Political satirist Mark Russell died on Thursday at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 90 years old. The Beltway satirist's death came after a battle with prostate cancer, his wife told the Washington Post.
Russell played musical parodies on the piano for more than half a century, poking fun at the absurdities of American politics.
His career included several PBS comedy specials from 1975 to 2004, and he also hosted NBC’s news magazine show "Real People" from 1979 to 1984. "Oh both sides of a question I can speak with rash impunity and I can sing a different song and please each damn community," Russell sang in this parody of a "Pirates of Penzance" song about political pandering. "I plan to say what pleases every kind of resident until I count enough of them to vote for me as president.
In short because I bear in mind that winning’s very critical, I am the very model of a candidate political!" Russell continued to perform until 2017 when he satirized the 2016 presidential election.
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