View source for Rich Little

{{short description|Canadian-American impressionist and actor (born 1938)}}
{{Distinguish|Little Richard}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name         = Rich Little
| post-nominals = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|size=100%|OC}}
| image        = Rich Little photo by James DeFrances 2015.jpg
| caption      = Little performing as [[Jack Benny]] in 2015
| birth_name   = Richard Caruthers Little
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1938|11|26}}
| birth_place  = [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| medium       = {{hlist|[[Stand-up comedy]]|television}}
| active       = 1956–present
| genre        = {{hlist|[[Impersonator|Impersonations]]|[[celebrities]]}}
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Jeanne Worden|1971|1989|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Jeannette Markey|1994|1997|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Marie Marotta|2003|2010|end=died}}
* {{marriage|Catherine Brown|2012|2012|end=divorced}}
}}
| domestic_partner = [[Melinda Saxe]] (1988–1991)
| notable_work = 
| signature    = 
| website      = 
| children     = 2
}}
'''Richard Caruthers Little''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC}}<ref name = CC>{{cite web |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/order-canada-appointees-december-2022 |title=Order of Canada appointees – December 2022 |website=[[Governor General of Canada]] |date=December 29, 2022 |access-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref> (born November 26, 1938) is a Canadian-American comedian, [[Impressionist (entertainment)|impressionist]] and voice actor. Sometimes known as the "Man of a Thousand Voices", Little has recorded nine comedy albums and made numerous television appearances, including three [[HBO]] specials.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.greeleytribune.com/2020/02/28/master-impersonator-rich-little-to-perform-at-uccc/ |title=Master impersonator Rich Little to perform at UCCC |first=Tamara |last=Markard |newspaper=Greeley Tribune |date=February 28, 2020 |access-date=January 2, 2025}}</ref>

==Early life==
Little was born in [[Ottawa, Ontario]], Canada, the middle of three sons, older brother Fred and younger brother Chris. His father, Lawrence Peniston Little, was a surgeon who served as a lieutenant commander in the [[Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve]] during [[World War II]] and then worked for the [[Veterans Affairs Canada|Department of Veterans' Affairs]] until his death in 1959.<ref name="gilmour"/> His mother, Elizabeth (Betty) Maud (née Wilson), was a housewife who grew up in [[Sarnia, Ontario]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/7/Rich-Little.html |title=Rich Little Biography (1938-) |website=Filmreference.com |access-date=July 15, 2014}}</ref><ref name="West"/>

A third-generation Canadian, he is descended from English stock on his father's side and Irish on his mother's. On his mother's side, he is descended from [[John Willson]], who was [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the [[5th Parliament of Upper Canada]] in the 1820s. His maternal grandfather was a [[judge]]. His paternal great-grandfather, [[William Carruthers Little]], was a [[Liberal-Conservative]] Member of Parliament in the [[House of Commons of Canada|Canadian House of Commons]] from 1867 to 1881.<ref name="gilmour">{{cite news |last1=Gilmour |first1=Clyde |title=Rich Little alias just about everybody |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1965/11/15/rich-little-alias-just-about-everybody |access-date=July 27, 2020 |magazine=[[Maclean's]] |date=November 15, 1965}}</ref><ref name="West">{{cite news |last1=West |first1=April |title=Talent inherited by son |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ottawa-citizen-impersonator-rich-lit/47528439/ |access-date=August 6, 2024 |newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen]] |date=June 11, 1965}}</ref>

He attended [[Lisgar Collegiate Institute]]. In his early teens, he formed a partnership with [[Geoffrey Scott (politician)|Geoff Scott]], another budding impressionist (and future elected politician), concentrating on reproducing the voices of Canadian politicians such as Prime Minister [[John Diefenbaker]] and Ottawa mayor [[Charlotte Whitton]].

==Career==
===Early career in Canada===
Starting when he was 11, Little acted in two documentary movies for [[Crawley Films]] of Ottawa.<ref name="gilmour"/>

Little was an usher at the [[Elgin Theatre (Ottawa)|Elgin Theatre]] in Ottawa, where he perfected his voices while standing at the back of the theatre. He started his amateur acting career at the [[Ottawa Little Theatre]], winning his first acting award at the Eastern Ontario Drama Festival in Deep River, Ontario for his role as “Bo Decker” in the play ''[[Bus Stop (play)|Bus Stop]]''. At 17, he and his friend and fellow impressionist [[Geoffrey Scott (politician)|Geoff Scott]] won a talent contest on station [[CBOT-DT|CBOT]] in Ottawa, the first time he was paid for his impressionist skills, which led to an appearance on ''[[Pick the Stars]]'', a national talent contest broadcast by [[CBC Television]] in 1956, where the duo tied for first place.<ref name="bh"/> This, in turn, led to an appearance  on ''The [[Jackie Rae]] Show'' during the 1956–57 season during which Little premiered his impression of Ottawa mayor [[Charlotte Whitton]] to a national audience.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jackie-rae-emc |title=Jackie Rae |date=December 16, 2013 |website=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |access-date=January 2, 2025}}</ref>

