Fred Travalena, the poor man's Rich Little, passed, bringing the last wk.'s toll of dead entertainment figures to six.
Los Angeles, CA -- Impressionist Fred Travalena, a headliner in Vegas showrooms and a regular on late-night talk shows with his takes on presidents, crooners and screen stars, has died in Los Angeles. He was 66. Travalena was known for the sheer volume of celebrities he imitated, leading to the nicknames "The Man of a Thousand Voices" and "Mr. Everybody." His act included presidents from Kennedy to Obama, musicians from Frank Sinatra to Bruce Springsteen and actors from Marlon Brando to Tom Cruise. The Bronx native started his career in Las Vegas in 1971.
Get used to it. First it'll be more of those who were the cultural icons of the early post-war generation, then the actual boomers who made it into show biz. (W/ occasional exceptions in the order, due to contributing life-style factors.) And that being a significant bulge in the demographic constrictor, combined w/ the fifteen minutes of fame & a talk show half the population seems to have been granted in the new media universe, is a good indication that obituary writer may be one of the few gigs beside bed-pan emptying that will guarantee a sure income for the predictable future.
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