+Steve Bridges death
As a young man, he began to take voice coaching and acting classes, and caught the public's eye and affection with impressions of Vice President Al Gore, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He became a regular on Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show," and was soon ready to tackle his most iconic role: newly elected President George W. Bush. With a two-hour process involving makeup and prosthetics to complete the illusion, Bridges soon surpassed all his other impressions with his take on the bumbling president.
Nor did his talents go unnoticed. In 2003, Bridges was invited to visit the president at the White House, and the two appeared side-by-side together at the annual White House Correspondent's Association dinner in 2006.
"I tell you: You see a videotape where someone looks like you, acts like you, talks like you--that's weird," Bridges recalled Bush marveling at the 2003 meeting.
"The President said he really appreciated the tone of my material," Bridges added in a press release for his web site. "How it was all in fun and something he’d feel comfortable having his daughters hear."
During the pair’s 20 minute meeting, Bush and Bridges talked Texas, Haney’s Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy, the history of the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, and even the subtle differences between doing impressions of George Bush Sr. and George Bush Jr.
“At one point, he actually invited me down to Crawford, Texas to do a little fishing,” Bridges said.
'I try to become that person.'
For Steve Bridges, impressions were so much more than simple mimicry. To do a true impersonation of someone, that character had to embodied, just as with any acting role.
“I try to become that person in a funny way,” Bridges told the Washington Post in 2006. “I try to act like him, from the mannerisms to the phraseology.”
Over his career, Bridges built up a repertoire of around 200 impressions, including Homer Simpson, Regis Philbin, Rush Limbaugh and President Jimmy Carter.
Steve Bridges never married. He is survived by his parents, Tom and Margaret Bridges; his brothers, Jon and Philip; and a sister, Elizabeth Bridges, all of Clayton, Calif.
Below, watch some of the great impersonator's most masterful impressions, from his take on George W. Bush and Barack Obama to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Clinton.
Steve Bridges, best known for impersonating former President George W. Bush, has died at home in Los Angeles.
The 48-year-old Bridges was found unresponsive by a housekeeper on Saturday. Coroner’s official Craig Harvey says it is being investigated as an apparently natural death but an autopsy will be conducted, possibly on Tuesday.
The coroner’s office says Bridges had no recent medical complaints and a statement on Bridges’ website says his death came as a shock.
Bridges’ George W. Bush impression made him a regular on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and earned him an invitation to the White House in 2003.
In 2006 Bridges joined Bush in a comic routine at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C., and at a Ford’s Theatre benefit.
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The 48-year-old Bridges was found unresponsive by a housekeeper on Saturday. Coroner’s official Craig Harvey says it is being investigated as an apparently natural death but an autopsy will be conducted, possibly on Tuesday.
The coroner’s office says Bridges had no recent medical complaints and a statement on Bridges’ website says his death came as a shock.
Bridges’ George W. Bush impression made him a regular on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and earned him an invitation to the White House in 2003.
In 2006 Bridges joined Bush in a comic routine at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C., and at a Ford’s Theatre benefit.