Little by Little

Book excerpt: “How did I become an impersonator? Perhaps my mother was conceived by a Zerox machine!” So, how did a kid from Ottawa, Canada, growing up in the ’50s become an impressionist? No one in our family had ever been in show business. No one ever had “show biz” yearnings. My father was a doctor. My mother was a housewife. So where did my desire to become an impressionist come from? I’ve often asked myself this question. I didn’t know the answer, but I did love the movies. As a boy, I would go every weekend, sometimes staying to see the show twice. Just going to the movies and getting so involved in the storytelling and the characters made me want to be that person up on the screen, never dreaming that I could turn it into a career. The glory days of Hollywood and their icons, like no other, have remained as indelible images in our hearts and minds for decades. I, like many, idolized these giants of the screen and comedy, but was so fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet, work with, and get to know many of them along the way during my career. From the genius of Jack Benny, the unmatched humor of George Burns, the debonair, handsome Cary Grant, the unforgettable John Wayne, the king of late night hosts Johnny Carson, and the former actor-turned-president Ronald Reagan to name a few. In this gem of a book are insights into the likes of many of these great people I’ve had the privilege and fortune to meet and imitate, shining new light on our beloved stars. This is really not a biography, but more of a humorous glimpse of the people I’ve impersonated and some of the funny stories that happened along the way.