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Will Ferrell

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Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell in the UK premiere for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Born
John William Ferrell
Height6 ft 3 in (191cm)

John William "Will" Ferrell (born July 16, 1967) is an Emmy and Golden Globe nominated 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, where he was a kicker for the varsity football team, and still holds the school record for most field goals made.[1] He 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 graduated with a degree in Sports Information. He was also 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

File:Celebrity Jeopardy - Jap Anus Relations.png
Will Ferrell impersonating Alex Trebek during the famous Saturday Night Live sketch Celebrity Jeopardy!.

Ferrell joined Saturday Night Live in 1995 (he was chosen over future co-star Steve Carell). 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:

File:Cowbell2.jpg
Will Ferrell on the famous Saturday Night Live cowbell sketch.

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 Cinematic Arts’s 75th Anniversary Gala [1], where his alma mater was recognized as the first educational institution of its kind in the country.

On July 17, 2006, Ferrell threw the second pitch of the night at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox game against the Kansas City Royals, performing an impersonation of former Sox pitcher Luis Tiant.

The Frat Pack

Ferrell is part of the unofficial Frat Pack group that also includes Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Steve Carell, Jack Black, and Vince Vaughn.[2][3] This group of actors have 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 his role as Mugatu in 2001's Zoolander, in which Ben Stiller starred and directed alongside Owen Wilson with a Vaughn cameo.

Ferrell's frat pack filmography includes Old School, Starsky & Hutch (uncredited), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (as well as its DVD-only alternate version, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie[4]) and Wedding Crashers.







i can drive a car 50000000 miles an hour but cant figure out how to work my pe pe

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. This may perhaps be related to his role in the movie Wedding Crashers where he crashes the funeral of a man who died in a paragliding accident, and then remarks on the stupidity of someone dying in a paragliding accident. [5]


Awards and nominations

Ferrell with Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn in the Old School poster

63rd Golden Globe Awards

Nomination:

  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (for The Producers)

53rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

Nomination:

2005 Golden Raspberry Awards

One win:

American Comedy Awards

One win:

  • Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication(for Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash 2000)

Nominated

MTV Movie Awards

Nominated:

Nominated:

  • Best Comedic Performance (for Elf)

Nominated:

Personal information

Ferrell married Swedish actress Viveca Paulin in August 2000. Their son, Magnus Paulin Ferrell, was born March 7, 2004. In July 2006, Ferrell announced on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that his wife is pregnant. He has three dogs. He stands 6' 3" (191 cm) tall. He is of Irish decent and has stated facetiously on the Old School DVD commentary that he "has a little Filipino in him that a lot of people don't know about."

Filmography

Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby in the poster fromTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Ferrell as Ron Burgundy in the poster from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
File:Strangerthanfiction.jpg
Ferrell as Harold Crick in the Stranger Than Fiction poster
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Semi-Pro Unknown (In-development)
Land of the Lost Rick Marshall (Status unclear)
Step Brothers Unknown (announced)
2007 Old School Dos Frank Ricard (Status unclear)
Blades of Glory Chazz (post-production)
2006 Stranger Than Fiction Harold Crick (completed)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Ricky Bobby (also writer)
Curious George Ted/The Man in the Yellow Hat (voice only)
2005 The Producers Franz Liebkind
Winter Passing Corbit
Wedding Crashers Chazz Reinhold (Unaccredited)
Bewitched Jack Wyatt/Darrin
Kicking & Screaming Phil Weston
The Wendell Baker Story Dave Bix
2004 Melinda and Melinda Hobie
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Ron Burgundy (also writer)
Starsky & Hutch Big Earl
Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party Himself (documentary)
2003 Elf Buddy
Old School Frank Ricard
2002 Boat Trip Brian's Boyfriend (Unaccredited)
2001 Zoolander Mugatu
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly
2000 The Ladies Man Lance DeLune
Drowning Mona Cubby the Funeral Director
1999 Superstar Sky Corrigan/God
Dick Bob Woodward
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Mustafa
The Suburbans Gil
1998 A Night at the Roxbury Steve Butabi (also writer)
The Thin Pink Line Darren Clark
1997 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Mustafa
Men Seeking Women Al
1995 Bucket of Blood Young Man
Criminal Hearts Newscaster

Television Work

Salary

Memorable Quotes

  • "What did I say about racial slurs?"
  • "...I say if Bruce Dickinson wants more cowbell, we should give him more cowbell!"
  • "I want to know...why this happened...so it will never happen again."
  • "If you want to see acting that will change your life..."
  • "Voice immodulation is real!"
  • "It's my e-mail."
  • "Your son's a witch."

Trivia

  • He was, according to Forbes, the best-paid actor in 2005, with a salary of $40 million.[6]
  • Will Ferrell is often noted as looking similar to Chad Smith, the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Will Ferrell to Anchor Cinema-TV Gala", Chang, Emmy; University of Southern California PR Newsroom
  2. ^ "Frat Pack persona: Archetype casting"; Wloszczyna, Susan and Kevin Crossman; July 13, 2006; USAToday.com
  3. ^ BOYS' LIFE; Frat Pack back on track this summer"; Stewart, Sara; April 30, 2006; New York Post Online Edition
  4. ^ Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie at IMDb
  5. ^ "Will Ferrell Isn't Dead and Google Hasn't Hired A 15 Year-Old"; Ryan, Jack; March 15, 2006; The Post Chronicle
  6. ^ http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/forbes/P147872.asp
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