John "Will" William Ferrell is a comedian, impressionist, and actor who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live (1995?2002).
Born in Irvine, California, Ferrell attended 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. After graduating in 1989, Ferrell developed his improvisation skills as a member of the comedy group The Groundlings.
During his time on SNL, Ferrell made a name for himself with impersonations of
* U.S. President George W. Bush ("strategery" was just one of several Bushisms he used during skits about the 2000 campaign),
* announcer Harry Caray,
* singer Robert Goulet (crooning a cappella versions of songs by Sisq?, Baha Men, and Notorious B.I.G.),
* entertainer Neil Diamond,
* Inside the Actors Studio host 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 (fictitious) member of Blue ?yster Cult, who played cowbell in a manical but arythmic manner during the band's recording of (Don't Fear) The Reaper. (Eric Bloom said that he was the person who did the cowbell in the actual recording.)
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.