Little and Scott's comedy team performed at various local events and venues. Still in their teens, they developed a 10-minute act that they performed at [[Shriner]]s' conventions and [[Knights of Columbus]] meetings.<ref name="nyt"/> Scott later entered journalism, and ultimately politics.<ref name="gilmour"/>

Little began as a relief announcer on Ottawa radio station [[CFRA]] as a student during his summer vacations. He also performed comedy sketches with [[Les Lye]] on Lye's morning show. In the early 1960s, he was hired as a [[disc jockey]] on [[CJET]] in Smiths Falls, Ontario. His afternoon-evening shift ran from 4 to 8 pm weekdays, and the show gave him the opportunity to use his impressions on the air.<ref name="bh">{{cite web |title=Rich Little |url=http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/personalities/little-rich |website=Canadian Communication Foundation |access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref><ref name="gilmour"/> In 1961, for 26 weeks, he co-hosted ''Folderol'' a half-hour suppertime show of light humour and interviews on television station [[CBOT-DT|CBOT]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://carleton.ca/tomkinescollection/about/ |title=Kines Chronology |website=The Tom Kines Collection |access-date=January 2, 2025}}</ref>

By the 1960s, Little was taking his act to [[Toronto]], where he performed at [[coffee house]]s, [[nightclub]]s, and other venues.<ref name="nyt"/>

In 1963, Little issued two LPs through the Canadian division of [[Capitol Records]]. The first was ''My Fellow Canadians'' with his radio partner, Les Lye. The album was inspired by [[Vaughn Meader]]'s hit American satirical album ''[[The First Family (album)|The First Family]]'' and concentrated on Canadian political satire, featuring Little impersonating figures well-known to a Canadian audience such as Diefenbaker, [[Lester Pearson]] and [[Tommy Douglas]]. His second album was ''Scrooge and the Stars'', which featured Little acting out [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' entirely on his own, playing all the roles as 22 different Hollywood stars, ranging from [[Jack Benny]] to [[Jack Webb]]. The album was released in early November, but it was withdrawn a few weeks later due to the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], as Little had imitated JFK in the role of the [[Spirit of Christmas Present]] and had Kennedy say the line "Scrooge, my life upon the globe is brief; it ends tonight. In fact, it ends as fast as you can say your name."<ref name="gilmour"/>

===Breaking into the US===
Little's first performance in the US was in December 1963 at [[Guy Lombardo]]'s inn and country club in [[Tierra Verde, Florida]].<ref name="gilmour"/>

Little's American career was helped by [[Peppiatt and Aylesworth]], a Canadian writing team who had moved to Hollywood and worked on various specials and variety series, including ''[[The Judy Garland Show]]''. Familiar with Little's work in Canada, Peppiatt had worked on ''The Jackie Rae Show'' on which Little made a television appearance at 17, and the team had written Little's original Canadian nightclub act and would write much of his American material in the 1960s.<ref name="Rich Little">{{cite web |title=Rich Little |url=https://canadiancomedyhall.com/rich-little/ |website=Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame |access-date=August 11, 2024}}</ref> They played a recording of Little for Garland and the show's musical director, [[Mel Tormé]], and they encouraged her to audition him. Tormé had met Little when they both performed on an episode of ''[[Parade (TV series)|Parade]]'', a [[CBC Television]] variety show in Toronto, and bonded over their love of old movies.<ref name="nyt"/>

The audition won him the job, and in January 1964, Little made his American television debut on [[CBS]]'s ''[[The Judy Garland Show]]'', where he impressed [[Judy Garland|Garland]] by imitating various male celebrities, including [[James Mason]], who had been Garland's co-star in ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]''.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNT8UGydiCQ Rich Little on "''The Judy Garland Show'', 1964"]. 8 min.</ref><ref name="gilmour"/> Television appearances on variety shows hosted by [[Ed Sullivan]], [[Jackie Gleason]], [[Rudy Vallee]], [[Mike Douglas]], [[George Burns]], and [[Al Hirt]] followed over the next two years.<ref name="gilmour"/>

Peppiatt and Aylesworth also helped bring Little on to other American shows for which they wrote, such as ''[[The Jimmy Dean Show]]'', ''[[The Kopykats]]'', and ''[[The Julie Andrews Hour]]'' and continued to write material for his act after he moved to the US permanently at the end of 1965.<ref name="gilmour"/>

In Canada, Little starred in his own show ''The Rich Little Show'', on [[CBC Radio]] in 1966.<ref name="gilmour"/>  He also made his first appearances on ''[[The Dean Martin Show]]'' and ''The Jimmy Dean Show'' during the 1965–1966 season.<ref name="gilmour"/>

