Actors - Will Ferrell

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	Actors - Will Ferrell

John William "Will" Ferrell (July 16, 1967- ) is an American 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 is 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 Ferrell.

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 Unabomber 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 , 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
, Steve Carell
, 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.
[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Will Ferrell ]

Some related entries: Shirley Dinsdale | James Stewart | Mario Merola | Michael Breckenridge | Shawnee Smith | Colette O'Neil | Kestie Morassi | Kim Kwang-young | Jill Kelly | Jasmin St. Claire | Stephanie Zimbalist
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Actors - Will Ferrell

Biography

Saturday Night Live

The Frat Pack

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