PRESIDENT George W. Bush was a good sport for this performance. Like he said..having the ability to laugh at ones self is essential. RIP Mr. Bridges! Thanks for the laughter you brought to so many!!

Steve Bridges, a comedian who had a busy career in the last decade with his pitch-perfect George W. Bush impression, has died.

The Los Angeles Times reports he was found dead in his L.A. home Saturday after returning from a trip to China. It’s believed he died of natural causes.

In 2006, his “dueling Bushes” routine with the then-president was a major hit at the White House Correspondents Association dinner. (see video, below)

Bridges was profiled by the Post in November 2005 while making one of his many appearances as Bush on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.”

“To look the part for his brief ‘Tonight Show’ appearances, 42-year-old impersonator Steve Bridges undergoes 2 1/2 hours of prosthetic makeup. He’s been refining his Bush impression for more than four years.

“ ‘I try to become that person in a funny way. I try to act like him, from the mannerisms to the phraseology,’ says Bridges, who does an amiable dullard Bush, one who answers an avian flu question from Leno by dismissing ‘that fancy bottled water’ and praising Texas water. ‘I don’t get on my soapbox. . . . My job is to get people laughing.’”

He told the Post that some audience members “actually do think, ‘Holy mackerel, it’s George Bush.’ Some of them stand, some of them, their jaws are down and they’re clapping. It’s a fun gig.’”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/steve-bridges-professional-george-w-bush-impersonator-dies-at-48-video/2012/03/05/gIQAACWzsR_blog.html?tid=pm_lifestyle_pop