50 facts about comedian and actor Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell's 50 facts.

1. Ferrell was born in Irvine, California.

2. His mother Betty Kay was a teacher who taught at Old Mill School elementary school and Santa Ana College.

3. His father Roy Lee Ferrell, Jr. was a musician with The Righteous Brothers.

4. His parents were both natives of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and moved to California in 1964.

5. Ferrell's ancestry includes English, German, and Irish.

6. He has a younger brother named Patrick.

7. When he was eight years old, his parents divorced. Ferrell said of the divorce: "I was the type of kid who would say, 'Hey, look at the bright side! We'll have two Christmases'."

8. The biggest problem was Lee's line of work. As a person in show business, his paychecks were never steady and he was gone from home months at a time. Growing up in the environment made Ferrell not want to go into show business, but get a steady job.

9. He attended University High School in Irvine, and was a kicker for the school's varsity football team. He was also on the soccer team and captain of the basketball team, as well as serving on the student council.

10. Ferrell called third grade "a pivotal year". He realized he could make his classmates laugh if he pretended to smash his head against the wall, or if he tripped and fell on purpose, and said it was a great way to make friends.

11. In his senior year of high school, Ferrell and a friend would perform comedy skits over the school's intercom system, with cooperation from the principal; the two had to write their own material. Ferrell also performed comedic skits in the school's talent shows. He won the "Best Personality" superlative voted by his classmates.

12. He enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he studied Sports Broadcasting and joined the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.

13. In college, he was known for a few pranks. On occasion, he would dress in a janitor's outfit and stroll into his friends' classes.

14. Ferrell earned an internship at a local television station in the sports department, but he did not enjoy the work.

15. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Sports Information in 1990, he knew he did not want to do broadcasting.

16. He took up a job as a hotel valet where, on his second day, he tore a baggage rack off the top of a van by trying to drive it under a low-lying beam.

17. He also worked as a teller at Wells Fargo, but came up short $300 the first day and $280 the second; he was not stealing the money, but was just careless and error-prone.

18. In 1991, encouraged by his mother to pursue something he liked, Ferrell moved to Los Angeles.

19. He successfully auditioned for the comedy group The Groundlings, where he spent time developing his improvisation skills.

20. His first name is John.

21. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in comedy films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

22. He is considered a member of the "Frat Pack", a generation of leading Hollywood comic actors who emerged in the late 1990s and the 2000s, including Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Vince Vaughn, and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson.

23. Ferrell received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 26, 2015.

24. Before joining The Groundlings, Ferrell's attempts at standup comedy had little success. He started in the advanced classes and grew to love improvisation.

25. He realized he also liked to impersonate people, and one of his favorites was Harry Caray, the Hall of Fame baseball announcer. Soon he began to create original characters.

26. While taking classes, Ferrell got a job at an auction house via his friend Viveca Paulin. The job was ideal as it was flexible enough for him to audition and go to rehearsals while also being employed. He received small roles, including TV series Grace Under Fire and Living Single, low-budget films such as A Bucket of Blood, as well as commercials.

27. One winter, he even served as a mall Santa Claus.

28. His first starring role after his departure from SNL was as Frank "The Tank" Richard in Old School. The film "belongs to Mr. Ferrell", declared the New York Times, which described how he "uses his hilarious, anxious zealotry to sell the part."

29. Old School was a major success and Ferrell received an MTV Movie Awards nomination for Best Comedic Performance.

30. The title role in Elf followed, as did another MTV Movie Awards nomination.

31. Ferrell is a fan of USC Trojan football.

32. At USC, Ferrell was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity and is now an active alumnus.

33. Ferrell has worked with former head coach Pete Carroll to do motivational stunts for the players during the season.

34. Ferrell is also a supporter of Premier League team Chelsea, representing Chelsea as honorary captain in the coin toss before the Chelsea-Inter Milan match at the Rose Bowl on July 21, 2009.

35. He also claims to be an Ipswich Town fan.

36. Ferrell enjoys running and has participated in several major marathons such as the Boston, New York, and Stockholm Marathons.

37. He also raises money for charity, including his Scholarships for Cancer Survivors campaign through Crowdrise, a social networking community for volunteers and a micro-donations fundraising platform.

38. Ferrell made a comical debut as a relief pitcher for the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, on May 6, 2010. He was introduced as Billy Ray "Rojo" Johnson, and was brought in to relief pitch for the sixth inning. He then entertained the fans by bringing a sack of beer cans to the mound, as well as being ejected and getting chased by the opposing batter. He revealed himself to the fans when his moustache fell off during the chase. The appearance was cooked up by Ferrell and the Express, who sent out a press release announcing Johnson's "signing" to promote The Will Powered Golf Classic the following day at the nearby Cimarron Hills Country Club, which benefits Cancer for College, an organization that provides scholarships to cancer survivors.

39. Ferrell played in 5 games of MLB spring training on March 12, 2015 as part of promoting a Funny or Die comedy special.

40. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and the San Francisco Giants, playing all 10 positions, including designated hitter.

41. According to Baseball Reference, Ferrell faced and retired one batter - pitching on behalf of the Los Angeles Dodgers who then traded him to the San Diego Padres.

42. The memorabilia from his one-day professional baseball career is to be sold at auctioned and the proceeds being sent to 2 cancer charities.

43. Ferrell went 0-2 with two strikeouts over the day, but managed to foul off a 92 mph fastball from the Giants Jean Machi.

44. In August 2012, whilst in Australia promoting The Campaign, Ferrell made a guest appearance on the Ch-10 live-panel news/comedy show The Project. He found himself speaking via video link to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, during which they had a humorous conversation about hairdressing.

45. Ferrell has worked as a voice actor in several animated television programs and films, including his portrayal of Bob Oblong, a 1950s-style father with no arms or legs, in the short-lived animated television series The Oblongs.

46. He has had several guest appearances on Family Guy, where he played the Black Knight in "Mr. Saturday Knight", as well as Fat Greek Guy and Miles "Chatterbox" Musket in Fifteen Minutes of Shame.

47. In August 2000, Ferrell married Swedish actress Viveca Paulin.

48. He met Paulin in 1995 at an acting class.

49. They live in New York City and Orange County.

50. The couple has three sons, Magnus Paulin Ferrell, Mattias Paulin Ferrell, and Axel Paulin Ferrell.