In 1965, Little provided the voice for the [[Pink Panther (character)|Pink Panther]] in two cartoons, ''[[Sink Pink]]'' and ''[[Pink Ice]]''; these two cartoons were made by [[DePatie-Freleng Enterprises]] to experiment with giving the Panther dialogue, contrary to him usually being mute. Later in 1993, during the development of the [[The Pink Panther (TV series)|revived ''Pink Panther'' series]], Little was offered the role once again but turned it down in part because he did not recall voicing the character and that he felt giving the Pink Panther a voice would ruin the character. Ultimately, the role went to [[Max Headroom]] star, [[Matt Frewer]], who used a casual American accent in contrast to Little's more posh British accent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Mark |title=Think Pink: The Story of DePatie-Freleng |publisher=BearManor Media |year=2015 |isbn=9781593931698 |language=English}}</ref>

In 1966 and 1967, Little appeared in [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC-TV]]'s [[Judy Carne]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Love on a Rooftop]]'' as the Willises' eccentric neighbour, Stan Parker. He appeared on ''[[That Girl]]'' in 1967 as a writer who impressed [[Marlo Thomas]]' character with his impersonations. He also made two memorable appearances as accident-prone Brother Paul Leonardi on ''[[The Flying Nun]]'' in 1968; it marked one of his few appearances as a character actor rather than an impressionist.  In 1969, he appeared in an episode of ''[[Petticoat Junction]]'' as newly engaged fiancé to Billie Jo in "Billie Jo and the Big Big Star".
[[File:Rich Little Hawaii Five-O 1976.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Little in a publicity photo for ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]'', 1976]]

===Nixon===
During the 1970s, Little made many television appearances portraying American President [[Richard Nixon]], and once performed his impersonation in front of Nixon himself, who Little says did not realize he was imitating him at all and "wondered why I was talking to him in such a funny voice."<ref>{{cite news |title=Rich Little recalls working alongside Judy Garland, Lucille Ball: 'Both were instrumental in my career' |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/rich-little-recalls-working-alongside-judy-garland-lucille-ball-both-were-instrumental-in-my-career |access-date=July 28, 2020 |work=Fox News |date=January 2, 2019}}</ref> In 1972, he portrayed Richard Nixon with the voice and mannerisms of [[Oliver Hardy]] in ''[[Another Nice Mess]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Puchalski |first1=Steven |title=Another Nice Mess (1972) |url=https://www.shockcinemamagazine.com/anothernicemess.html |website=Shock Cinema |access-date=November 15, 2020}}</ref> Little later appeared as Nixon on the soap opera ''[[Santa Barbara (TV series)|Santa Barbara]]'', in a 1991 fantasy sequence regarding Gina's ideal sperm donor.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Episode #1.1721 |series=Santa Barbara |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4508622/?ref_=nm_flmg_eps_tt_1 |website=IMDb}}{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}</ref>

Little was part of an [[April Fool's Day]] prank in 1992 when he appeared on [[NPR]]'s ''[[Talk of the Nation]]'' as Nixon announcing his candidacy for president in the [[1992 United States presidential election]] using the slogan "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Listeners flooded NPR with calls expressing outrage at the announcement, which NPR did not reveal as a hoax until the second half of the program.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alexiou |first1=Joseph |title=In 1992 NPR Reported Nixon Was Running For President Again...And 8 More April Fool's Pranks The Media Has Played |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/april-fools-pranks-media-2011-3#1992--npr-announces-nixon-candidacy-4 |access-date=April 1, 2024 |website=[[Business Insider]] |date=March 31, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Top April Fools's Day Hoaxes |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/best-april-fools-day-pranks/story?id=18842771 |access-date=April 2, 2024 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=April 1, 2013}}</ref>

In 2020, Little developed ''Trial on the Potomac: The Impeachment of Richard Nixon'', a play based on the 2015 book ''The Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the Plot That Brought Nixon Down'' by [[Geoff Shepard]], alleging a conspiracy to remove Nixon from office.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rich Little Offers Vegas Nixon Preview Before Runs in New York & D.C. |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/las-vegas/article/Rich-Little-Offers-Vegas-NIXON-Preview-Before-Runs-in-New-York-DC-20200226 |access-date=July 28, 2020 |website=[[BroadwayWorld]] |date=February 26, 2020}}</ref> Little performed the show [[Off Broadway]] for a five-week run in 2021.<ref>https://trialonthepotomac.com/</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Off-broadway play asks its audience to vote on Nixon's complicity in Watergate |url=https://nypost.com/2021/09/04/off-broadway-play-asks-its-audience-to-vote-on-nixons-complicity-in-watergate/ |access-date=September 6, 2025 |work=New York Post |date=September 4, 2021}}</ref>

===1970s===
Little was a semiregular on the Emmy-winning ABC-TV variety series ''[[The Julie Andrews Hour]]'' in 1972–73. In response to his imitation of [[Jack Benny]], the comedian sent Little an 18-carat gold money clip containing this message: "With [[Bob Hope]] doing my walk and you doing my voice, I can be a star and do nothing."

