First for the obvious--you don't have to be black to do a good impersonation of a black dude. I like Darrell Hammond's Jesse Jackson a lot more than Keenan Thompson's Al Sharpton--but you do have to be good. Andrew nominated this cat (Iman Crosson) awhile back. I thought he was decent, but then I was over at Anovelista and saw this video. Awesome. Nichelle also nominates Aisha Tyler for Michelle Obama impersonator. I could go with that. No one will ever top Tina Fey's Palin--but this is still good.
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I've seen a couple of this guy's videos on YouTube, he's a little young, but good. His videos spoofing Obama before and after the debates are hilarious, and one of them had the best line ever:
"The proof is in the pudding, and I'm Bill Cosby".
Now, maybe this line has been out there forever, but I'd never heard it before.
Other examples of White actors doing good imitations of Black celebrities:
Billy Crystal doing Sammy Davis Junior
Frank Calliendo doing Charles Barkley
Billy Crystal and Harry Shearer doing two elderly Negro League baseball players
Can anyone name any good black impersonators of white celebs?
The only black celebs I can remember doing white face are Chappelle and Eddie Murphy. Chappelle just did the generic news anchor, and Eddie Murphy had that hilarious skit for SNL when he went as an undercover white guy.
I think more Aisha Tyler in general is a good thing.
Eddie Murphy does the best "old Jewish white man" in the world
Coates,
I'm kind of messing with this guy, Jordan Peele:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/851ec808ba/obama-slams-nancy-reaganagain-from-fod-team
I have been watching this guys videos and think he is pretty good. Kind of surprised none of the media has picked up on him. Definitely better than anything I have seen on TV, including Saturday Night Live.
The guy has the added benefit of being very nice on the eyes -more than Obama if I don't offend some ladies around here.
I'm a conservative and that video just made me grin ear to ear.
Murphy also did Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden. It was on stage though, so no white face/fat suit.
Whoa! Thanks for the mention Ta-Nehisi! I'm just minding my business on the bus, going through my Google Reader and there is my name in your blog!
I am so glad to see this guy get more play - I wonder what the holdup is? Not that I think you have to be black to do a good impersonation of a black person (I think Darrell Hammond is very good as Jesse Jackson and I loved Billy Crystal as Sammy Davis, Jr.) I would just love to see this guy get a shot - and I for the life of me, I can't think of a better Michelle than Aisha Tyler!
Keeping my fingers crossed...
That Jordan Peele sketch (Obama / Nancy Reagan) is the best Obama skit yet - he best approximates Obama's mix of charisma, nerdiness, coolness & earnestness.
The skit was also much funnier than any Obama SNL skits have been. If your only exposure to Obama was those skits, you'd think he was a boring pedant.
This is guy is just okay IMO...
But anyone is better than Fred Armisen. His Ugly Betty was pretty funny, but his Obama sucks, it just isn't funny.
Frankly, Armisen has been pretty sucky lately at most things (except doing John King and the funky CNN election map).
That skit where Armisen goes on Weekend Update and stutters but never completes a sentence....that skit is horrible every time they do it, and yet they keep repeating it...
Did anyone see Justin Timberlake on SNL? Doing that skit with Beyonce? He was a riot.
I'm a sucker for Timberlake. I don't listen to his music, but I still think he might be the most talented person in show business, guy can do it all.
George Kirby. Excellent impressionist, did a lot of white folks (a little controversial at the time, too). A sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdFK31vMMvc
Was that a little Biz Markie at 3:23? Money.
me too. know who else is ridiculously multi-talented like that? Jamie Foxx. Guy can sing (really sing), dance, act (well!), do hilarious stand-up and improv, and is even a pretty good athlete. (think i saw him on MTV rock'n'jock once.. speaking of which Nelly is another great athlete too, maybe better than he is at rapping ;-) ) amazing..
I haven't been pleased with any of the Barack impressions I've seen yet. They're too nice. And they all seem to have this weird hip-hop connection that doesn't make sense with what we know about Obama. Also, why does nobody make fun of his earnest Chicago-y accent? Every time I hear him speak (in between crying because I'm so happy he's prez) I think "wow, he talks funny." Listen to how he says "person of faith." It's hilarious.
Not only is Fred Armisen's Obama not very good, but the SNL writers have never figured out what's funny about him. I spotted AlphaCat's version early on and was thrilled. He really got at the heart of Obama's graceful cockiness and cool.
Ta-Nehisi thanks for writing this up I really appreciate it!
~The Guy in the video. :)
He's pretty good. Anything is better than Armisten. And I agree with Eduardo- this guy's really good looking. So good looking I think it may rival my crush on Obama.
Yeah, TNC, I saw him over on Sully with his wonderful Obama "Things I can't say in the debates." He's my fave--and I've seen the SNL picks so far. I guess the question is, can he do improv?
Iman's in the house! I think SNL should have a little Iman/Armisen Obama-on-Obama debate.
Now the election is over, the best impersonators are emerging . . . . Check this Obama out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDZLz8UCNa0
You're right they are going to start coming out of the wood work. There is another Obama Johnny Valentino, check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09SFXMBXh9Y
I was blown away by the vocal similarity and gestures of impersonator Kevin Michel. The rumor is that he has been cast by HBO to play the president in a film set for release in 2011. Check out his latest video at