Will Ferrell

'' John William "Will" Ferrell (born 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

Ferrell joined Saturday Night Live in 1995. He had planned to perform a comedy bit to win a spot on the show from producer Lorne Michaels who traditionally sits down for a final interview with prospective cast members. It was Will's idea to arrive with a suitcase full of monopoly money and say, "I'm prepared to do anything to be on this show, Mr. Michaels." After bringing the suitcase to the audition and subsequent meetings, it became apparent that there would be no need for the suitcase bit and Will aborted the idea.

During his time on SNL, Ferrell made a name for himself with his impersonations, which included:

U.S. President George W. Bush ("strategery" was one of several "Bushisms" created by Ferrell during skits about the 2000 campaign),
announcer Harry Caray (even after Caray's death),
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, Ed the Horse's twin brother Ned, music teacher Marty Culp, Spartan cheerleader Craig Buchanan, Dale Sturtevant "Dissing Your Dog", and night clubber Steve Butabi in a sketch that went to the big screen in 1998's A Night at the Roxbury.

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 fictional member of Blue Öyster Cult, as the band recorded "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". He also reprised his famous role as Alex Trebek in a parody of Celebrity Jeopardy! with Darrell Hammond also reprising his role as Sean Connery, Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby, and Amy Poehler as Sharon Osbourne.

In 2004, Ferrell hosted the USC School of Cinema-Television’s 75th Anniversary Gala "Will Ferrell to Anchor Cinema-TV Gala", Chang, Emmy; University of Southern California PR Newsroom, where his alma mater was recognized as the first educational institution of its kind in the country.

Death hoax

An announcement on I-Newswire.com reported that Ferrell had died in a paragliding accident. The site accepts press releases from users for publication on its website. A user submitted the aforementioned hoax, which was published before its factual inaccuracy was noticed. The story was further propagated when it appeared on Google News. It should also be noted that this was a play off a joke in 2005's hit summer comedy Wedding Crashers, in which Ferrell's character calls someone an idiot for dying in a paragliding accident."Will Ferrell Isn't Dead and Google Hasn't Hired A 15 Year-Old"; Ryan, Jack; March 15, 2006; The Post Chronicle

The Frat Pack

Ferrell is part of the unofficial Frat Pack group that also includes Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black, and Steve Carell.BOYS' LIFE; Frat Pack back on traqck this summer"; Stewart, Sara; April 30, 2006; New York Post Online Edition 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 2001's Zoolander, in which Ben Stiller starred and directed alongside Owen Wilson with Vince Vaughn in a cameo appearance.

Ferrell's frat pack filmography includes Old School, Starsky & Hutch (uncredited), The Legend of Ron Burgundy (as well as its DVD-only alternate version, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie) and Wedding Crashers.

Awards and nominations

2005 Golden Raspberry Awards

One win:

Worst Screen Couple (with Nicole Kidman, for Bewitched)

One nomination:

Worst Actor (Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming)

Personal information

Will Ferrell has been married to Swedish actress Viveca Paulin since August 2000. They have one son, Magnus Paulin Ferrell, born March 7, 2004. He has three dogs. He stands 6ft 3" (191 cm) tall, and bears a striking resemblance to the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who is also 6ft 3".

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Old School 2	Frank Ricard	(pre-production)
2007	Blades of Glory	Unknown	(filming)
2006	Stranger Than Fiction	Harold Crick	(completed)
	The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	Ricky Bobby	(post-production)
	Curious George	Ted/The Man in the Yellow Hat	(voice only)
2005	The Producers	Franz Liebkind
	Winter Passing	Corbit
	Wedding Crashers	Chazz Reinhold	(Uncredited)
	Bewitched	Jack Wyatt/Darrin
	Kicking & Screaming	Phil Weston
	The Wendell Baker Story	Dave Bix
2004	Melinda and Melinda	Hobie
	The Legend of Ron Burgundy	Ron Burgundy	(also writer)
	Starsky & Hutch	Big Earl
	Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party	Himself	(documentary)
2003	Elf	Buddy
2003	Old School	Frank Ricard
2002	Boat Trip	Brian's Boyfriend	(Uncredited)
2001	Zoolander	Mugatu
2001	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back	Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly
2000	The Ladies Man	Lance DeLune
2000	Drowning Mona	Cubby the Funeral Director
1999	Superstar	Sky Corrigan/Jesus
	Dick	Bob Woodward
	The Spy Who Shagged Me	Mustafa
	The Suburbans	Gil
1998	A Night at the Roxbury	Steve Butabi	(also writer)
1998	The Thin Pink Line	Darren Clark
1997	International Man of Mystery	Mustafa
1997	Men Seeking Women	Al
1995	Bucket of Blood	Young Man
1995	Criminal Hearts	Newscaster

Television Work

Saturday Night Live (cast member from 1995-2002)
Cow and Chicken (1997-2001) (voice in various episodes)
Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2000 (2000)
The Oblongs (2001-2002) (voice)
Family Guy (2000-2001) (voice in various episodes)

Salary

Bewitched (2005) $20,000,000

Kicking & Screaming (2005) $20,000,000

References

External links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Will Ferrell