If
you’re only on one season,
it’s usually forgotten.”
What was it like in
Hollywood at that time?
You were working in (at
least for people of my
generation) that cool,
kooky period of late ’60s
and early ’70s comedy/
variety television. The
shows of that period
are the ones many
people seem to lovingly
remember and still
today.
“Yes, I agree. It was a great
time to be a comedian. There
were so many variety shows
on TV. I went from one to
another – Flip Wilson, Glen
Campbell, Carol Burnett.
I was working almost
every week at that time –
Hollywood Palace and The
Tonight Show. Then I did
Mannix and Police Woman,
playing real characters. Yes,
it was a great time for me.”
Was it difficult to
maintain a personal life
with so much going on
for you in Hollywood?
“Yes, it was very difficult.
That’s why my first marriage
didn’t last. I was never home.
I was working all the time,
and I didn’t spend enough
time with my wife and my
daughter. My daughter and
I are very close today, but
that was a busy time for me
– the ’70s. I mean, I was
doing those Dean Martin
roasts constantly – I did 24
of those.”
The roasts brought
together an eclectic
range of comedians,
from Sammy Davis to
Don Rickles. Would you
describe these programs
were edgy for their time?
“Yes, they definitely were. I’d
say they were a little racist,
actually. They did jokes you
couldn’t do today. There were
a lot of people who performed
on the show but they [had to
be cut out] and were never
seen on the air. There was
no profanity, though.
“But the amazing thing about
the shows was how well they
were edited. I was there, and
I know what went on. I can
see they took people out,
used laughter from other
shows and other people and
spliced it all together. They
are really shows comprised
of bits and pieces. Some of
the roasts, the people [being
roasted] weren’t even there.
But you didn’t know that.
They would do their shots in
the studio with nobody there
if they couldn’t get them
to come to Vegas, where
we shot most of them. Like
Ronald Reagan. They did an
excellent job with him.
Wasn’t it a bit difficult to
do your act without the
featured guest there?
“You just pretended that the
star was sitting there. I did
one with John Wayne, and
they just put him in [with
clips] from another show,
showing him laughing. It
looks good. You had to go
along with it.”
Let me ask about your
craft. You are essentially
playing a role when
you imitate these stars,
mostly in a comedic
manner. Did you ever
want to utilize your
abilities for more serious
roles?
“By way of example, take
Bryan Cranston, who did
the movie Trumbo. Bryan is
such a skilled actor. He’s a
wonderful man and brilliant.
If you watch him in that film,
he’s actually doing a brilliant
impression of [screenwriter]
Dalton Trumbo, but nobody
knows what he sounds like.
Yet everybody says, ‘Yeah,
I guess that was him.’ (They
have other people in the
COVER STORY | RICH LITTLE
movie, like somebody playing John Wayne or Edward G.
Robinson. I thought they were kind of weak.) Bryan studied
the body language and mannerisms more than Trumbo’s
voice. It’s interesting. He isn’t an impersonator, yet he plays
real people. He could be the male equivalent of Meryl Streep.
“I’d like to do that, too. There’s been a few movies made
with people doing Nixon or Reagan, and I sat there thinking,
‘Gosh, I wish I had done that.’ But it’s hard for me because
people think of me in a comedic way. So they think I can do
Nixon in a funny way, but they think they need someone else
to do it in a serious way. But that’s not true. I can do it in a
serious way.
“I had a show not long ago where I performed for a gathering
of Republicans. I read Reagan’s farewell speech to the
nation where he told them he had Alzheimer’s disease.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Nothing comical about
it. I can do dramatic things; it’s just that people label you in
this business, and once you are labeled it is hard to break
that mold.”
Your voice, I imagine, is something like a dancer’s
legs or a sculptor’s hands. I would think you’ve had
to be very conscious of protecting it. What has that
been like?
“Oh wow, that’s been a battle for years. Once in a while I get
laryngitis, or I get a cold with coughing. That makes it really
hard to perform. I am working at the Tropicana here in Vegas
five nights a week, and whether you feel good or not, the
show goes on. So what you do is get through illness as best
you can. You may be like, ‘Oh God, that was terrible,’ but the
audience cordsdoesn’t realize how well you could have done
it. I know that when I have a cold, some voices are improved,
but a lot are harder to do.
