Walter "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928-April 19, 2021) is the 42nd Vice President of the United States who served under President Jimmy Carter. He is credited for helping strengthen the role of the Vice President. On Saturday Night Live, Mondale was impersonated seven times by four different actors. In his first two portrayals, he was impersonated by Bill Murray, in his next appearance was impersonated by Brad Hall, then three times by Gary Kroeger, and in his final portrayal was impersonated by Dana Carvey.
He was born in Ceylon, Minnesota on January 5, 1928. He served as the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1960 to 1964. After Senator Hubert H. Humphrey was elected Vice President, Governor Karl Rolvaag appointed Mondale to replace him, and he ended up serving until his election as Vice President in 1976. He was defeated by Ronald Reagan's running mate George H. W. Bush in 1980.
He ran for President in 1984, making history as the first candidate to have a female running mate (Geraldine Ferraro), but lost in a landslide to the popular Reagan. Mondale only won the District of Columbia and his home state of Minnesota. Many people say this is because the 73-year-old Reagan roasted him due to his relatively young age during one of the debates ("I will not make age an issue in this campaign; I will not exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience").
He was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan by Bill Clinton in 1993, and served in that position until 1996.
He died of natural causes on April 19, 2021, at age 93.