The Man of 999 Voices Bob Jay

March 6 - 7

Chicago comedian Bob Jay swears that when he first started perfecting impressions of John Wayne and The Muppets, it was just the idle work of a boy with too much time on his hands. Little did he know that these voices and mannerisms would become a 20-year professional career.

"I just thought it was funny; I got the first ones from watching Rich Little," said Jay. "I never planned to be in this business. I was never even a class clown."

It was ultimately a dare that produced Jay's eventual career path. Goaded by his friends, he took to the stage on the day of his high school graduation, and the rest was history. Gigs as a DJ and stand-up gradually transitioned into impression-heavy sets where Jay employed his talents for mimicry to great effect.

"I do impressions and sound effects that range from famous celebrities to cartoon characters to popular singers," he said. "We tried to write them all down a while back and we had over 100."

The impressions Jay chooses to bring out on stage depend on the audiences he's performing for, with younger audiences seeing more modern references to shows like "The Simpsons" or "Beavis and Butt-Head" and older audiences hearing impressions of actors like Jimmy Stewart, Jack Nicholson or Robert DeNiro. All of the impressions are developed by Jay at home or on the road, often over long periods of time before they're considered ready for the stage.

"Some of them I can pick up right away, and others take a long time," he said. "I've been working on a Christopher Walken impression for months, for example. The other thing that you need to keep in mind is that it's not just the voice but the mannerisms and the whole tone that sells the thing. If people look up on stage and I look something like the person I'm impersonating, it makes the voice that much more effective."

In order to perfect those impressions, Jay spends a lot of time watching video of those stars he is currently working on. This can make for some odd sights around his home.

"Yes, I'm pretty much constantly talking to myself," he joked. "I'll be sitting at home reading a book, but I'm also doing an impression at the same time. You have to fully commit to a character, all the time."