Well, it's no surprise that Stephen Colbert wasn't invited back to speak at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, after last year's event (plus the fact I don't think they invite the same speakers back year after year), but I wasn't prepared for the choice they've come up with to speak at this year's dinner.
Impersonator Rich Little.
I agree with Editor & Publisher that this choice seems a little...safe? I mean, getting someone who was last popular in the early 80s to speak at the annual dinner seems a little odd. I mean, he'll probably do an impersonation of President Bush, but I can't see it going beyond light satire (if there's any satire at all). Nothing against Little. He's a talented guy of course. But it's almost as if they said, "last year we had a big banana split, with hot fudge and sprinkles and whipped cream. This year we're just going with a small dish of vanilla, please."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-16-2007 @ 8:39PM
Gene said...
Wow... I mean, I won't say the obvious ("Is Rich Little still alive?!") but I will make the next most obvious comment:
Does Rich Little still WORK?
I mean, they could have hired... well, the list of 1970s hasbeens is extremely long... Bert Convy? Joyce Brothers? How about Norm Crosby?
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1-16-2007 @ 9:09PM
Vito said...
I've seen his Bush on Letterman, too. He was on during Impressionist Week. It really wasn't very good. Not only that, but even his old reliable ones looked a bit rusty. He might surprise everyone, but I'm predicting that bringing him on to entertain a room full of people who will then proceed to write about it in detail is not the best idea.
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1-17-2007 @ 1:01AM
Donnie said...
Bert Convy is no longer available.
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1-17-2007 @ 1:15AM
Avi Forstein said...
If they want a very funny impersonator, they should have gone with Frank Caliendo. His interpretations of Bush, Clinton, John Madden, David Letterman, Jim Rome, etc. should be evidence enough that he is good. The President would have loved him.
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1-17-2007 @ 1:21AM
Mark said...
Next year, they should just get out a turntable and play an Allan Sherman record.
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1-17-2007 @ 4:17AM
Mark said...
The sad thing is, the White House Correspondents' "corps" are pretty much pussies, with very few exceptions (MSNBC's guy comes to mind as someone who stands up and challenges, as well as the old broad who did the vid with Colbert last year). And they definitely don't like being told that their whole mission of sound-biting everything happening in washington, as Colbert did, is just wrong for the American people.
I hear they wanted Henny Youngman for this year, but found out he was dead. So they got the next closest thing.
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1-17-2007 @ 10:54AM
corbett said...
Well, this is easy. They went with Rich Little because he's been doing the same Ronald Reagan impersonation for 30 years... and who, more than anyone else, would Bush want to rise from the grave and rescue him from the crapfest he's created? That's right - Reagan. And Rich Little will do his Reagan impersonation, and Bush will smile and smirk and laugh like a kid. He'll turn to whomever is sitting next to him, nod a little, and comment "heh heh, its like he's standing right there heh heh"
And it'll just be another night for happy dreams for a commander-in-chief who can't face the reality around him. That's why they got Rich Little.
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1-17-2007 @ 6:24PM
Nick said...
Hopefully he is still alive by the WHCA...
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