Impressionist Fred Travalena Passes
Known as “Man of a Thousand Faces”
Impressionist Fred Travalena Passes
Known as “Man of a Thousand Faces”
Fred Travalena, a comedian and singer known as “The Man of a Thousand Faces” for his remarkable array of impressions, died on June 28, 2009, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 66.
The reported cause was non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Travalena, who worked for decades in Las Vegas and was a fixture on the talk-show circuit, was able to impersonate hundreds of celebrities, politicians, cartoon characters, singers and more. His impersonations were enhanced by his pliant face, which seemed to transform him into presidents and movie stars.
Growing up in Long Island, New York, Travalena was an aspiring singer who did impressions as part of his act. But over time, the impressions and sound effects came to the fore.
In the early 1970s, following service in the U.S. Army, he was hired to open for Shirley MacLaine at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and went on to become a regular performer there. That led to television appearances on many talk shows, doing his act for Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, David Letterman and more. He also found work as an actor on such television series as Fantasy Island, Murphy Brown and Walker, Texas Ranger, and often appeared on the game shows Hollywood Squares and The Match Game.
He is survived by his wife, a brother, a sister, two sons, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.