Lounge Lizard

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Thank God you don't have to hear him.

Ryan Stiles: Thank God you're here, Captain Lounge Act. Colin Mochrie (puts on smarmy face): Have you ever felt it as hot as this. It's amazing, isn't it? And where are you from? Greg Proops: There's no time for that! The temperature's getting too hot! Can't you see? Colin Mochrie (singing horribly off key): It's too hot! —Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Superheroes

For decades, clubs and hotel and airport lounges have hired singers for entertainment. In the 1960s and 1970s, a lot of them incorporated the jazzy style of singers like those in the Rat Pack.

Now according to Sturgeon's Law, some were better at this than others.

In the world of fiction, not only does that 90% rule apply, but it seems that lounges give this job almost exclusively to people (sometimes Casanova Wannabes) who are not only insufferably smarmy, but their fashion sense seems to have a bet with their singing to see which can be more godawful.

Some standards for this character include The Love Boat theme.

Yet this seems to be mostly that way in comedy, where it's meant to be a caricature. A club singer who simply appears in the background will likely be much better than you'd expect in real life.

Examples of Lounge Lizard include:

Comic Books

• Eventually, Satan becomes one of these in The Sandman.

Film (Animated)

• Jeremy and Ian from Barbie and the Diamond Castle.

Film (Live Action)

• Freddy Fredrickson, singer of the lounge hit "Mr. Downtown", in the movie That Thing You Do.
• A subplot in Ernest Goes to Camp concerns a Lethal Chef with Mad Scientist tendencies trying to perfect a dish called "Eggs Erroneous" (which doubles as high explosives). In The Stinger, he force-feeds the final batch to his assistant, who is transformed into a lounge singer.
• In Lost in Translation, Bob nearly hooks up with a female lounge singer.

Live Action Television

• Bill Murray's character, Nick, on Saturday Night Live is probably the quintessential portrayal of this.
  • Think it isn't possible to murder the Star Wars theme? Think again.
  • In another episode, Murray wore a leisure suit that matched the wallpaper.
• Occasionally turns up in the "greatest hits" game on Whose Line Is It Anyway?. The page quote is from "Superheroes", and other games dip into it on occasion, like "Scenes From A Hat":

Ryan: "Iiii passed a stone today..." Chip: "Cannibaliiiismmmm..."

• Vic Fontaine in Star Trek Deep Space Nine is played by singer James Darren, and he sings pretty well. Too bad his singing was often used as blatant Padding.
• Lorne from Angel (not quite an actual lizard, but a green scaly demon). Unlike the aforementioned Vic Fontaine, he stole the show.
• This is the job of the main characters' mother in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. She does, however, dress fashionably for every show, is good looking, and is actually a good singer.
• One of these sings during the opening credits of The Fast Show.

Music

• "Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine" is a band that plays many types of songs, including rock and metal, as if they're lounge music. It's all done for the lulz, of course.
  • Think it isn't possible to murder "Welcome to the Jungle"? Think again.
    • That's not murder, that's apotheosis.
  • Ooo wa-ah-ah-aah~...

You stupid, sadistic, abusive, fucking whore, get down with the sickness! Here it comes Get ready to DIE!

• • Pat Boone did an album like this in 1997 (titled "In A Metal Mood: No More Mr Nice Guy") which angered his long-time fans, but is hilarious otherwise. His covers of "Crazy Train" and "Holy Diver" have to be heard to be believed.
• The term lends its name and music style to the satirical band The Austin Lounge Lizards.

Stand Up Comedy

• Andy Kaufman's Alter Ego Acting character Tony Clifton is a particularly repellent version. Since Andy always presented/claimed him as a separate person, Tony engendered true hatred from audiences who didn't know he was a character (which was Kaufman's goal).

Video Games

• Leisure Suit Larry; in fact, the first game in his franchise is titles Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards.

Web Original

• Sockbaby. We don't know if Ronnie Cordova can sing, but he dresses the part.

Western Animation

• The DuckTales (1987) episode "The Uncrashable Hindentanic" was a pastiche of 1970s disaster films, complete with an actual lizard being a lounge lizard.
• Subverted in Rocko's Modern Life, where Filburt turns out to be a fairly good singer - though he is a turtle, not a lizard.