Famous comedian reflecting on time at Lisgar Collegiate as school celebrates 175 years
Posted May 4, 2018 10:15:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Many celebrated alumni are expected to be on hand as Ottawa's Lisgar Collegiate Institute celebrates its 175th anniversary.
Mayor Jim Watson will join impressionist and voice actor Rich Little as just a couple of those well-known people who will be in attending the school's reunion this weekend.
Speaking on Ottawa Today with Mark Sutcliffe, Little admits he wasn't the greatest high school student, but said he has fond memories of his time at Lisgar as it's where he discovered his gift. He explained that he started imitating his teachers and would get strong reactions from his fellow classmates.
“The teacher would ask me a question and I would answer him or her in his or her voice. And it was usually the wrong answer — that's what infuriated them,” said Little with a laugh. “The poor teacher never recognized that I was imitating them, so they were puzzled while the rest of the class was in hysterics.”
“I would imitate the teacher before the teacher arrived in the morning, [my peers would] have a look out at the door and then when the teacher would come in I would take my seat and everybody would be quiet, and then the teacher would start doing what I had been doing a few minutes earlier and get big laughs,” he added. “So the poor teachers could never figure out why they were so funny.”
Little turned his school impressions into a career as he started performing all over North America, imitating politicians and celebrities. He can still be seen performing multiple times a week in Las Vegas.
Little will be speaking for about a half-hour at the Lisgar reunion, talking about all the people he got to know with over his career, including Dean Martin, Johnny Carson and more.
The school's reunion gets underway Friday evening with a variety night in the auditorium and pub night in the gym.
On Saturday, the school is hosting tours, opportunities to meet former teachers, musical performances and more. That will be followed by a dinner and dance at the Shaw Centre. The reunion closes on Sunday with a ceremony, unveiling the newest members of Lisgar’s Athletic Wall of Fame.
Listen to the full conversation with Rich Little:
