Little Big Men: Impressionist increases fan base mimicking presidents

Rich Little, who made a name for himself with impersonations of Richard Nixon and Johnny Carson, is closing in on 30 years of entertaining on the Strip.

      The new Hollywood hasn't been good to Rich Little, but politicians never let him down.
      Ever heard anyone imitate Tom Cruise? Tom Hanks? Val Kilmer or Sam Neill?
      "They are big stars and they draw big salaries, yet a majority of people would not even know what they sound like," notes the veteran impressionist.
      Even if he were to nail their voices, "their speaking voices are not too interesting," he adds. "People would go, `Well, it sounds like him,' but it wouldn't get a reaction."
      Fortunately, Little has 200 other voices in his repertoire, including a streak of eight presidents. "Politics has always been good for me. Clinton wrote a lot of great material for me. There are people who only want to see me do (the presidents), and they're not too interested in movie stars."
      These days, "you mix it up as best you can," he says. "I'm very lucky in that respect. I've got a lot of voices to choose from."
      Little, once the reigning impressionist on the Strip, returns to Las Vegas for the first time in more than a year, playing today and Saturday at the Top of the Riv ballroom at the Riviera.
      It's a few weeks shy of marking his 30th anniversary on the Strip. The 60-year-old Canadian made his debut in August 1969 as an opening act for Jack Jones at the Sands.
      Little's debut was overshadowed by another new Las Vegas arrival -- Elvis Presley at The International. And he wasn't even the only impressionist on the Strip; then-more famous David Frye was working at Caesars Palace.
      Still, Little drew the attention of the late Forrest Duke, the Review-Journal's longtime entertainment columnist, who wrote that he "not only sounds like celebs but even walks like some of them (Jack Benny, Jackie Gleason, John Wayne, Dean Martin) and manages to look like President Nixon. ... First-nighters gave top yocks to the uncanny carbons of George Burns and Robert Goulet. This outing is sure to win many more Vegas gigs for Rich Little."
      Those words proved true, as Little became a Las Vegas regular. A nonstop stream of TV talk and variety show appearances -- including his own NBC show in 1976 -- helped him pack showrooms such as the old MGM Grand Hotel (now Bally's).
      Little's heyday paralleled the prime eras of his two best-known impressions: Richard Nixon and Johnny Carson. Just as Frank Gorshin before him was known for imitating Kirk Douglas and Richard Burton, "there are certain voices people get known for, and they almost belong to them," he says.
      When Little first honed his act in the '60s, Hollywood was seeing the ebb of its golden age. "It's totally different today than it was in the '30s and '40s and on into the '50s," he says. "All these big stars were known so well they were like members of the family. I never met Humphrey Bogart, and yet everything about him people knew. Every little saying, every little gesture. They were just so larger than life and so identified."
      Today's movie stars, he says, "are not as colorful. The acting is good, but there are no voices anymore. ... You keep hoping another Jack Nicholson will come along."
      Little built a 6,000-square-foot home in Las Vegas in early 1992, but has spent more of his recent time in Laguna Beach, Calif.
      A tabloid scandal involving his failed romance with former Strip magician Melinda Saxe -- full of allegations from both sides revolving around an alleged videotape of a sexual encounter -- made headlines in early '90s. But changes on the Strip did more than the scandal to erode Little's marquee value.
      "Vegas goes through stages where all of a sudden there's not too many single performers anymore," he says. "People used to go home and their friends would say, `Who did you see?' Now, today, the stars seem to be the big hotels, the restaurants, the architecture. People ask, `What did you see?'
      "If the stars now in Vegas are the hotels, how do you imitate a hotel?" he asks with a laugh. "I don't imitate buildings."
      And yet, he notes, "I think the pendulum's swinging a little." Two resident impressionists on the Strip -- the Rio's high-priced Danny Gans and the Luxor's Bill Acosta -- suggest that happy days are here again for copycats.
      Little spent some of his time away from the Strip recording an album, "Rich Little's Dumbe-ettes: A `Little' Tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes." It's a parody of Sinatra's two "Duets" albums, only with nonsinging voices such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
      Before he died, Little recalls Sinatra telling him: "Careful baby. How do you know that I'm not gonna use those people (on a third `Duets' album)?"
      The impressionist also has finished the script for a Broadway show, "The Presidents," that will be a more serious forum for his chief executives. "It will make (people) think and give them a little history. It's a dream of mine to do that."
      Of course, the rest of the script is still to be written. "We'll see what other bright man comes along," he says.
      Having to imitate either Al Gore or George W. Bush might be as tough as some of those nondescript Hollywood superstars. But he's preparing for it. "Maybe the public will want a complete reversal" for its next president, he says. "Someone who's boring."
     
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      What: Rich Little
      When: 9 p.m. today and Saturday
      Where: Top of the Riv, Riviera, 2901 Las Vegas Blvd. South
      Tickets: $29.50