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.
Odd, but not surprised, to see Dana Carvey trending today. RIP H. Ross Perot.
— 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.
— Yorgo to the Lanthipolls (@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, 5/12 Mother's Day @roostertf (@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… @mikeryan?https://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
CLIP: @danacarvey does his impression of Ross Perot at the White House. (12/7/92)
Full video here: https://t.co/tczIw07GP5 pic.twitter.com/HiD8SBNwQE
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/JayCaruso/status/1148632799827628032
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.
Sorry but real 90s kids jump immediately to Katrina Johnson https://t.co/HlKO88vOIF
— Mr. Chau (@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 marie (@tylermarie) 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
— 𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 (@MisterEnygmaMP3) 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
https://twitter.com/MrBrijez/status/1148618124234596352
https://twitter.com/southbndsuarez/status/1148619361361338370
https://twitter.com/betteryetpod/status/1148610079618490369
Still, others cited… themselves, for Carvey and Johnson made Perot seem like someone anybody could impersonate.
https://twitter.com/merewillis/status/1148628218955685888
https://twitter.com/RickyCam/status/1148618981273743361
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