Playing POTUS: The Power of America's 'Acting Presidents'

THE INTERSECTION OF COMEDY AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS
Playing POTUS connects the dots between those in power and those speaking schtick to power. Peter Funt’s latest book looks at a unique group of comedians and the challenges they have faced as impersonators of U.S. presidents, from Kennedy to Biden.
It’s a fun read and a well-researched study of an entertainment phenomenon that has had an outsized impact on real-life politics. Americans at times seem more familiar with the screen versions of chief executives than the politicians themselves.
Over 50 interviews provide insights from noted performers such as Dana Carvey, Darrell Hammond, Jay Pharoah, Rich Little, Al Franken, Harry Shearer and other presidential mimics, along with comedy writers and producers. The book’s rare archival photos reveal how some presidents cultivated private relationships with performers who impersonated them.
Beginning with Vaughn Meader’s hit record album “The First Family” in 1962, the genre has dramatically evolved through a dozen administrations — from a loving tease of JFK, whose Boston accent Meader mocked with references to the president’s bathtub rub-buh swan, to no-holds-barred Trump impersonations by Alec Baldwin on “Saturday Night Live.” With Joe Biden, impersonators have been challenged by a divided nation with a fragile sense of humor.
Upon the release of Meader’s ground-breaking album, the renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead observed, “This making fun of people in authority is very healthy. It is the difference between democracy and tyranny.”
Playing POTUS illuminates that enduring truth.