Will Jordan (born Wilbur Rauch, July 27, 1927 â€" September 6, 2018)
was an American character actor and stand-up comedian best known for
his resemblanceâ€"and ability to do uncanny impressions
ofâ€"television host and newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan.Born in the
Bronx, Rauch grew up in Flushing, Queens. His father was a pharmacist
and his mother owned a hat store. Jordan graduated from the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.Sullivan had almost no
mannerisms, which made him hard to impersonate. According to Jordan,
he invented some funny mannerisms that Sullivan never had, like
cracking his knuckles, spinning, and shaking back and forth. Jordan's
early appearances mimicking Ed came on The Ed Sullivan Show. In his
act, Jordan came up with the catch-phrase, "Welcome to our Toast of
the Town 'Shoooo'", which became a stereotypical joke for nearly every
Sullivan impersonator after that, usually as the more generic "Really
Big 'Shoooo'" (or "shoe").[self-published source]Jordan performed on
the 1970 P.D.Q. Bach recording The Stoned Guest in the role of Milton
Host, a send-up of Metropolitan Opera radio announcer Milton Cross.
was an American character actor and stand-up comedian best known for
his resemblanceâ€"and ability to do uncanny impressions
ofâ€"television host and newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan.Born in the
Bronx, Rauch grew up in Flushing, Queens. His father was a pharmacist
and his mother owned a hat store. Jordan graduated from the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.Sullivan had almost no
mannerisms, which made him hard to impersonate. According to Jordan,
he invented some funny mannerisms that Sullivan never had, like
cracking his knuckles, spinning, and shaking back and forth. Jordan's
early appearances mimicking Ed came on The Ed Sullivan Show. In his
act, Jordan came up with the catch-phrase, "Welcome to our Toast of
the Town 'Shoooo'", which became a stereotypical joke for nearly every
Sullivan impersonator after that, usually as the more generic "Really
Big 'Shoooo'" (or "shoe").[self-published source]Jordan performed on
the 1970 P.D.Q. Bach recording The Stoned Guest in the role of Milton
Host, a send-up of Metropolitan Opera radio announcer Milton Cross.
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