Northbrook Teen's Celeb Impressions Earn Him TV Show Win and $10K

There's little doubt the audience for the cable TV competition show First Impressions With Dana Carvey enjoyed hearing Ryan Goldsher impersonate Morgan Freeman, President Barack Obama and other celebrities.

But for Goldsher, the sweetest sound he probably heard was the voice of host Freddie Prinze Jr. announcing that the Northbrook teen had been voted the winner of the episode, which aired Tuesday night on the USA network.

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Goldsher, 19, beat out two other contestants on the program that has performers use their abilities to impersonate famous voices to compete for $10,000. The show's studio audience then votes for a winner at the end of each episode.

How did Goldsher wow the audience to earn the $10,000 prize? He dipped into the repertoire of voice impressions that he's been honing since he was a student at Glenbrook North High School and performing them at school variety shows. Along with Freeman and the president, those famous voices also included Nicolas Cage, Robin Williams and Mark Wahlberg (or "Mr. Questions," as Goldsher referred to him on the show).

He also used his talent for mimicry to drop a couple clever lines in character.

"My job is not an easy one," Goldsher said as he impersonated Obama during the episode's mock talk show interview segment. "My hair is now gray, and I look like an elf."

Watch Ryan Goldsher's Bio Video for "First Impressions With Dana Carvey"

Goldsher, who is currently a student at Pepperdine University, seemed right at home onstage from the start of the show, sharing what seemed to be a nice unscripted moment with co-host Dana Carvey, the former Saturday Night Live cast member who's also an accomplished impersonator in his own right.

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The exchange happened thanks to an offhand comment guest and fellow ex-SNL cast mate Jon Lovitz made to Carvey after Goldsher performed his opening routine.

"I think [Goldsher]'s great," Lovitz said, before turning to Carvey to add, "He looks like one of your sons."

Carvey then slowly walked across the stage, and he and Goldsher pretended to be a reunited father and son. As they shook hands, Carvey commented on the slight resemblance between the two:

"It's me in a time warp."

PHOTO: Ryan Goldsher (center) was voted the winner on his episode of "First Impressions With Dana Carvey." (USA Network)

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