“I talked about insuring my voice at one point, but it cost so
much it was ridiculous. (I have had a doctor look at my vocal
cords to see if they looked different from anybody else’s, but
they were normal.)”
You are well known for your imitations of the stars of
classic Hollywood. How much do you have to work on
keeping up with contemporary personalities as your
audiences change?
“Well, keep in mind I generally appeal to an older audience.
But in my shows I do Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson to keep
it up to date. But I’m known for Johnny Carson, Nixon and
Ronald Reagan.
“I had a 15-year-old kid in my audience the other night,
and he was laughing hysterically. But I thought he probably
didn’t really know who I was doing. I asked him if he enjoyed
the show, and he said it was fabulous. But he was a little
confused. [Rich laughs.] He wondered why I kept changing
my voice – [so I knew] he didn’t know any of the people. But
yeah, I have young people see my show and say they got
about six out of the 30 impressions I did. You know? But if
they are over 30 and don’t know who Ronald Reagan and
Nixon are, they must be living in a tree fort. Younger people
don’t really care about the past – they just have to get the
humor and laugh at the jokes, like this 15-year-old.”
If you look at shows today like Saturday Night
Live, imitations are done rather roughly, satirically.
It’s not the detailed level of impersonations you
have honed so successfully. Is your art form
disappearing?
“
A lot of people think Richard
Nixon was someone who wouldn’t
like my impression, but THAT
wasn’t true at all.
PHOTOS: Rich Little Productions, Inc.
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COVER STORY | RICH LITTLE
COVER STORY | RICH LITTLE
“Well, yes, it has kind
of disappeared. I do
impressions and tell jokes
and punchlines. Most comics
today do observational
humor. [Today’s comics]
don’t tell jokes – they just
talk about situations. It’s
a whole different type of
comedy. Today, you’ll see a
lot of comics come out, and
they have no real prepared
material, so they end up with
‘how are you feeling tonight’
and ‘where are you from?’
They hope to get lucky by
talking off the cuff. That’s
tough to do. I think only Don
Rickles and Robin Williams
were [among the few who
were] successful at doing
that.
“I saw a comic the other
night. He was funny, but
he used the f-bomb like 18
times. The young people
accept it, and they are doing
it on commercial television
now, saying anything they
want. I remember doing
The Tonight Show, and they
bleeped me when I said,
‘damn.’ That kind of raw, talk
any way you want to type
of comedy is what many
young people want. I’m sure
there are a lot of people who
don’t like it at all – but those
are people who don’t go to
nightclubs.
“I think it’s a cheap way to
get a laugh; I really do. It is
kind of a shock thing, yeah.”
Your artistry has
remained popular
through many decades.
Is there an element in
your creativity that has
helped you achieve such
longevity?
“Doing a lot of impressions
that weren’t done by a lot
of other people — including
politicians. And observing
what was going on in
the news [in my act] and
staying fresh. I’m constantly
updating my show, but
there’s no question about
it – people want me to do
Johnny Carson, Jimmy
Stewart and John Wayne.
“I enjoy thinking up new
material and new jokes.
Taking something that’s
been said by someone
notable or a fact and making
it funny. For example, you
[work with] something like
Donald Trump, who talks all
day about building a wall and
how the Mexicans are going
to pay for it. But he doesn’t
say how big the wall will be
or how the Mexicans will
pay for it – and that’s what
the public wants to know.
Politicians just say what they
want to do, but they don’t
go into details. I work with
that. If Hillary goes against
Donald Trump, I’ll have a
wealth of material.”
What’s your measure of
satisfaction today?
“I finally figured out what
people want to hear. I love
writing something that really
works and having my show
go over really well. When,
after the show, people are
commenting how good it
was – that’s very rewarding
and makes me pleased
because I write everything
myself. I don’t rely on
writers anymore. (In the
early TV days, you worked
with writers. On the roasts,
they gave you writers. They
wrote your routine and you
could use it or try something
on your own. But everybody
had something prepared for
them, I think. Except Don
Rickles, Jonathan Winters,
Charlie Callas and Foster
Brooks.)”
