|
Will
Ferrell was born in Irvine,
California about 600 years ago to
aliens from a planet that is not
only impossible to pronounce (we
would need 4 tongues to do it),
but to try to spell it out in any
language on our planet would make
the reader immediately burst into
flame. And we don't want that,
now do we?
Little
is known about his humble
beginnings in the mean streets of
Irvine, known then as "The Land
of Polyester and Perry
Como."
His
first big comedy gig was as a
public address morning
announcement reader at University
High School. The readings would
tend to take on a twisted edge
when read by Ferrell. Friends
knew that he had a craving to
make people laugh and his dreams
were bigger than the small town
mentality of Irvine. He failed
miserably in his early attempts
at stand up in the country
western bars of his hometown. The
crowds were relentless in their
heckling, saying things
like,
"Yucko,
stinko!",
"I can't understand one bit of
your humor!"
"What's the square root of
Pi?"
"If Sam left at 3:30 Central Time
on a train to Pittsburgh going 30
mph and left his dog at a kennel
for 4 weeks, what color is his
tie?"
Unswayed
and more determined than ever,
Will decided it was time to leave
the small town where he grew up
and try his luck in the City of
Angels. When that didn't work
out, he ended up in the Los
Angeles, where he attended
college at the University of
Southern California.
Somewhere
in his adventures he joined the
comedy / improv group The
Groundlings, where he met up with
new friends Ana Gasteyer and
Cheri Oteri. The Groundlings had
previously produced former SNL
talents Lorraine Newman, Phil
Hartman and Jon
Lovitz.
Meanwhile
in New York City, SNL was going
through a very rocky period. The
glory days of the Carvey, Hartman
& Hooks cast were gone and
the new cast members (all
terrific comedic actors) were
having trouble picking up any
kind of momentum. In the summer
of 1996, producer Lorne Michaels
decided it was time for a brand
new look to history's longest
running television
show.
What
Lorne found was a terrific set of
people who knew live comedy
theater back and forth.
One of the standouts from the
very first show was Will
Ferrell.
His
very first sketch established him
as a surprisingly zany comedic
actor behind a normal facade:
He played a man whose family had
invited the new neighbors on the
block over for a backyard
barbecue. They were getting along
swimmingly in their small talk.
Then the children (off camera)
started climbing onto the
backyard shed. Ferrell abruptly
cut off the pleasant conversation
to yell at the children, "GET OFF
THE SHED!"
After shouting, he went back to
barbecuing as if nothing had
happened, leaving the neighbors
slightly nervous. The kids
continued to climb back on to the
rage of their father who
continued to shout at them. At
one point he even screamed, "I AM
GOING TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE!
NOW, GET OFF THE SHED!!"
That line leaves us in stitches,
to this day.
Will
Ferrell is currently into another
season as an SNL cast member, and
we hope he stays for quite a
while.
He
has also appeared on several
television programs, such as
"Grace Under Fire", "Late Night
with Conan O'Brien", "Living
Single" and "Strangers with
Candy." WIll has also provided
his voice to animated television
series such as Duckman, King of
the Hill and Disney's
Hercules.
Make
sure to check out Will in his
many movie appearances as well.
He's appeared in both Austin
Powers movies, A Night at the
Roxbury, Dick and the upcoming
Superstar with fellow SNL
castmate Molly
Shannon.
|
