Impressionist (entertainment)

The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to keep pace with current events.

This may have been because Frank had such distinctive mannerisms and dress sense which gave performers a number of visual shortcuts to cover for failings in their abilities.

In the 1990s, there was a certain absence of impressionists on television, with the demise of Spitting Image and Rory Bremner mainly concentrating on political figures (notably John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and also members of the Royal Family).

Jimmy Fallon, a Saturday Night Live alumnus and current host of NBC's The Tonight Show, rose to fame with stand-up comedy routines featuring impressions of many celebrities in various scenarios.

Fellow Saturday Night Live alumni Darrell Hammond, Bill Hader, and Jay Pharoah have been cited as 'master impressionists', each having performed impressions of over 80 different celebrities on the show.

Voice actors who are or were known for their celebrity impressions include Daws Butler, Mel Blanc, Don Messick, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, James Arnold Taylor and Rob Paulsen.

Nerella Venumadhav imitates world politicians, film artists, singers, poets, scenes from Shakespeare's plays, popular movies including musical notes.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, prior to the advent of high quality recording, animal and bird impressionists were popular on stage as entertainers.