Tell me about the next
big goal you’ve set for
yourself ?
“Well, I have a book coming
out about my career called
Little By Little - People I
Have Known And Been.
I’ve been working on it for
almost 20 years, and we’re
almost there with it. It’s all
about the great memories I
have of the people I worked
with. When I think about all
this – you gotta realize to get
on TV today, you have to be
younger. You have to have
something [significant] to
promote, or they don’t want
you. You realize that. Thirty
or 40 years ago, I got on TV
because I was funny. I did the
David Letterman show about
10 years ago, and it was the
highest rated show of the
season. But they wouldn’t
have me back unless I was
promoting a book or was in a
movie. So maybe when my
book comes out, I’ll be back
on the talk show circuit.”
I know you are a
supporter of Wounded
Warriors. What drew
you to the plight of
veterans?
“These soldiers have put
their lives on the line in tough
places like Afghanistan,
left their families and come
home with no legs or other
extremely challenging
difficulties. They should
be looked after for the rest
of their lives. There’s no
question - God, what they did
for us? They are strug-gling
to get medical attention,
dealing with trauma and
all kinds of psychological
problems. I hope the next
president really [addresses
these issues]. That would
make me very happy.”
Is there a special
highlight in your career
thus far that has really
stayed with you?
“Yeah, probably my
association with Ronald
Reagan. That’s been the
most rewarding, and it
has given me the most
satisfaction. I was able to
get to know him personally
and perform for him so
many times. I considered
him a friend. He had a
great sense of humor. He
always wanted to tell you
a joke or hear one. Always
interested in what you were
saying or doing. He wasn’t
terribly presidential, more
like a lovable grandfather.
Everybody loved him, and
he had so much charisma.
That was a great time for
me, you know? I’ve had a
number of them. Getting
to know these icons and
knowing them on a social
level has been a great thrill
for me – like Jimmy Stewart;
we were very close. Yeah, I
have some great memories.”
For more information on
Rich Little, visit his site
www.richlittle.com
6 FLOD SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 3 | FIRSTLADIESOFDISCOSHOW.COM
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Hollywood Flashback
with Rich
Mr. Little gives his off-the-cuff observations of some classic personalities
in entertainment.
Johnny Carson
Ed Sullivan
“Best talk show of all time. A great listener and a very
intelligent man.”
Dean Martin
“Lackadaisical, lovable, didn’t really care about
anything but playing golf and watching old westerns
– but loved by everybody.”
Frank Sinatra
“Cold, egotistical, not very friendly, nice in a
social circle, but as an entertainer – very difficult
to get along with. A man who could count up to
three and get two of the numbers wrong, you
know?”
Angie Dickinson
“Great, just great. Down to earth, sweet and
very talented. A doll!”
“Very complex, very moody. If you hit him on a nice
day, he was the nicest man in the world, but on a bad
day – you better be out of town. He was very kind
and nice to me.”
Julie Andrews
“Very professional, a little bit prudish, but a good
sense of humor. Still, she didn’t want to be known as
Mary Poppins – she didn’t like that squeaky clean
image.”
Don Rickles
Mary Tyler Moore
“I didn’t do her show, but I used to live next door
to her in Malibu. Very pleasant, very easy to
talk to, and she was very clever in putting other
talented people in her show. They may have
taken a bit away from her, but she loved that.
She let other people shine.”
Carol Burnett
“Just like Mary. If you were a guest on her show,
she let you do what you wanted to and shine.”
“Still funny. Quickest mind of all time. If you accepted
what he did – some people were insulted – he was
absolutely brilliant.”
Lucille Ball
“Very, very professional. Boy, you had to know
what you were doing with her. Whoa! She appreciated
it if you knew your lines and did what
you were told – then she was very nice. But if
you were goofing around, she could
cut you down!”
Why did you decide to
reinvent The Ritchie Family?
The simple answer is that we never
stopped loving our profession and
the desire to reconnect with our
fans. For most of our lives, many of
our hopes and dreams have been
intertwined with our music career and
leaving the music scene as we did
was heartbreaking. Consequently, we
consider the reinvention of The Ritchie
Family (TRF) as unfinished business
for us.
