Whenever Mark Russell is down in the dumps, he opens the newspaper and immediately cheers up. “Some days,” he says, the “the jokes jump off the pages and write themselves.”
Russell’s self-deprecating remark belies his incredible success as one of the country’s leading political satirists. For over 30 years, armed with his signature star-spangled grand piano, Russell has taken on Democrats, Republicans and Independents with his razor-sharp song parodies that skewer the political events of the day. Does he use any writers for his act? Absolutely, says Russell, “There are 535 of them: 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives.”
After completing a full hitch in the Marine Corps, Russell got a job singing at a Capitol Hill bar in D.C., and later landed a gig at Washington’s Shoreham Hotel that lasted for 20 years! The Shoreham’s Marquee Lounge became the place where politicians would come to get a daily dose of Russell’s bi-partisan buffoonery.
Russell became nationally known through his popular PBS comedy specials (which aired for over 25 years), and his Sunday-before-Labor-Day appearances on “Meet the Press.” He also writes a syndicated column, and has released numerous recordings and videos. When it comes to political humor, Mark Russell continues to reign as the king of comedy.
