Recently I got a news release from a publicist about a local Hillary Clinton impersonator appearing on the “Family Feud” game show, but I was just too busy to follow up on it so when I came across it today I called her. What town does she live in, I asked.

Good news. Teresa Barnwell lives in Costa Mesa and she’s appearing all this week on the game show. So I requested an interview and Alan Blank will file a story on her this week.

Anyway, while checking out her website this afternoon I was astonished to see a picture of her with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. And, oh man, Dana’s clowning big-time in it. I just had to find out the back story on that one. Then, I saw a picture of her with Rip Taylor, and that just about destroyed me. Regular readers know all that silly pop culture stuff just tickles me.

But first, let’s talk about  Teresa and Dana’s photo.

“I used to appear in Huntington Beach’s Fourth of July parade on the Democratic Party float,” she said, her native North Carolinian twang still so charmingly evident despite her many years living in California. “We were waiting for our float to take its position in the parade and Dana came by and he said, ‘Hello,’ and we had a little chit-chat-kind-of-a-thing… Gosh, that was back in the ’90s.”

She went on to say she admired how Rohrabacher went to bat for ex-border patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. I guess that did become a bipartisan issue!

“I do have respect for him because he lashed out at President Bush for not pardoning the border patrol agents,” Barnwell said. I didn’t mention how Dana shook President Bush’s hand after he commuted their sentences, but, I digress.

“That was so grossly mishandled so when he blasted Bush I was so happy I wanted to blow him a kiss,” Barnwell said.

I’m sure he would prefer it more from Teresa than Hillary.

It’s been an interesting journey for Teresa as a celebrity impersonator. Interestingly enough, she used to sell advertising for the Daily Pilot from 1992 to 1994 after former Publisher Tom Johnson wooed her away from the Orange County Register. But as much as she enjoyed working here she needed a gig that was more flexible because her career had begun to really take off.

“You know how it is at a newspaper. It’s hard to call in sick or take a vacation. The paper goes on whether you’re there or not,” she said.

Oh yeah. I know that. I haven’t taken a sick day in years.

She has tons of hilarious anecdotes, including one about Newt Gingrich refusing to pose for a picture with her. Perhaps it had something to do with a skit she did on the “Tonight Show” that made fun of his calling Hillary a nasty word that, ahem, rhymes with witch. (Hey, it’s a family newspaper so by extension…)

And speaking of the “Tonight Show,” that’s where she met Rip Taylor, he of the immortally cheesey “The $1.98 Beauty Show” and one of game-show history’s funniest moments (when he ripped off his toupee). One of Taylor’s bits was to run around throwing confetti. So one “Tonight Show” gag had Teresa playing Hillary before a Whitewater grand jury. “Are you ready to testify,” she was asked. “Why, yes,” and then Taylor burst into the room tossing confetti everywhere. “He was so sweet and was such a delightful person,” Barnwell said. “The very next day, my husband said he had heard Rip Taylor was in an accident on his way back to Las Vegas for a show. Somebody broadsided the car and he had a shoulder injury. I felt bad so I wrote him a get-well note and sent him flowers because I thought he was so nice and so cute and funny that day. He said, ‘The next time you come to Las Vegas come see my show.’ ”

Eventually she got a gig out that way and she and her husband went to Taylor’s show.

“At the end of the show he announced, ‘I have a special guest in the audience.’ ” She went up on stage and clowned with Rip.

It’s still fun, but Barnwell’s been thinking maybe it’s time to retire. She pulled hard for Hillary to win the presidency, but she was also relieved when it didn’t happen.

“I was more disappointed for her because I was hoping for a woman president finally,” she said. “That would have been pretty incredible for me, but this is wearing on me now. I’m getting tired of all the travel, and there’s a lot of politics in the entertainment business. I thought either way I was going to be happy with how it turned out (with the election).”

It’s actually harder now to do the act because Clinton as Secretary of State isn’t quite as funny as First Lady, Barnwell said.

“I still have to keep getting my writer to update my script, but she hasn’t done anything to screw up yet,” Barnwell said. “And she’s doing all these serious things. I mean, Monica Lewinsky was a godsend for me.”

Sometimes an audience can get pretty rough, too, she said. Oh sure, you’d expect that from Republicans, but some of the rougher responses came from Democrats last year.

“I had a job in Virginia the day after the primary when Obama won. I think it was a 99% pro-Obama audience and they didn’t want to hear anything I had to say,” Barnwell said. That’s usually when she cuts the act short and edges off stage — probably faster than Snagglepuss could say, “Exit, stage left, even!”

I hope she can keep at it; the world really needs as many laughs as possible these days.

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