Little's best-known continuing TV series was ''[[The Kopycats]]'', hour-long segments of ''[[The ABC Comedy Hour]]'', broadcast in 1972. Taped in [[England]], these comedy-variety shows consisted entirely of celebrity impersonations, with the actors in full costume and makeup for every sketch. The cast included Little, [[Frank Gorshin]], [[Marilyn Michaels]], [[George Kirby (comedian)|George Kirby]], British comedian Joe Baker, [[Fred Travalena]], [[Charlie Callas]], and [[Peter Goodwright]].

Little was a regular guest on ''[[The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast]]s'' in the 1970s, appearing in 24 of the specials,<ref name="sands"/> where he roasted celebrities such as [[Don Rickles]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bHsYDH_7I4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/3bHsYDH_7I4 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live |title=6 Rich Little Roasts Rickles.m4v |last=gregsmithsr |date=January 22, 2010 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Jack Benny,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBHiUnFukGU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/uBHiUnFukGU |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Rich Little Roast Jack Benny |last=Briana Tarango |date=July 6, 2014 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Johnny Carson]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaEBz2Sk1kA |title=YouTube |website=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> [[Frank Sinatra]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD1poa0xxaY|title=YouTube |website=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> [[James Stewart|Jimmy Stewart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5SID6x1jJ8 |title=YouTube |website=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> and [[Kirk Douglas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej2J4b5rO0Y |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/Ej2J4b5rO0Y |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live |title=Rich Little roasts Kirk Douglasipad |last=Derrel Maness|date=December 19, 2013 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

''The Rich Little Show'' (1976) on [[NBC]] and ''[[You Asked For It|The New You Asked for It]]'' (1981) were attempts to present Little in his own persona, away from his gallery of characterizations. Little also appeared on a second-season episode of ''[[The Muppet Show]]''.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Garlen |first1=Jennifer C. |last2=Graham |first2=Anissa M. |title=Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets |year=2009 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-4259-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/kermitculturecri0000unse/page/218 218]| url=https://archive.org/details/kermitculturecri0000unse/page/218}}</ref>

The one-man show ''[[Rich Little's Christmas Carol]]'' was his first [[HBO]] special, produced by and originally aired on [[CBC Television]] in December 1978 and airing on HBO in 1979. Little portrayed famous comedians in established roles ([[W. C. Fields]] as [[Ebenezer Scrooge]], [[Paul Lynde]] as [[Bob Cratchit]], et al.). The special won an [[International Emmy Award]] and a [[Rose d'Or]] award.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19791120&id=9n8yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7e4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1186,5214978 |title=Rich Little show takes TV award |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=November 20, 1979 |page=61 |agency=[[The Canadian Press]] |access-date=January 2, 2025}}</ref>

===1980s===
In 1981, Little appeared in a comedy LP called ''The First Family Rides Again'', which was the fourth and final of the ''First Family'' comedy LPs originally created by [[Bob Booker (writer)|Bob Booker]] David Arvedon, and Earle Doud. Little starred along with [[Melanie Chartoff]], [[Michael Richards]], [[Shelley Hack]], [[Jenilee Harrison]], Earle Doud, and [[Vaughn Meader]], making light of U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s first few months in the White House.

Another HBO special followed in 1983 with ''Rich Little's Robin Hood'', including portrayals of [[Groucho Marx]] as Robin Hood, [[Humphrey Bogart]] as Prince John, [[John Wayne]] as Little John, [[Carol Channing]] as Maid Marion, [[Laurel and Hardy]] as Sheriffs of Nottingham, [[George Burns]] as Alan-a-Dale, and various other characters.

Outside of any comedic context, Little's talent for impersonation has been used in movies when an actor's dialogue was impaired by poor health. When [[David Niven]] proved too ill for his voice to be used in his appearances in ''[[Trail of the Pink Panther]]'' (1982) and ''[[Curse of the Pink Panther]]'' (1983), Little provided the overdub as an imitation of Niven's voice. He performed similar duties to dub an imitation of [[James Cagney]]'s stroke-impaired voice in the 1984 TV movie ''[[Terrible Joe Moran]]''{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}} and in the 1991 TV special ''Christmas at the Movies'' by providing an uncredited dub for actor/dancer [[Gene Kelly]], who had lost his voice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sandiegodramaking.blogspot.co.il/2012/06/interview-with-rich-little-master.html |title=Laugh a Lot or a "Little": An interview with Rich Little, the man of a thousand voices |date=June 26, 2012 |access-date=October 17, 2012 |first=Donna |last=Matsuda |website=San Diego Drama King}}</ref>

He also lent his voice to the narration of three specials that were the forerunners for the animated series ''[[The Raccoons]]'': ''[[The Christmas Raccoons]]'' (1980), ''[[The Raccoons on Ice]]'' (1981), and ''[[The Raccoons and the Lost Star]]'' (1983). His brother, Fred Little, voiced the character Cedric Sneer.<ref>{{YouTube|ewGv-DROrU4|''The Christmas Raccoons''}}, {{YouTube|GsDmFklfo0g|''The Raccoons On Ice''}} and {{YouTube|SwRlO9Zz7Ao|''The Raccoons and the Lost Star''.}}</ref>

