Will Ferrell

John "Will" William Ferrell (born July 16, 1967) is a Golden Globe nominated comedian, impressionist, and actor who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live.

Biography

Ferrell was born in Irvine, California to Lee Ferrell (a keyboardist for The Righteous Brothers) and Kay Overman. He attended Rancho San Joaquin Middle School and University High School in Irvine and became interested in performing while making his school's daily morning announcements over the public address system in disguised voices. He then enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he studied Sports Broadcasting and was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. After graduating in 1989, Ferrell developed his improvisation skills as a member of the comedy group The Groundlings.

Saturday Night Live

As SNL legend tells it, Will Ferrell got his job at NBC by pulling a clever stunt on the show's longtime producer, Lorne Michaels. It's a tradition of the show that prospective cast members sit down with Lorne and have a "final interview." Will arrived with a suitcase full of monopoly money and said, "I'm prepared to do anything to be on this show, Mr. Michaels." Lorne enjoyed his deadpan shtick so much, he gave an enthusiastic approval to Will.

During his time on SNL, Ferrell made a name for himself with impersonations of
* U.S. President George W. Bush ("strategery" was one of several "Bushisms" created by Ferrell during skits about the 2000 campaign),
* announcer Harry Caray,
* singer Robert Goulet (crooning a cappella pieces of music by Sisqó, Baha Men, and Notorious B.I.G.),
* singer Neil Diamond,
* Inside the Actors Studio personality James Lipton,
* Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy,
* U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno,
* convicted Uni-Bomber Ted Kaczynski,
* game show host Alex Trebek, and
* professional wrestler-turned-Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura.

His original characters included "Morning Latte" co-host Tom Wilkins, music teacher Marty Culp, Spartan cheerleader Craig Buchanan, Dale Sturtevant "Dissing Your Dog", and night clubber Steve Butabi in a sketch that became the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury.

His final performance as a regular on Saturday Night Live was May 18, 2002, in which the real Alex Trebek made an appearance at the end of the last Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch. Ferrell then followed in the footsteps of fellow SNL alumni by switching to a career focused on movies.

Ferrell returned to Saturday Night Live as a guest host on May 14, 2005. In one sketch, he reprised his role as Robert Goulet, advertising a series of crooned ringtones. Also on the same episode, during the performance of the song "Little Sister" by musical guests Queens of the Stone Age, Ferrell came onstage playing the cowbell: this was in reference to a famous 2000 sketch in which he portrayed Gene Frenkle, a member of Blue Öyster Cult, who plays the cowbell in the sketch during the band's recording of (Don't Fear) The Reaper. (Eric Bloom has claimed credit as the band's cowbell player on the original track.) He also reprised his famous role as Alex Trebek in Celebrity Jeopardy! with Darrell Hammond also reprising his role as Sean Connery, Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby, and Amy Poehler as Sharon Osbourne.

He hosted the USC School of Cinema-Television?s 75th Anniversary Gala 1, where his alma mater was recognized as the first educational institution of its kind in the country.

The Frat Pack

Ferrell is part of the unofficial Frat Pack group that also includes Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Jack Black. This group of actors has worked with one another numerous times in several collaborations from movies to show appearances to award shows. Ferrell's first official connection to the frat pack could be considered the 2001 release Zoolander, in which Ben Stiller starred and directed alongside Owen Wilson with Vince Vaughn in a cameo appearance.

Ferrell's frat pack filmography includes Old School, Starsky & Hutch, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy, and Wedding Crashers.

Awards and nominations

2005 Golden Raspberry Awards

Two nominations:
* Worst Actor (Bewitched & Kicking & Screaming)
* Worst Screen Couple (with Nicole Kidman, for Bewitched)

Personal life

He married Swedish actress Viveca Paulin in August 2000 and became father to Magnus Paulin Ferrell in 2004. Since meeting his wife, he has learned to speak some Swedish. He also became an avid runner during this period of time, training for and running in some marathons with his wife. Ferrell has supported liberal causes, including filming an internet ad for the anti-Bush group America Coming Together in which he did his famous impersonation of Bush.

Filmography

*Criminal Hearts (1995)
*Men Seeking Women (1997)
*Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
*The Thin Pink Line (1998)
*A Night at the Roxbury (1998) (also writer)
*The Suburbans (1999)
*Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
*Dick (1999)
*Superstar (1999)
*Drowning Mona (2000)
*The Ladies Man (2000)
*Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
*Zoolander (2001)
*Boat Trip (2002)
*Old School (2003)
*Elf (2003)
*Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party (2004) (documentary)
*Starsky & Hutch (2004)
*Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) (also writer)
*Melinda and Melinda (2004)
*The Wendell Baker Story (2005)
*Kicking & Screaming (2005)
*Bewitched (2005)
*Wedding Crashers (2005)
*Winter Passing (2005)
*The Producers (2005)
*Curious George (2006) (voice)
Upcoming:
*Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
*Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
*Joan of Bark: The Dog That Saved France (2006)
*Blades of Glory (2007)

Television Work

*Saturday Night Live (cast member from 1995-2002)
*Cow and Chicken (1997-2001) (voice in various episodes)
*Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2000 (2000)
*The Oblongs (2001-2002) (voice)

See also

* Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches

External links

*
* Will Ferrell Online

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