Ten SNL Celebrity Impersonators Meet Their Match

Published by Interrobang Staff at February 17, 2012

Saturday Night Live has a long tradition of impersonating celebrities and having them say ridiculous things to make them look like buffoons. In the show’s long history there have been quite a few opportunities for the targets to confront their imposters. Even though these moments are staged, they’re still surprising and always fun.

1. Joe Cocker and John Belushi

In 1978, Joe Cocker was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. During Cocker’s performance of “Feelin’ Alright,” he’s joined on-stage by John Belushi, who matches Cocker’s movements, voice, and facial gestures point-for-point. Luckily, we’re spared the dull back-and-forth of the celebrity asking if they really sound like their impersonator. Cocker just sings the tune without acknowledging Belushi.

Joe Cocker & John Belushi por nakavideos no Videolog.tv.

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2. Joe Pesci/Robert DeNiro and Jim Breuer/Colin Quinn

Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro made a surprise cameo at the end of the April 12, 1997 edition of the recurring sketch “The Joe Pesci Show”. The two acting legends confronted Jim Breuer and Colin Quinn, who impersonated Pesci and DeNiro. Pesci dominated the dialogue by objecting to the caricatures while DeNiro nodded along to roars from the audience.

Joe Pesci Show with Robert de Niro

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3. Fred Armisen and David Paterson

Fred Armisen received criticism for his portrayal of former New York Governor David Paterson, whose blindness was routinely mocked by SNL. After Armisen appeared as Paterson multiple times, Gov. Paterson confronted Armisen on “Weekend Update.” Paterson’s appearance had some entertaining moments, in particular the end of the segment in which Paterson and Armisen blindly walked in front of the camera after Amy Poehler had moved on to the next “Update” story.

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4. Alec Baldwin and Tony Bennett

Alec Baldwin has shown his skill as an impressionist routinely on 30 Rock, and he is at his best in “The Tony Bennett Show” sketch in which he portrays Bennett to perfection. He opens singing “I Love Things That Are Great,” a tune about how he enjoys great things, and eventually introduces Anthony Bennedetto, also known as Tony Bennett. “This guy can wear the heck out of a suit,” says one Bennett. “You’re a real prince,” says the other.

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5. Amy Poehler and Hillary Clinton

During the 2008 Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton appeared in the cold open for SNL by stating that she adores Poehler’s impression of her. Poehler walks out in, of course, a matching outfit, and launches into her version of Clinton’s laugh.

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6. Will Ferrell and Alex Trebek

But Trebek’s appearance at the end of a “Jeopardy” sketch was the cherry on-top of the deliciously hilarious sundae that was Will Ferrell’s SNL career. This was Will Ferrell’s last show as a cast member of SNL. Ferrell was one of, if not the funniest cast members in SNL history.

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7. Eddie Murphy and Stevie Wonder

It’s great to see that the legendary Stevie Wonder has a sense of humor to match Eddie Murphy’s spot on impersonation.

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8. Jesse Eisenberg and Mark Zuckerberg

We learned two things from Zuckerberg’s appearance. One, he can’t act. Two, Jessie Eisenberg’s portrayal of him was even better than we thought.

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9. Vanessa Bayer and Miley Cyrus

Who is the impersonator? One of the more recent to “meet their match.”

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10. Tina Fey and Sarah Palin

Whenever a celebrity makes a cameo to confront their impersonator it’s usually to say “Hey, I get the joke. I’m so cool with this”. So when Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin showed up, people immediately noticed she looked a lot like SNL alumna Tina Fey. So much so that Saturday Night Live was able to pull Tina back in just to do her impersonation of Palin, and people went ballistic. Fey was so convincing that her line “I can see Russia from my house” started to be attributed to Palin herself!