Our initial run as The Ritchie Family
was short-circuited, causing us to
feel as though the rug was literally
pulled from beneath us. The
contentious relationship we had
with TRF management collapsed
after numerous disagreements and
opposing visions. Later, Cassandra
and Cheryl, who sang background
vocals for John Lennon and Yoko Ono
and who were anticipating going on
tour with them, were devastated by
John’s tragic death. For a long time
after that we thought our music career
was over and turned our attention to
other non-music careers and pursuits.
However, the dream never died; and,
after many years, we came together
again to reform TRF and to reestablish
our music career.
We have had to overcome several
obstacles and setbacks in order to
resume our career as The Ritchie
Family, including acquiring the
ownership of our name. We have
continued to persevere because of our
love of music, our fans, and this career
we have chosen. We know we still
have a lot to offer and plan to give this
new opportunity our best shot.

How do you see yourselves bridging your
disco legacy with today’s music?
There is a misconception about the word “disco” by some.
Disco music is dance music and good dance music never
goes out of style. It is timeless and we believe a good
song will go a long way toward bridging the gap between
yesterday and today. “Ice” is that song for us.
Although we believe our TRF legacy is wonderful, we also
recognize the need for a blend of the old with the new.
As part of our concert line-up, we perform songs from our
repertoire that are considered legacy TRF songs, i.e., The
Best Disco In Town, Brazil and Quiet Village. We also add
current music to round out our show.
TRF’s sound easily blends with today’s music. TRF’s strong
and exciting harmonies, coupled with the unique beats
and the syncopated rhythms of today, are a long-awaited
and welcome change for our fans and us. We expect to
introduce our new fans to a genre of music that has been
under-appreciated and our current fan base to the new and
improved TRF.
Why was “Ice” the right song for you?
“Ice” is a song that has universal appeal. Our audience
has always been diverse and inclusive. People of many
backgrounds and ethnicities appreciate our music. The concept
of melting the ice makes us think about breaking down barriers
and letting in the light to reveal our better, brighter selves.
We envision TRF bringing more new and exciting music to
the scene in the future. In addition, we also believe TRF
is an example and a beacon to all who dream of attaining
deferred goals, but think it is too late. We believe it is never
too late to go for your dreams and that we must always be
“ready for the sun” to shine. Ultimately, we will bring our
new and vibrant sound, along with a message of hope for
all to hear and enjoy.
What are old and new fans going to be
surprised by?
We think fans of The Ritchie Family will be pleasantly
surprised to hear we still have strong voices and can not
only sing our early music like it was originally presented,
but can also deliver fantastic new music.
We believe our existing fan base, which is very devoted,
will be extremely happy to hear new music from TRF
and to see how great we sound. Simultaneously, we will
be introducing new fans to some of TRF’s classics. We
believe new fans will be surprised and excited to hear a socalled
“vintage” group that is back in action, but not singing
only the same old stuff, as if stuck in a loop from the past.
Not only will we surprise everyone with our graceful, classy
maturity, but also by our youthful energy, choreographed
movements and our willingness to embrace the new, while
preserving the old.
For more information on The Ritchie Family, visit their site
www.theritchiefamily.band
“Ice” is the song for which TRF has been waiting for a long time.
It is a perfect song for us because it fits into several genres,
including dance, country, spiritual, and world music. It has broad
appeal and is a unique blend of myriad genres all rolled up into
one exciting musical journey. One minute you are reminiscing
about the past and the next you are up on your feet dancing.
“Ice” really highlights our vocal abilities and pushes us far
beyond the familiar sound for which TRF is known. It shows that
our group can reemerge with a sound that is vibrant, current
and appealing to today’s audiences. This is an overwhelming
and challenging feat; and we are excited about bringing this
wonderful song to the world with its messages of faith, hope,
love, and happiness.
Where do you see the Ritchie Family going
in the next year?
We are fortunate to have fans in many different countries
and we hope to reunite with them again to recapture the
magic. We see TRF traveling and putting on some fantastic
performances all over the world, but especially in Europe,
because we have a large fan base over there and we want to
re-connect with them.