The Godfather: Peter Corris on impressionists
The impulse to mimic famous actors and singers, to do impressions of their voices and mannerisms, is a compulsion with some people, including me. It’s an impulse to be revealed very selectively because if it’s not done well the impression flops horribly and, whether good or not, it can bore to tears people who don’t admire the trick. But many people are amused and doing impressions has a long history in the entertainment business.
Tenor Mario Lanza had a sideline in doing impressions of singers like Frankie Laine and Tony Bennet. ‘Italian boys’, he called them, and they were. Sammy Davis Junior, a man with great flexibility in his voice, could imitate singers like Frank Sinatra and Anthony Newley to perfection.
For some, the talent has been remunerative. Actor Tom Burlinson’s ability to imitate precisely the voice of Frank Sinatra enabled him to perform in a mini-series about the singer, stage a cabaret act and sing in the 2003 film The Night We Called it a Day about Sinatra’s disastrous visit to Australia in 1974. Veteran actor Max Cullen’s uncanny ability to produce the voice of black blues singer Billie Holiday was featured in the 1985 film Billy’s Holiday.
Country singer Merle Haggard is known for his impressions (which he called ‘impersonations’) of others in that field like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings – perhaps not so hard to do.
Kevin Spacey’s impressions of actors like James Stewart, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and others have featured on US television shows. They are available on YouTube. As with all mimics, some of his efforts are better than others, but Spacey observes the cardinal rule – keep it short.
British actors Steve Coogan and Rob Bydon made impressions, at which both are adept, the central comic plank in their TV series The Trip (2010) and the spin-off film The Trip to Italy (2014). Interspersed with their visits to restaurants and professional squabbles, their mimicking of Michael Caine, Humphrey Bogart, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Gore Vidal, Roger Moore and others, gently taking the piss, are hilarious. (Woody Allen not quite as good.) In particular, Bydon’s impression of Dustin Hoffman, not easy for a Brit, is extraordinary and worth watching the film to see and hear.
Doing impressions is not confined to acting and singing. I remember tennis champion Mats Wilander bringing the house down in an exhibition match with his impression of Ivan Lendl – the sawdust from the pocket, the interminable ball bouncing before serving, and the impossibly high ball toss.
As for me, the urge to imitate may be genetic. I remember my brother doing a masterly body-language impression of Robert Mitchum – the hooded eyes, the slow turn of the head … I’ve done impressions with varying success mostly for my own amusement ever since The Goon Show (‘Everyone can do Bluebottle’, as someone said). Recently, in connection with the publication of the 40th Cliff Hardy book, I was interviewed by actor, writer and presenter of films on TV, Graeme Blundell, who sometimes does impressions of actors and directors in his introductions. The subject came up and we did duelling Michael Caine impressions. The photographer present may not have been overwhelmed but it was fun for us.