In 1987, during the ''We the People 200: The Constitutional Gala'' television special, Little personified various historical figures, including [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Edward R. Murrow]], John F. Kennedy, [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], and [[Robert F. Kennedy]]. Little's performance was described as eclectic, impersonating [[Henry Fonda]] as Abraham Lincoln and doing [[Winston Churchill]] giving a rousing speech.<ref>{{cite book |last=Levin |first=Daniel |title=Representing Popular Sovereignty: The Constitution in American Political Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1knt-D9l0AQC&q=churchill |publisher=State Univ. of New York Press |date=January 1, 1999 |pages=94–95 |isbn=978-0-7914-4105-3}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWi6PUVqSw4 "Rich Little impersonates historical figures", 1987]. 6 min.</ref> That same year, he provided the voice of Crispy, the mascot of [[Post Consumer Brands|Post]]'s ''[[Crispy Critters]]'' cereal.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dougherty |first1=Phillip |title=Advertising; Dispelling Doubts for Post Cereal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/31/business/advertising-dispelling-doubts-for-post-cereal.html |access-date=10 October 2025 |date=July 31, 1987}}</ref>

===''The Tonight Show''===
Little was a frequent guest on variety and talk shows in the 1960s and 1970s, and had an unofficial monthly slot on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' for several years, and also guest hosted the program about a dozen times.<ref name="nyt"/> He developed an impression of [[Johnny Carson]], capturing ''The Tonight Show'' host's voice and many onstage mannerisms, and later played Carson in the HBO TV movie ''[[The Late Shift (film)|The Late Shift]]''. Little's appearances on the ''Tonight Show'' ended without notice after his August 1982 appearance. Little claims in his biography that he was banned because Carson was offended by his impression, and this claim was supported by Henry Bushkin, Carson's long-time lawyer, who stated that nobody got under Carson's skin more than Little.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldweekly.com/surprising-facts-from-the-johnny-carson-show/26/ |title=Surprising Facts From The Johnny Carson Show |first=Erika |last=Burch |date=September 18, 2024 |website=Herald Weekly |access-date=January 2, 2025}}</ref>  Little had been doing the impression since the early 1970s, though, a decade prior to his bookings on the show coming to an end, including performing the impression to the ''Tonight Show'' host's face when Carson was the guest of honor at ''[[The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast|The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of Johnny Carson]]'' in 1973.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bestclassicbands.com/rich-little-johnny-carson-3-6-19/ |title=Rich Little: 'Man of a Thousand Voices' |date=November 26, 2020 |website=Best Classic Bands}}</ref> In response to Little's claims, [[Fred DeCordova]], Carson's producer, said they just were not interested in hiring him any more due to his lack of new impressions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/06/13/rich-little-left-out-of-tonight/ |title=Rich Little Left Out of 'Tonight' |first=Marilyn |last=Beck |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=June 13, 1985}}</ref>

===Las Vegas career===
Little has been appearing in Las Vegas since the mid-1960s, when he had dates at the [[Golden Nugget Las Vegas|Golden Nugget]]<ref name="gilmour"/> and went on to play at other Vegas venues such as [[Sands Hotel and Casino|The Sands]], where he debuted in 1969 with a two-year contract. In 1973, he performed at [[Caesars Palace]] for four weeks as the opening act for [[The Osmonds]]. He then appeared at the [[Desert Inn]] with [[Juliet Prowse]] for a month in 1974. His appearances continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s; he headlined at the Desert Inn for eight years in the late 1970s and 1980s, at the [[MGM Grand Las Vegas|MGM Grand]] with [[Nell Carter]] in 1985; at [[Bally's Las Vegas|Bally's]], with [[Charo]] in 1986; the Sands in 1991 and 1992, and at the Golden Nugget again in 1991.<ref name="sands">{{cite news |title=Impersonator's goal is to make audience think of someone else |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/impersonators-goal-is-to-make-audience-think-of-someone-else/ |access-date=July 28, 2020 |newspaper=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]] |date=August 9, 2009}}</ref>

With opportunities for him to work in television and film in decline, and his television work almost completely drying up by the mid-1980s, the focus of Little's career shifted from Hollywood to Las Vegas.<ref name="nyt"/> The decline in his career was blamed in part on him not having updated his repertory of impressions with younger voices, a fact he blames on recent generations of actors using a naturalistic delivery that makes their voices less distinctive. "It's much easier to do [[Humphrey Bogart]] than [[Tom Cruise]]," he said. "How do you imitate [[Brad Pitt]]? [[George Clooney]]? Wouldn't mean anything."<ref name="nyt"/>

