Playing POTUS - Funt, Peter

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Résumé :
Peter Funt takes an entertaining and probing look at how comedic impressions of U.S. presidents evolved from Kennedy to Biden-and their impact on real-life politics. Beginning with Vaughn Meader's record album The First Family in 1962, the genre has grown during a dozen administrations. From Meader's portrayal of JFK as a debonair leader who cherished his rub-uh swan, to Alec Baldwin's depiction of Donald Trump as an orange-tinted buffoon, Americans at times seem more familiar with the screen versions of chief executives than the politicians themselves. With Joe Biden, impersonators have been challenged by a divided nation with a fragile sense of humor. Playing POTUS connects the dots between those in power and those speaking shtick to power, uncovering intriguing details about presidential mimics. Over 50 interviews include insights from Dana Carvey, Al Franken, Darrell Hammond, Jay Pharoah, Rich Little, Harry Shearer, along with comedy writers and producers. Upon the release of Meader's landmark album, the anthropologist Margaret Mead observed, This making fun of people in authority is very healthy. It is the difference between democracy and tyranny....

Sommaire:
Peter Funt is a television host, speaker and columnist, continuing the Funt Family tradition of making peoplesmile.In addition to hosting the landmark series Candid Camera, Peter's reports appear in The Wall Street Journal,USA Today and Washington Post. His writing and public appearances contain the same pointed socialobservations that have made Candid Camera popular since its invention by Peter's dad, Allen, back in 1947.Peter's book, Playing POTUS: The Power of America's 'Acting Presidents,' examines the art of presidential mimicry.It's been produced as a TV documentary for late 2024. Peter's hilarious tell-some memoir, Self-Amused, recountsa lifetime of surprises-both on-camera and off.Peter Funt made his first appearance on Candid Camera when he and the legendary series were each just threeyears old. Peter posed as a shoeshine boy who charged $10 per shoe. He has since appeared in hundreds ofCandid Camera sequences and hosted more than 250 network episodes. Earlier in his career, Peter Funtproduced and hosted TV specials on the Arts & Entertainment and Lifetime cable networks. He also spent fiveyears as an award-winning journalist with ABC News in New York.His book, Cautiously Optimistic, is a collection of essays observing the social scene. He also authored Gotcha! forGrosset & Dunlap on the lost art of practical joking. He was Editor of the monthly On Cable Magazine.Peter follows in his father's footsteps as President of the Laughter Therapy Foundation, a non-profit started in1982. Laughter Therapy sends special videos, at no charge, to critically ill people throughout the U.S.Peter received his degree in journalism from the University of Denver. More recently he was honored as a MasterScholar in Arts and Humanities, and delivered the keynote at Denver's annual Alumni Symposium. He is a pastwinner of the Silurian's Award for radio news reporting, for his ABC News coverage of racial disturbances inAsbury Park, N.J., and a recipient of the Angel Award for television.Peter is founder of the Monterey County Young Journalists program in California, which provides training for highschool students pursuing careers in news. He also inaugurated the Courtroom Journalism competition in MontereyCounty in conjunction with the Lyceum Organization, and has conducted a similar statewide event for theConstitutional Rights Foundation in Los Angeles.Peter and his wife, Amy, reside in Central California. They have two children, Stephanie and Danny. His favoritepastimes are golf, baseball and people-watching (when not building his fantasy football lineups)....