__NOTOC__ Tim Russell (born 1947) is an American radio announcer and voice actor (

AFTRA The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ar ...

SAG SAG, SAg, or sag may refer to: Land formations * Sag (geology), or ''trough'', a depressed, persistent, low area * Sag pond, a body of water collected in the lowest parts of a depression People * Ivan Sag (1949–2013), American linguist ...

) in

Minneapolis – Saint Paul Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He is most widely known as one of the actors on the long-running radio show, ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

'', and continued in that role on the show, re-titled, '' Live From Here with Chris Thile'' until September 2018. As a voice-over talent and announcer, Russell also appears in radio and television commercials.

Education and radio career

Russell graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and briefly attended law school at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He took broadcasting classes at

Brown Institute Brown College was a private for-profit college in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. It merged with another college in March 2014, to form Sanford-Brown College. These campuses were part of a larger group of schools under the same general heading. Gener ...

of Broadcasting in Minneapolis. Russell began his radio career at WDBQ-AM in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

. He began work at

WCCO-FM KMNB (102.9 MHz, "The Wolf") is an American commercial FM radio station in Minneapolis-St. Paul that carries a country radio format. KMNB is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its main transmitter is located on the KMSP Tower in Shoreview, Minnesota, with ba ...

when it went on the air in 1973. While working there he began developing character voices and doing commercials. Between 1983 and 1993, he worked at

WCCO-AM WCCO (830 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios and offices are located on Second Avenue South in Downtown Minneapolis. WCCO features a talk radio format, with frequent newscasts a ...

. After leaving WCCO, he worked for country station KJJO-FM and "easy listening" station KLBB.

''A Prairie Home Companion''

In 1994, Russell began performing on the

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

show, ''

''. As a radio comedy actor, he is the voice behind Dusty from "Lives of the Cowboys",

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

and many other characters in sketches that also utilized his many celebrity and politician impressions. Russell played "Al, the Stage Manager" in ''

'' (2006), the movie based on a screenplay by

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

and filmed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

at the

Fitzgerald Theater The Fitzgerald Theater is the oldest active theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the home of American Public Media's ''Live from Here'' (formerly '' A Prairie Home Companion''). It was one of many theaters built by the Shubert Theatre Corporatio ...

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

during the summer of 2005.

''Live From Here''

In 2017, ''

'' was given a new name, '' Live From Here with Chris Thile'', to reflect the change in hosts. Russell continued as the announcer and one of the actors on the show until September 2018.

Filmography

In addition to his role in the film version of ''A Prairie Home Companion'', Russell had small parts in two films set in Minnesota, ''

Little Big League ''Little Big League'' is a 1994 American family sports film about a 12-year-old who suddenly becomes the owner and then manager of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. It stars Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield, and Dennis Farina. The film is directo ...

'' (1994) and the Coen Brothers' ''

A Serious Man ''A Serious Man'' is a 2009 American black comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1967, the film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and perso ...

'' (2009), and ''

I Am Not a Serial Killer ''I Am Not A Serial Killer'' is a 2009 horror novel written by American author Dan Wells, originally published by Tor Books. It is Wells' debut novel and the first installment in the John Cleaver series. It is followed by five books, and has b ...

'' (2016).

Recordings

In addition to dozens of CD’s featuring his characters on “

”, Russell has his own CD, '' Tim Russell: Man of a Thousand Voices (Highbridge Audio)''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Tim 1947 births Living people American impressionists (entertainers) American male radio actors American male voice actors American public radio personalities Place of birth missing (living people) Radio in Minnesota University of Minnesota Law School alumni University of Notre Dame alumni