I think I went to a performance in Seattle decades ago - so long I barely remember, but he did travel a little bit. He's one of those versatile folks who is good on the piano and can talk and crack jokes and play at the same time. Another one who might surprise you is David Pogue (now on CBS Sunday Morning and occasionally on PBS's NOVA). He started out as a conductor and arranger, sometimes working for Stephen Sondheim and would fix Sondheim's computer when needed. He wrote a really excellent review of a product and Sondheim urged him to keep it up. The rest, they say, is history. But back to Russell, born Joseph Marcus Ruslander.

That got me thinking - what were Russell's musical beginnings. Wikipedia. They really don't say anything about music studies, and he apparently only went to college for part of one year before quitting to join the Marines.

There's an interesting court case that probably appeals to all of our parody writers:

In 1994, Russell found himself unexpectedly allied with the rap group 2 Live Crew when the group was sued for copyright infringement for their parody of the song "Oh, Pretty Woman". The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Russell and the members of 2 Live Crew argued that song parodies were protected under fair use. The Supreme Court agreed and ruled in favor of Russell and 2 Live Crew (Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.).

His Wikipedia page refers readers to similar performers Tom Lehrer and Randy Rainbow. I'm sure Randy loves being lumped with these two. I checked IMDb for Russell but the entry there is a squib at best.