The X-Presidents The X-Presidents The X-Presidents is an NBC/"Saturday Night Live" "Saturday TV Funhouse" cartoon created by Robert Smigel and animated by J. J. Sedelmaier Productions. This cartoon features the living former American Presidents at the time: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush (all voiced by Jim Morris) as a superhero team. This recurring sketch debuted on January 11, 1997. The four former leaders were endowed with superpowers when struck by lightning at a celebrity golf tournament. The title is a play on words, both referencing that the members are "ex-"Presidents, and alluding to the Marvel Comics franchise,
American Presidents: Life Portraits 1999. (Despite serving two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland was only profiled on one program.) "American Presidents" was awarded a George Foster Peabody Award in 1999. Excerpts of the official rationale for that award appear below: ...From the sites, noted biographers, presidential scholars, descendents and other guests presented revealing information and assessments of the life, times and legacies of the presidents. The tone set by chairman and CEO (and reluctant air personality) Brian P. Lamb remains on point: good television often takes time, requires few special effects and demands (and rewards) good listening... ...For creating a series that perfectly embodies the