Appreciation: Mark Russell, Big Washingtons inveterate political satirist, adored Little Washington. And thats no joke.
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Mark Russell was a master of political satire who stood at a star-spangled piano and kept the cognoscenti in stitches for six decades with musical parodies and professorial tomfoolery that tweaked politicians and captured the silly side of Washington, Robert D. McFadden wrote in a New York Times obituary.
Russell, who died last Thursday of prostate cancer at age 90, was also a frequent visitor to and fan of Washington (Virginia, that is).
Mark and his wife Ali would stay with [my wife] Beverly and me whenever he performed at the Theatre at Little Washington, which he did 6 times, former mayor John Fox Sullivan said. He would always grill me beforehand about whatever was the latest political controversy in town. He loved our small town politics as much as Big Washington politics and would weave whatever current kerfuffle into a monologue characterized by his deft stiletto but never mean touch.
The theatres sold out audiences, many of whom had watched Russell for decades, loved it and him.
And after those shows, the Russells, Sullivans and friends would often go to The Inn at Little Washington for dinner (Spending his nights pay, Russell joked).
"Mark Russell had a delicious sense of humor, recalled Inn Chef and Proprietor Patrick OConnell in a statement. But he wasn't just a comedian. He was a truth teller. With humor, he illuminated the truth and made us laugh along with him at life's absurdities. He invited us to see the hilarity of the world around us through his eyes. He reassured us that we weren't crazy we were just living in crazy times. Laughing about it was better than crying.
Mark Russell joined fellow diners at the Inn at Little Washington in 2020.
Courtesy photo
One of the reasons Mark lived so long may have been due to the healing powers of laughter, OConnell wrote. Nobody enjoyed Mark's jokes more than he did. He got a kick out of his own routines. He wrote his own material and knew how good it was.
Russells material in Little Washington, of course, included the Inn itself.
Watching the annual Christmas parade in 2018 from a rocking chair in front of the Inns gift shop, Russell told the Rappahannock News: Its the only parade in the world that has live llamas. And these live llamas by tonight will be on the menu at the Inn. I said that to Patrick, and he said, Yeah, but theyre a little stringy.
The week before, President George H.W. Bush had passed away. Russell recounted, graciously, his associations with the Bush family through the years. And his affinity for the town he sat in the midst of: We live in D.C., the other Washington there is another one and we come down here and life is good.
We will plant a tree in our Field of Dreams in his honor, OConnell wrote. It won't be a weeping willow.
Sunday, April 9, 2023 at 3:40 am