# Stephen Colbert? too cutting edge. Bring on Rich Little! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672 "2007-01-27T02:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/1 "2007-01-27T02:37:55Z")
Last year, the White House Correspondents had Stephen Colbert as their main event at their annual roast. With the Prez sitting within arm’s length, Mr. Colbert said a few things that, well, might be seen as a tad disrespectful of the Decider-in-Chief: > [@Stephen Colbert](#): > > “The greatest thing about this man is he’s steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday.” > … > “I stand by this man [Bush] because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.” This year, the Correspondents are, uh, going in a different direction, shall we say? They’ve invited noted comic, Rich Little, to give them such cutting edge political humour as > [@](#): > > …the impersonations of eight cartoon characters, three Muppets and more than 100 deceased celebrities including Groucho Marx, John Wayne, Liberace, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. I don’t quite see how you can mimic silent film actors, but I guess that’s a measure of Rich Little’s art… Full story here: [Is Little’s act a bit too late?](http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=18848b4a-05e3-441b-ac79-ca23091f3f96) ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/2 "2007-01-27T02:54:45Z")
Just another sad, sad example of the White House Correspondents, like the press in general, afraid to speak truth to power. [QUOTE=Northern Piper] …I don’t quite see how you can mimic silent film actors, but I guess that’s a measure of Rich Little’s art… [/QUOTE] Which of the mentioned are silent film actors? Laurel and Hardy? Early films, yes, but more talkies than silents. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/3 "2007-01-27T02:55:08Z")
I do a good Rich Little impression . . . ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/4 "2007-01-27T03:29:59Z")
[QUOTE=postcards] Which of the mentioned are silent film actors? Laurel and Hardy? Early films, yes, but more talkies than silents. [/QUOTE] Sorry - must be my own lack of knowledge in this area - I’ve only seen Laurel & Hardy in silents, never talkies. :smack: I take back my erroneous slagging of Mr. Little in this regard. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/5 "2007-01-27T04:26:05Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] I don’t quite see how you can mimic silent film actors [/QUOTE] He sounds just like they didn’t! [QUOTE=postcards] Just another sad, sad example of the White House Correspondents, like the press in general, afraid to speak truth to power. [/quote] Colbert didn’t really see himself as speaking truth to power, he just wanted to be funny - and luckily he did both. I wouldn’t expect either one from Rich Little. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/6 "2007-01-27T04:32:35Z")
I’m pretty sure that when they announced this, I heard the collective voice of everyone in the nation under 30 saying, “Who?”. I honestly, deep in my heart thought Rich Little was dead. To beat it all, the promoters reportedly told him to take it easy on Bush. (They later denied this.) ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/7 "2007-01-27T04:38:04Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] To beat it all, the promoters reportedly told him to take it easy on Bush. (They later denied this.) [/QUOTE] You know how cutting Rich Little can be. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/8 "2007-01-27T04:52:59Z")
Gee, talk about cutting edge. I guess **Larry Storch** had prior commitments. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/9 "2007-01-27T05:53:18Z")
…and with Frank Gorshin dead… Gorshin always added an amphetamine edge to his impressions. Who would he do today? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/10 "2007-01-27T07:32:43Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] I’m pretty sure that when they announced this, I heard the collective voice of everyone in the nation under 30 saying, “Who?”. I honestly, deep in my heart thought Rich Little was dead. To beat it all, the promoters reportedly told him to take it easy on Bush. (They later denied this.) [/QUOTE] Didn’t Rich Little do a guest spot on an episode of Futurama? ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/11 "2007-01-27T10:46:00Z")
Rich Little is one of the most overrated impersonators of all time. His rise to fame was based on his ability to do Richard Nixon, whom he somewhat resembles physically and vocally anyway, so what’s the big trick? I have never once been tempted to go see the man. His material is weak, and his impressions are lame and obvious. He’s gonna stink up the room at the shindig. I won’t link to the copyrighted material on YouTube, but presumably Rich has permission. Click on the Letterman YouTube link for a [cite](http://www.richlittle.com/) that will show you how lame he is. He starts of the act with the statement “One of the secrets of staying on top in this business is to always be doing new people.” He then proceeds to do Andy Rooney, Ronald Reagan and Johnny Carson. Real fresh stuff, friend. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/12 "2007-01-27T14:10:51Z")
I, too, had long assumed Rich Little was dead. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/13 "2007-01-27T15:00:14Z")
I’m not sure I understand the complaint. Is he supposed to deliberately select someone he knows can’t stand him or something? ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/14 "2007-01-27T16:15:03Z")
Oddly enough, at this very moment I’m watching Rich Little doing Johnny Carson on an old Flip Wilson Show on TVLand. Both Kevin Spacey and Kevin Pollak do Johnny better. [The New Yorker’s take on Rich Little for the correspondent’s dinner.](http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/070129ta_talk_goldberg) ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/15 "2007-01-27T16:24:17Z")
I just read somewhere that someone asked Rich Little to name young comedians he likes and he singled out the 54-year old Robin Williams. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/16 "2007-01-27T16:24:17Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I’m not sure I understand the complaint. Is he supposed to deliberately select someone he knows can’t stand him or something? [/QUOTE] Bush doesn’t choose the speaker, the WH correspondents (or someone working for them) do. I don’t think the complaint is that the WH correspondents should pick someone every year who they know will rip into the president, but that this year they went to rudiculous lengths to pick someone who was “safe”, and as a result ended up with a comedian who hasn’t been relavant in decades, and even then wasn’t that funny, just to make sure that the Leader of the Free World didn’t have to put up with any jokes at his expense. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/17 "2007-01-27T16:24:50Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I’m not sure I understand the complaint. Is he supposed to deliberately select someone he knows can’t stand him or something? [/QUOTE] He who? It is my understanding that the dinner is put on by the White House Correspondent’s Association, not the President. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/18 "2007-01-27T16:41:36Z")
The Robin Williams quote is in that New Yorker piece linked above. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/19 "2007-01-28T00:27:22Z")
If Iraq is out of bounds, Rich could probably recycle some Vietnam gags instead. Hurricane Katrina would also be good material for Little-- nothing sounds funnier than a drowning Cajun. And of course everyone will be eagerly anticipating Little’s hilariously authentic-sounding impression of a semi-orgasmic W. frantically dry-humping German chancellor Angela Merkel. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672/20 "2007-01-28T00:42:58Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] I’m pretty sure that when they announced this, I heard the collective voice of everyone in the nation under 30 saying, “Who?”. I honestly, deep in my heart thought Rich Little was dead. [/QUOTE] that was my reaction. “rich little? you mean the crazy squealing black singer on the geico commercials?” maybe it’s because lots of those impressions are before my time (I wasn’t born yet when Reagan was in office or Johnny Carson was on TV. I haven’t the foggiest idea who Andy Rooney was… or is, but apparently he’s not the cop from that ancient black-and-white show…) but I laughed more at this thread than I did at the youtube clip. oh well. I don’t expect they have many high school students at the white house thing, so I don’t think it matters if the comedian is old. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colbert-too-cutting-edge-bring-on-rich-little/389672.md?page=2)