Vaughn Meader
Abbott Vaughn Meader (March 20, 1936 – October 29, 2004) was an American comedian, impersonator, musician, and film actor.
Vaughn Meader
October 29, 2004 (aged 68)
American
Comedian, impersonator, musician, actor
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Vera Heller(m. 1955, divorced)
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Sheila Colbath(m. 1984)
Meader began his career as a musician but later found fame in the early 1960s after the release of the 1962 comedy record The First Family, written and produced by Bob Booker and Earle Doud. The album spoofed President John F. Kennedy – who was played by Meader – and became the fastest selling "pre-Beatles" album in history[1] and went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1963. At the peak of his popularity, he performed his Kennedy impersonation on television variety shows and in nightclubs around the country and was profiled in several magazines and newspapers.
Meader's career success came to an abrupt end after President Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. Meader's TV and nightclub bookings were all canceled. Producer Bob Booker quickly pulled The First Family records from stores so as not to appear to be profiting from the deceased President. Meader attempted to take his career in a different direction by performing non-Kennedy-related comedy and released a new comedy album, Have Some Nuts!!!, in early 1964. However, sales for the album were low as public interest in Meader had waned. His career never rebounded as he was too closely associated with President Kennedy. Meader eventually returned to his native Maine where he resumed performing music and managed a pub.
Early life[edit]
Meader was born in Waterville, Maine during one of the worst floods ever to hit New England: he often said he was born on "the night the West Bridge washed out". He was the only child of Charles Vaughn Meader, a millworker, and Mary Ellen Abbott. After his father broke his neck and drowned in a diving accident when Meader was only eighteen months old, his mother moved to Boston to work as a cocktail waitress, leaving Meader behind with relatives. A sometimes unruly and troubled child, Meader was sent to live with his mother in Boston at the age of five but she suffered from alcoholism, and placed him in a children's home.
After shuttling among several schools in Massachusetts and Maine, Meader eventually graduated from Brookline High School in 1953. He enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed in Mannheim, West Germany as a laboratory technician. He formed a country music band – the Rhine Rangers – with fellow soldiers, later adding impressions of popular singers to his repertoire. Meader married the German-born Vera Heller in 1955.[2]
Personal life and death[edit]
Meader was married four times. He married his fourth wife, Sheila Colbath, in 1984. They remained married until his death.[1]
Sheila was a caller on the NPR radio show Car Talk in 1992, where she mentioned that her husband was running for president. She questioned the hosts about a particular car, which she and Vaughn were considering taking on the campaign trail. Her call has been replayed as part of episode #2234 on the Car Talk podcast.
On October 29, 2004, Meader died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the age of 68.[1]
Legacy[edit]
Meader has been posthumously credited for having broken new ground in the area of political humor, particularly in impersonations of the President of the United States.[11][12]
In July 2006, nearly two years after Meader's death, the independent documentary First Impersonator premiered at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville, Maine, Meader's birth town.[13] The film chronicled Meader's life and death, his rise to fame and equally famous fall from it, and his influence on today's political impersonators.