The famous impressionist Fred Travalena, a regular in Vegas showrooms and late night programs, died Monday of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to his publicist Roger Neal. Travalena was diagnosed with the disease seven years ago. He is 66 years old.
Travalena Flowers will be placed on the Walk of Fame star, located at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard, next to the Hotel Roosevelt, at 11:30 Monday.
Bronx native was famous for his imitations of actors, singers and politicians, Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen with Marlon Brando and Tom Cruise.
The number of impressions could be nicknamed him "Man of a thousand voices" and "Mr. Everybody".
Nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces" Everybody and "Mr.", Travalena appeared on the national scene as an impressionist in the 1970s.
Over the next three decades, was a headliner in Las Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City, performing concerts across the country, appeared on "The Tonight Show and other talk shows and starred in his own special, such as" The Many Faces Fred Travalena "and" Comedy in the Oval Office. "
The boy-artist's face is said to have a repertoire of over 360 celebrities, politicians, and cartoon characters' voices, including Clint Eastwood, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfeld, Johnny Mathis, Bruce Springsteen and Luciano Pavarotti.
I've met the Impressionists, who have reached a wall where they can do something more" votes Travalena told the Omaha World-Herald in 1996. "I do not have that problem, thank God."
In one part of his act, physically and verbally Travalena "transformed" in all U.S. presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush.
In school, he said, he learned to deal with bullies by imitating a Martian voice or Porky Pig. And he found he could deflect a teacher's question of why he didn't do his homework by making her laugh with his impression of Crazy Guggenheim, the goofy character played on TV by Frank Fontaine during the "Joe the Bartender" sketches on Jackie Gleason's show.
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