The impressionist who lost Trump

Darrell Hammond used to be Saturday Night Live’s go-to impressionist, said Geoff Edgers in The Washington Post. Famous for parodying Bill Clinton, Hammond also spent a decade on the show imitating bombastic real estate mogul Donald Trump. So when Trump shook up the presidential race last year, Hammond couldn’t wait to don the yellow wig again. Then an SNL producer called the impressionist to tell him that Alec Baldwin would be taking over the role. Hammond was heartbroken. “I just started crying. In front of everyone. I couldn’t believe it. Everything wiped out. The brand, me, what I do. Corporate appearances canceled. It was a hell of a shock, and all of it was apparent to me in one breath.” Hammond spent the campaign trying to forget all about Trump; on election night, he and his girlfriend watched Game of Thrones. But reminders of his former role were everywhere. “I couldn’t turn on a television, couldn’t walk down Broadway, couldn’t go anywhere. People would literally pull up in their cars to say, ‘What the hell happened? Why would you give that job up?’” In the end, he and his girlfriend moved to Los Angeles. Hammond records his SNL openings remotely, and is trying to move on from his most outsize role as best as he can. “I got to play him. It went really well when I did. Times change, right?”