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captainsblogThat's an approximated quote of the US Ambassador to Israel, Georgie Jessel, instructing Richard Nixon on the vagaries of Hebrew when preparing him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir for the first time. At least that's the way it was explained to my 10-year-old self by the legendary presidential impersonator David Frye.
His record album I Am the President, and its followup, Radio Free Nixon, were essential parts of my comedy immersion in the late 60s and early 70s. A few years ago, both albums came out on iTunes, and I pounced, to get the actual audio back onto my computer to match the memories of them still stuck in my head, 40-ish years later.
Frye was probably the finest contemporary imitator of the Big Dick back in the day; Rich Little later gained more fame, but his was a tamer, less pointed presentation. The Frye version was edgier, aimed more at the hypocrisy and smoke-and-mirror quality of his Presidency. As with Vaughn Meader, who was (in Lenny Bruce's immortal assessment) "screwed" by Kennedy's passing, once Watergate hit and carried Nixon away, Frye's career was pretty much over. He stayed marginally active even into the last Adminstration, doing Dubya and Cheney imitations which are still extant on Youtube, but neither his later efforts, nor any comic's impersonations of sitting Presidents, ever had the effect on me that Frye's did.
His repetoire wasn't limited to Nixon, and we still use the occasional catchphrase of his Nelson Rockefeller imitation, in a bit where he came back from South America as the Administration's ::koff:: "goodwill ambassador." After a bad day, I'll often say to Eleanor, as "Dick" did to "Rocky,"
Put down your crutches and tell me all about it.
I may also be the only person alive who remembers Frye's imitation of Nixon as the quintessential version of Paul Anka's "My Way," rather than Sinatra's.
David Frye passed away earlier this week at the age of 77. Let me make one thing perfectly clear: ya done good.
His record album I Am the President, and its followup, Radio Free Nixon, were essential parts of my comedy immersion in the late 60s and early 70s. A few years ago, both albums came out on iTunes, and I pounced, to get the actual audio back onto my computer to match the memories of them still stuck in my head, 40-ish years later.
Frye was probably the finest contemporary imitator of the Big Dick back in the day; Rich Little later gained more fame, but his was a tamer, less pointed presentation. The Frye version was edgier, aimed more at the hypocrisy and smoke-and-mirror quality of his Presidency. As with Vaughn Meader, who was (in Lenny Bruce's immortal assessment) "screwed" by Kennedy's passing, once Watergate hit and carried Nixon away, Frye's career was pretty much over. He stayed marginally active even into the last Adminstration, doing Dubya and Cheney imitations which are still extant on Youtube, but neither his later efforts, nor any comic's impersonations of sitting Presidents, ever had the effect on me that Frye's did.
His repetoire wasn't limited to Nixon, and we still use the occasional catchphrase of his Nelson Rockefeller imitation, in a bit where he came back from South America as the Administration's ::koff:: "goodwill ambassador." After a bad day, I'll often say to Eleanor, as "Dick" did to "Rocky,"
Put down your crutches and tell me all about it.
I may also be the only person alive who remembers Frye's imitation of Nixon as the quintessential version of Paul Anka's "My Way," rather than Sinatra's.
David Frye passed away earlier this week at the age of 77. Let me make one thing perfectly clear: ya done good.
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Date: 2011-01-30 03:26 am (UTC)Nixon Aide: "Sir, you don't hallucinate on pot."
Nixon: "I hallucinate on Dr. Pepper!"