Ross Perot’s Death Is Reminding People Of Dana Carvey’s Classic Impersonation On ‘SNL’

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Henry Ross Perot — the Texas billionaire most famous for his 1992 presidential campaign (and a bit less so for his one in 1996) — died on Tuesday, prompting fond recollections of that time a wealthy businessman tried, twice, to run for the most important job in the country. It also reminded many of one of the things that most made Perot incredibly famous: Dana Carvey’s boisterous, shrill, bizarre folksy aphorism-spouting impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live.

During the 1992 presidential cycle, Carvey’s Perot squared off against Phil Hartman’s McDonald’s-loving Bill Clinton as well as Carvey himself, who had been doing his cocky twist on George H.W. Bush since the Reagan years. (When the time came for the big three-way debate sketch, Carvey had to pre-record his Perot bits, which were spliced into the live broadcast.)

For some — including those who were young at the time and received the majority of their political intel from sweetly savage sketches on SNL — Carvey’s Perot, who appeared in 10 sketches, was more famous than Perot himself, and the comedian’s impersonation arguably made him all the more lovable to the masses.

So iconic was Carvey’s Perot that the comic wound up talking, shortly after the news broke, to The Los Angeles Times.

“I really enjoyed doing Ross Perot, such a fun character to play,” Carvey told The Times. “He had this distinct Texas drawl and this old-fashioned pragmatic servitude about his policies, and he’d be very impatient when people didn’t get it. He was a colorful American character.”

Was Perot ever offended by Carvey’s take on him Hardly.

“He loved it and was very nice about it,” Carvey said. “In fact, he called me up once because he wanted me to be with him in Texas on election night! … He said to me, ‘I got an idea: You go out and do me, and I’ll do me. Then there’s two of me!’ …. He had a very good sense of humor about it.”

Others couldn’t help but find joy in Carvey’s Perot on the sad day.

— Paul R. La Monica (@LaMonicaBuzz) July 9, 2019

If you can think of Ross Perot and not immediately hear Dana Carvey saying "Larry can I finish" as Perot than you're clearly not between 35-45

— Joe Roche (@JRoche3MR) July 9, 2019

The first time I voted for President (in 96!) I voted for Ross Perot, which says way less about my politics than it does about my affinity for graphs and Dana Carvey.

— matt tobey (@mtobey) July 9, 2019

I voted in my 1st election in 92. Perot had a funny folksy manner; I remember him on the debate stage using charts. Sure, his style was parodied by Dana Carvey on #snl. Yet, he was arguably the most viable 3rd party candidate we’ve seen. Rip, Ross Perot. https://t.co/iQvwxk8F1G

— Kathy Klotz-Guest, Speaker, #CMWorld, #Inbound (@kathyklotzguest) July 9, 2019

Dana Carvey’s Bush impression got more mileage but I always preferred his Ross Perot. I can’t recall if they ever did a sketch where both Bush and Perot were together and what they did for that… @mikeryanhttps://t.co/B7RKm63GGm

— Christopher Campbell (@thefilmcynic) July 9, 2019

Watch Dana Carvey’s Ross Perot character take Phil Hartman’s Admiral Stockdale for a joyride on #SNL in 1992 https://t.co/JOfwVOnGO3 pic.twitter.com/2V4wqoVK8C

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 9, 2019

https://twitter.com/AustinKellerman/status/1148598400318922754

Full video here: https://t.co/tczIw07GP5 pic.twitter.com/HiD8SBNwQE

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 9, 2019

One of the best memories about the 1992 election was the SNL presidential debate with Dana Carvey playing both Bush and Perot. Playing Clinton, the late great Phil Hartman. Kevin Nealon was great as Sam Donaldson. https://t.co/HoH0TQJuc9

— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) July 9, 2019

Not that Carvey was the only top-shelf Perot impersonator of the ’90s. While some cited the star of Opportunity Knocks, others called out Katrina Johnson, who did a pint-sized Perot on the beloved Nickelodeon sketch comedy show All That.

— Old Chau Road Remix (@Srirachachau) July 9, 2019

ross perot is forever inextricably linked in my mind with @katrinaajohnson's impression of him on #allthat circa 1995 pic.twitter.com/K8i5kgutgw

— tyler (@tylerc) July 9, 2019

Look if you’re gonna get Dana Carvey trending cuz of Ross Perot’s death and his SNL impression, then you might as well get Katrina Johnson trending as well for her All That impression pic.twitter.com/YY6hLes38w

— CATCH THE SHOW / UNDERGROUND MONSTER (@CatcherofShows) July 9, 2019

As an elder millennial my clearest memories of Ross Perot are actually of ****KATRINA JOHNSON**** impersonating him on All That. This is my contribution to the discourse. pic.twitter.com/JEBy0wq6FT

— Sarah Kelly (@thesarahkelly) July 9, 2019

I always found Katrina Johnson's impression of Ross Perot on #AllThat hilarious. pic.twitter.com/1iLeK1wNWa

— Larry With a L (@MrBrijez) July 9, 2019

https://twitter.com/southbndsuarez/status/1148619361361338370

— Tim Crisp (@betteryetpod) July 9, 2019

Still, others cited… themselves, for Carvey and Johnson made Perot seem like someone anybody could impersonate.

— Mere-Maid (@merewillis) July 9, 2019

In third grade I begged my teacher to give me time at the end of class to do my Ross Perot impression (Jim Carrey’s impression on In Living Color). She did. I bombed so hard. What worked around the dinner table for my family did not work for 11 year-olds. https://t.co/BJvkVjp6cL

— Ricky Camilleri (@RickyCam) July 9, 2019

I once played Ross Perot under a ton of makeup for 2nd City in Chicago and as part of the Miami Herald Tropic Hunt. He was my introduction to committing to an impression and also to puzzle hunts, which are awesome. Thanks for everything you lovable kook.https://t.co/sau58mp6jI

— Peter Gwinn (@gwinns) July 9, 2019

I've said it before, but in the early 90s, every Funny Guy you knew had two go-to impressions on lock: Steve Urkel and Ross Perot. There's just never been anything like it, before or since. His random-ass run shaped a decade of politics and was a zany cultural marker besides.

— Paint CHiPs (@paint771) July 9, 2019