Little sold his house in Los Angeles and relocated to Las Vegas in 1990, and bought a home in 1992,<ref name="house"/> when he signed an exclusive, long-term contract with the [[Sahara Las Vegas|Sahara]], staging a revamped version of ''The Kopykats'' with other impersonators. He later moved to [[Paris Las Vegas]], where he starred in ''The Presidents'', a play on nine Presidents of the United States from Kennedy to [[George W. Bush]], starting in 2002.<ref name="sands"/> In 2004, he moved to the [[Suncoast Hotel and Casino|Suncoast]].<ref name="sands"/>

In the early 2010s, he performed a one-man show, ''Jimmy Stewart and Friends'', based on the life of the actor, at the [[Westgate Las Vegas|Westgate]] hotel, and on tour.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |title=A Spot-On Impression of a Stubborn Survivor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/theater/rich-littles-many-characters-in-jimmy-stewart-friends.html |access-date=July 28, 2020 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 17, 2013 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> After the death of Stewart in the late 1990s, Rich recorded the crosswalk messages for intersections in Stewart's hometown of [[Indiana, Pennsylvania]], using his imitation of the star's voice.

From 2015 until 2024, Little was a regular performer at the [[Laugh Factory]] in the [[Tropicana Las Vegas|Tropicana]] hotel in Las Vegas.<ref name="lat"/> His one-hour show, ''Rich Little Live!'', was a career retrospective including video highlights from his TV career, and was performed five nights a week.<ref name="wt"/> Throughout the show, he displayed many of the charcoal sketches he has drawn of the celebrities he has impersonated.<ref name="lat">{{cite news |title=Rich Little brings his cavalcade of celebrity impersonations back to the Las Vegas stage |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/lasvegas/lasvegasnow/la-tr-lvn-las-vegas-shows-rich-little-20150624-story.html |first=Susan |last=Stapleton |access-date=January 2, 2025 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=June 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.overtoncountynews.com/arts_and_entertainment/rich-little-still-impresses/article_6a093a4c-a27d-11e9-a76a-732f0ed5617b.html |title=Rich Little still impresses |date=May 16, 2023|newspaper=Overton County News |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The Tropicana closed in April 2024 and was subsequently demolished to make way for [[New Las Vegas Stadium|a new stadium]] for the [[Oakland Athletics|Athletics]] baseball team for when it moves to Las Vegas from [[Oakland]] in 2028. Little said he intended to move to the relocated Laugh Factory once a new site on the [[Las Vegas Strip]] was found for the club.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tropicana's shows will survive hotel demolition |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/tropicanas-shows-will-survive-hotel-demolition-2990052/ |access-date=April 2, 2024 |first=John |last=Katsilometes |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=January 29, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Las Vegas says goodbye to historic Tropicana hotel with huge implosion |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10802915/tropicana-hotel-implosion-las-vegas/ |access-date=January 13, 2025 |work=Global News |date=October 9, 2024}}</ref>

Since September 2025, Little has been in residency at the [[Tuscany Suites and Casino]]'s Copa Room, performing his one-hour show three nights a week.<ref>{{cite news |title=Legendary Comedian and Impressionist Rich Little Joins Tuscany Suites & Casino's Copa Room Show |url=https://nevadabusiness.com/2025/09/legendary-comedian-and-impressionist-rich-little-joins-tuscany-suites-casinos-copa-room-show/ |access-date=September 5, 2025 |work=Nevada Business |date=September 3, 2025}}</ref>

===Other appearances since 2000===
Little was the host for the 2007 [[White House Correspondents' Association]] dinner. Although President George W. Bush was reported to have enjoyed Little's performance, it was panned by some reviewers for "his ancient jokes and impressions of dead people (Johnny Carson, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan)."<ref>{{cite news |last=Akers |first=Mary Ann |url= http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/04/how_they_wound_up_with_rich_li.html |title=Rich Little Bravely Answers Washington's Call |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date= April 23, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Richard |url=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2007/04/23/every_day_is_a_whining_rove.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427161415/http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2007/04/23/every_day_is_a_whining_rove.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 27, 2007 |title=Every day is a whining Rove |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date= April 23, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Harper |first=Tim |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/04/23/jokes_leave_washington_a_little_cold.html |title=Jokes leave Washington a Little cold |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date= April 23, 2007}}</ref>

Little appeared as a [[guest star]] in ''[[Futurama]]'' [[Futurama season 2|season two]] episode "[[Raging Bender]]" and the film ''[[Futurama: Bender's Game]]'', playing his own [[List of recurring characters in Futurama#Celebrity heads|celebrity head]], impersonating [[Howard Cosell]].

