For 11 years, Fred Armisen was one of Saturday Night Live's main players. Known for his dynamic, chameleonic performances, Armisen usually got to play characters of different nationalities. During his successful tenure on the show, he appeared in a total of 856 sketches, the second-most of any cast member. At the time of his departure, in 2013, he was the third longest-serving SNL regular player, behind only Seth Meyers and Darrell Hammond.
Armisen received praise and popularity for his impressions of notable figures like Barack Obama, Prince and even Queen Elizabeth. However, some of his other characters are far more memorable, and better examples of just how valuable a cast member he really was.
Lawrence Welk
Sporting a strong German accent, Armisen portrayed the titular host of "The Lawrence Welk Show." He would appear twice during the sketch, at the beginning, when he would introduce the Maharelle Sisters, and at the end, when he would express confusion at the sisters' act. Welk would often use the fact that the sisters came from the Finger Lakes to make some sort of double entendre joke.
Although the star of the sketch was Kristen Wiig and her disturbing-yet-funny character, Dooneese, Armisen still managed to capture the audience's attention and laughs, even with his short participation. The character of Welk was the perfect example of just how good Armisen was not only at voices and accents but risqué humor.
David Paterson
Between 2008 and 2013, Armisen made several stints as former New York governor David Paterson. Appearing during the Weekend Update segment, he would often share banter with anchor Seth Meyers about any given political topic relevant at the moment. At one point, Meyers even states that Paterson is one of his best friends in the whole world, alongside Snooki and his future husband, Stefon.
Armisen's Paterson made no attempt to hide his dislike for New Jersey and finished several of his sketch appearances by approaching the camera until he was literally in front of it.
Ian Rubbish
A satire of English singer Johnny Rotten, Armisen portrayed Ian Rubbish, the lead singer of a punk band, alongside Bill Hader and Taran Killam. Performing as Ian Rubbish and the Bizarros, they would sing traditionally protest songs, like "Hey, Policeman" and "Living in the Gutter."
Rubbish had contempt for nearly everyone, except Margaret Thatcher, of whom he was a great fan, to the visible confusion of his band-mates and fans. Armisen's spot-on English accent and exaggerated approach to the subject made Rubbish a hilarious character to watch. And despite only appearing in two sketches, the singer is still one of his most memorable contributions to the show.
The Best Friend From Growing Up
The pairing of Fred Armisen and Vanessa Beyer never failed to disappoint. One of the two female cast members with whom Armisen had the most chemistry, the two made numerous appearances on Weekend Update as "The Best Friends From Growing Up" of several controversial political figures.
Among them were Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar Al-Assad. During the sketch, Armisen and Bayer would try to paint a positive picture of their "best friend," but would lower their voices whenever they said something negative or complained about him. When Seth Meyers questioned them about their friend's real intentions, they would deny it, in a quick almost frightened way.
Regine
One of Armisen's most outlandish characters, Regine was an Edna Mode lookalike with a terrible attitude problem. Snobbish and plain rude, Regine would attend the family gathering of her boyfriend. Upon arriving, she would make cruel, derogatory comments about everything, from the food to the guests.
Her boyfriend would remain oblivious to her rudeness, and would instead talk about everything he loved about her. At certain times, he'd play with a certain part of her body, like her neck or knee. Regine would then proceed to over-react, absurdly swaying and making exaggerated facial expressions, often knocking or crashing against the furniture.
Garth
Whenever Armisen was paired with Kristen Wiig, hilarity was bound to ensue. Proof of this is the Weekend Update recurring sketch, Garth and Kat. Armisen played Garth, one half of a musical duo, opposite Wiig's Kat. The two would be invited by Seth Meyers to perform their music, related to a specific holiday. It would soon become clear that the two weren't even prepared, as their songs would be incoherent and just plain bad. Their final song, performed after Meyers asked them to leave, would start with an actual track and with the two singing in unison, before once again derailing into lunacy.
The sketch became notorious for being completely improvised. Armisen would just start singing a made-up, ridiculous song, and Wiig did her best to keep up. As a result, the two often broke character, which only made the sketch better.
Fericito
Armisen's first character to really break out, Fericito was a Venezuelan Nightclub comedian, who started as an Update guest. Becoming wildly popular with fans, he was soon given his own sketch, "Showbiz Grande Explosion!" making him Armisen's first recurring character.
Fericito was joined by his sidekick, Manuel Pantalones, played by Horatio Sanz, and a guest, played by the host of the week. He would often make fun of Manuel and make jokes that neither the guest nor Manuel would find funny. He had two catchphrases, "Ay Dios mío!" and "I'm just keeding!"
Stuart
The combination of Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen was always bound to be explosive. However, the absolute absurdity of "The Californians" is too great to be described. Armisen played Stuart, a native Californian who would discover his wife, Karina, with the gardener, Devin.
The three spoke with exaggerated accents that veered into the ridiculous, often making them break character. Their rants would center on directions on how to travel around SoCal, furniture or food produced in California, and the happenings of their dramatic, daily life. A sketch that quickly became a star, it's one of Armisen's very best.
Michael Wolff
Armisen's take on author, essayist and journalist Michael Wolff is a hilarious showing of deadpan. Playing the author with a mix of self-importance and utter disinterest, Armisen shines in his interventions, whether he's opposite Alex Moffat's Joe Scarborough or Bill Hader's Anthony Scaramucci.
Armisen's Wolff has little interest in whether his accusations in the book Fire and Fury are actually correct, and continuously shrugs off the questions he's posed about the veracity of his claims. As a matter of fact, he'll often make outrageous, clearly made-up claims about Trump and the White House, stating that no one cares if they're right, as long as they're entertaining.
Michael Bloomberg
Creepy, somewhat detached, clearly desperate and absolutely hilarious, Armisen's Michael Bloomberg takes the cake when it comes to his best celebrity impressions. Despite playing him several times during the later years of his SNL tenure, Armisen's take on the former New York City governor really exploded thanks to the 2020 Presidential Bash.
Armisen's Bloomberg often appeared out of nowhere, drinking soda and flaunting his money and the influence it granted him. SNL treated his candidacy as a joke and Armisen relished it, stealing every second of camera he could and confirming his place among the all-time SNL legends.