Rich Little’s “A Christmas Carol”: Comic genius

The characters Rich Little played in his rendition a "A Christmas Carol".
Source: https://www.christianskitscripts.com/scrooge/2018/09/10/rich-littles-christmas-carol/
(May be subject to copyright)

He was the master of impressions, a man who could imitate anyone and everyone. He could not only do the voice, but the mannerisms, and even a celebrity’s little ticks and quirks.

By the 1980s, Rich Little had been entertaining crowds for decades with live shows in Las Vegas and California, and on television, most notably Dean Martin Roasts among other shows.

Rich Little was Canadian, a national treasure who came to produce a one-man television special that showcased all his talents.

That show was “Rich Little’s Christmas Carol” and I saw it almost as much as I saw “Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas”.

Like the dickens
I always admired Rich Little’s creativity. Although he made his living being the opposite of creative by imitating famous people, I was amazed by the way he told a story using impersonations of famous people as characters. He did it with “Robin Hood” in 1982, but it started with Charles Dickens' story “A Christmas Carol” on CBC in 1978. I would go on to see it in reruns around Christmas time through much of the 1980s.

In this one-man show, Rich Little interprets the story of Ebenezer Scrooge in his own way. The story unfolds as Scrooge, a miserly old bachelor who hates Christmas, is taken through a journey of his own life by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. Ultimately, he sees the error of his ways and catches the Christmas Spirit.

In Rich Little’s telling, he played the story’s characters impersonating the following celebrities, courtesy of Wikipedia:

• Ebenezer Scrooge – W.C Fields;

• Bob Cratchit – Paul Lynde;

• Fred – Johnny Carson;

• The two soldiers – Laurel and Hardy;

• Jacob Marley – Richard Nixon;

• Ghost of Christmas Past – Humphrey Bogart;

• Fezziwig – Groucho Marx;

• Dick Wilkins – Jimmy Stewart;

• Ghost of Christmas Present – Peter Falk as Columbo;

• Mrs. Cratchit – Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker;

• Tiny Tim – Truman Capote;

• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come – Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau;

• The three businessmen – James Mason, George Burns, and John Wayne;

• A boy – Jack Benny.

Parting thoughts
“Rich Little’s Christmas Carol” was another part of the annual Christmas fare on TV in the 1980s in the three-channel universe.

When I first saw it, I was just intrigued with one man doing all these impressions. It was also my first exposure to the story of “A Christmas Carol”.

To this day, when I see some version of “A Christmas Carol”, I imagine Richard Nixon as Jacob Marley and Truman Capote as Tiny Tim.

It was only when I got older, and began to understand who some of these people were that I really appreciated something.

Rich Little’s comic genius.