In 2017, Little released his [[memoir]], ''Little by Little: People I Have Known and Been''.<ref name="wt">{{cite news |title=Rich Little: 'Little by Little' |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/23/comedian-rich-little-releases-book-hollywood-caree/ |access-date=July 28, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] |date=January 23, 2017}}</ref>  In 2021, ''[[CBS News Sunday Morning]]'' profiled Little; during the interview, he stated he believed it was the first time he had been on [[Big Three (television networks)|network television]] in 30 years, and hoped it would "go over well!"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rich-little-still-making-a-great-impression/ |title=Rich Little: Still making a great impression |website=CBS News Sunday Morning |date=May 30, 2021}}</ref>

In 2018, he appeared as himself in the documentary ''[[They'll Love Me When I'm Dead]]'' about [[Orson Welles]]' final film ''[[The Other Side of the Wind]]''. Little was in the original 1974 cast but left for other commitments and his scenes were reshot with [[Peter Bogdanovich]] playing the part. Bogdanovich completed directing the film in 2018 after Welles died in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wellesnet.com/rich-little-on-working-with-orson-welles-on-the-other-side-of-the-wind/ |title=Rich Little on working with Orson Welles on The Other Side of the Wind |date=October 29, 2010 |website=Wellesnet}}</ref>  Little is credited as a party guest in ''The Other Side of the Wind''.

Little was a frequent guest on ''[[Huckabee]]'', former Arkansas Governor [[Mike Huckabee]]'s talk show on the [[Trinity Broadcast Network]], having appeared more often than any other guest. His last appearance was on the series finale, January 11, 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Huckabee - January 11, 2025|url= https://www.huckabee.tv/guests/rich-little|website=TBN+ |access-date=January 13, 2025}}</ref>

===Honours===
Little was named "Comedy Star of the Year" by the [[American Guild of Variety Artists]] in 1974.<ref name="walk">{{cite web |title=Rich Little |url=https://walkoffame.com/rich-little/ |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |date=October 25, 2019 |access-date=August 11, 2024}}</ref>

He was given a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1983.<ref name="walk"/>

In 1998, Little was inducted into [[Canada's Walk of Fame]], and into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame in 1999. He was given a star on the [[Las Vegas Walk of Stars]] in 2005.<ref name="sands"/>

In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the [[Palm Springs, California]], [[Palm Springs Walk of Stars|Walk of Stars]] was dedicated to him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf |title=Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated |access-date=July 15, 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013165655/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf |archive-date=October 13, 2012 }}</ref>
He was inducted into the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame in 2001.<ref name="Rich Little"/>

Little was appointed to the [[Order of Canada]] in 2022, with the rank of Officer.<ref name=CC/>

==Other interests==
Little has been active in several charities, including the [[Juvenile Diabetes Cure Alliance|Juvenile Diabetes Fund]] and the [[Children's Miracle Network]]. He has been named to [[Miami Children's Hospital]] International Pediatrics Hall of Fame and been honoured by the naming of the Rich Little Special Care Nursery at [[Ottawa Civic Hospital]]. He has been a major supporter in helping veterans through the [[Gary Sinise Foundation]].

==Personal life==
Little was engaged to Canadian actress Jean Christopher in 1965, but they did not marry.<ref name="gilmour"/>

Little was married to Jeanne Worden, whom he met when she was working as a secretary on ''[[The Joey Bishop Show (talk show)|The Joey Bishop Show]]'', in 1971. The couple had a daughter together, Bria, before their divorce in 1989.<ref name="citizen"/> Little had a brief relationship with Lalette Cottrell, of Delaware; the couple had a daughter together, Lyndsay (born 1988).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-23-vw-1425-story.html |title=Names in the News: Rich Little Files for Custody |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=February 23, 1990 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805132948/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-23-vw-1425-story.html |archive-date=August 5, 2019 |access-date=August 22, 2020}}</ref>

Little was engaged to magician [[Melinda Saxe]], but she broke-off the three-year relationship in 1991, saying she had discovered he had secretly videotaped them having sex in 1988. Saxe sued Little for defamation, invasion of privacy, and inflicting emotional distress, claiming he had joked about their relationship on stage.<ref>{{cite news |title=Woman Says Rich Little Videotaped Lovemaking |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1992-01-05-9201050383-story.html |access-date=July 27, 2020 |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=January 5, 1992}}</ref> Little claimed the videotaping was consensual.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Macy |first1=Robert |title=Rich Little Says Seamy Saga Likely to Go On |url=https://apnews.com/41f6df29337192efcfb94eb477fab7b9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727161113/https://apnews.com/41f6df29337192efcfb94eb477fab7b9 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |access-date=July 27, 2020 |work=Associated Press |date=January 22, 1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Little to replace ex-fiancee at hotel |url=https://tulsaworld.com/archive/little-to-replace-ex-fiancee-at-hotel/article_325e76bc-b1f2-5b05-b144-cde9790ac0e8.html |access-date=July 27, 2020 |newspaper=[[Tulsa World]] |agency=Associated Press |date=January 17, 1992}}</ref> The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.<ref name="citizen">{{cite news |title=Laugh Lines |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/ottawa-citizen/20070819/281913063720979 |access-date=July 27, 2020 |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=August 19, 2007}}</ref>

He married comedian and impressionist Jeannette Markey in 1994;<ref>{{cite news |title=Marrying Rich |url=https://people.com/archive/marrying-rich-vol-42-no-20/ |access-date=July 27, 2020 |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=November 14, 1994}}</ref> they divorced in 1997. He was married to Marie Marotta from 2003 until her death in 2010 of a deliberate overdose of sleeping pills after years of suffering from migraines and chronic pain.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lofaro |first=Tony |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/health/Rich+Little+wife+dies+apparent+overdose/3286920/story.html |title=Rich Little's wife dies of apparent overdose |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=July 16, 2010}}</ref> He married his fourth wife, Catherine Brown, a former reality show contestant,<ref>{{cite news |title=Rich Little plans fourth marriage |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/rich-little-plans-fourth-marriage/ |access-date=July 27, 2020 |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 8, 2011}}</ref> in a private ceremony in 2012; they divorced in October of that year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lofaro |first=Tony |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/Entertainment/Rich+Little/6801943/story.html |title=Rich Little remarries, finds new bride on the web |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date= June 18, 2012}}</ref>

In 2010, Little became a [[naturalized citizen of the United States]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/impressionist-rich-little-becomes-u-s-citizen-1.952732 |title=Impressionist Rich Little becomes U.S. citizen |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[CBC News]] |date=January 8, 2010 |access-date=November 16, 2015}}</ref><ref name="house">{{cite news |last1=Ryon |first1=Ruth |title=Big Names Buy Little House |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-31-re-22105-story.html |access-date=July 27, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=July 31, 1994}}</ref> Politically, he is a [[conservative]] and has described himself as "basically a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]",<ref>{{cite news |last1=Romensko |first1=Jim |title=WHCA dinner entertainer says he's "basically a Republican" |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2007/whca-dinner-entertainer-says-hes-basically-a-republican/ |website=[[Poynter Institute]] |access-date=January 2, 2025 |date=January 20, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rich Little: "Conservative" Whore has them Laughing |url=https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/4/22/326299/ |access-date=May 13, 2024 |work=Daily Kos |date=April 22, 2007}}</ref> though his act has generally been non-partisan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rich Little would fail in today's humorless political era: Viewpoint |url=https://www.masslive.com/opinion/2016/01/rich_little_would_fail_in_toda.html |newspaper=[[The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts)|The Republican]] |location=Springfield Mass |date=January 22, 2016}}</ref> In 2021, he asserted to the ''[[Daily Beast]]'' his belief that [[Donald Trump]] [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election#Stop the Steal|won]] the [[2020 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Rich Little Doesn't Just Impersonate Richard Nixon. He Supports Him. |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/rich-little-doesnt-just-impersonate-richard-nixon-he-supports-him |access-date=May 14, 2024 |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=August 16, 2021}}</ref>

Little's older brother, Fred, was a social worker and voice actor who was the original voice of Cederic Sneer in ''[[The Raccoons]]''. Fred Little also performed in smaller venues as an impressionist in his own right<ref>{{cite news |title=Looking Back — July 8, 2022 |url=https://www.brandonsun.com/calendars/2022/07/08/looking-back-july-8-2022 |access-date=August 6, 2024 |newspaper=[[The Brandon Sun]] |date=July 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Prescott: Light up the Night |url=https://archive.sdgcounties.ca/uploads/r/dundas-county-archives/2/2/d/22d459aff277e3003e323c3d9a835ef3271cee6b9ab220bd7f7e53b62f23f8bc/1996-12-04.pdf |access-date=August 6, 2024 |newspaper=The Chieftain |location=Iroquois, Ont |page=3 |date=December 5, 1996}}</ref> and appeared on the ''[[Tonight Show with Johnny Carson]]'' on January 25, 1979 and an episode of ''[[An Evening at the Improv]]'' in 1990, both times with Rich Little hosting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12304332/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_i728 |title=Episode #6.23 |website=[[IMDb]]}}{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}</ref> Younger brother Chris was a commercial artist who designed the covers of Little's albums.<ref name="West"/>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|514648|Rich Little}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{cite web |url= https://youtube.com/watch?v=3RwN5lAQXZE  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/3RwN5lAQXZE |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|title= Talktails #031: The Man of A Thousand Voices -- Rich Little |date=July 3, 2012 |website=Vegas Video Network |via=YouTube }}{{cbignore}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Rich}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian impressionists (entertainers)]]
[[Category:Canadian male film actors]]
[[Category:Canadian male television actors]]
[[Category:Canadian male voice actors]]
[[Category:Canadian stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:Canadian radio personalities]]
[[Category:Canadian whistlers]]
[[Category:American impressionists (entertainers)]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:American stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:American radio personalities]]
[[Category:American whistlers]]
[[Category:Capitol Records artists]]
[[Category:Colgems Records artists]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Richard Nixon]]
[[Category:Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Las Vegas shows]]
[[Category:Animal impersonators]]
[[Category:Lisgar Collegiate Institute alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Male actors from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Male actors from Las Vegas]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:Comedians from Ottawa]]
[[Category:Canadian Comedy Award winners]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian male comedians]]
[[Category:American male comedians]]