Ventrilloquists
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Edgar Bergen was born on 16 February 1903 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Fun and Fancy Free (1947), The Muppet Movie (1979) and Letter of Introduction (1938). He was married to Frances Bergen. He died on 30 September 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Actor
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The Spanish born ventriloquist Senor Wences was one of the highest paid vaudeville acts in the world. Hugely popular with American TV audiences Wences was also a top nightclub favorite.
Born Wenceslao Moreno in Peñaranda de Bracamonte, Salamanca (Spain), Wences began performing ventriloquism as a child An early career in bullfighting proved unsuccessful so he took up ventriloquism and juggling professionally. Wences toured Europe in the 1920s before coming to America in 1935 where he made his New York debut at the Club Chico.
He became an overnight sensation on "The Milton Berle Show" and later made appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and TV specials with Jack Benny and Perry Como. In 1947 he had stand-out cameo in the film comedy Mother Wore Tights (1947), starring Dan Dailey and Betty Grable.
Among his famous vent characters were 'Johnny', ingeniously formed by one of Wences's hands and 'Pedro', a torso-less head in a box. In the middle of a routine Wences would lift the lid of the box and say "Are you alright?" to which Pedro would reply "S'alright". "S'alright" - which became a classic catchphrase.
In 1986 Wences toured America with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in the musical Sugar Babies. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Comedy Hall of Fame which was inscribed "For his devotion to entertaining generations of audiences and bringing countless hours of joy and happiness to millions throughout the world."- Actor
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Born Paul Wilchinsky on December 21, 1922, the son of Sol and Clara Wilchinsky, Paul Winchell grew up to be the most beloved ventriloquist of American children. Ironically, as famous as Paul was, his dummy, Jerry Mahoney, was probably more famous. Not since Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy in the previous two decades had a ventriloquist and his dummy known equal celebrity.
Entering the spotlight on the Edward Bowes "Original Amateur Hour" (1948), he began working soon after in a review show in which Major Bowes would showcase the winners of his radio program. He started his television career on the CBS program The Bigelow Show (1948) in 1948; The Paul Winchell Show (1950), originally called "The Spiedel Show," in 1950; and, finally, the best-known of his shows Winchell-Mahoney Time (1965). With a clubhouse premise, his dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff--another of Paul's characters--as the clubhouse leaders, and the music of the bandleader Milton Delugg. A new innovation of Winchell's was to replace the dummy's hands with those of puppeteers who were hidden behind the dummies in a crate. Winch also played many serous dramatic roles on television without his dummy sidekicks.
What may be even more famous is that he created the voice of Tigger for the Walt Disney Company's "Winnie The Pooh" motion-picture series, based on the famous books by A.A. Milne. He played the role behind the scenes until 1999, when he was replaced by Jim Cummings, who also voiced Pooh from the time that Sterling Holloway died. He was also the voice of many other world-famous cartoon characters.
A little-known fact about Winchell is that he was one of the original inventors of an artificial heart--years before the first successful transplant with such of a device--an automobile that runs on battery power, a method for breeding tilapia, and many other inventions that are still around today.- Actor
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James Nelson was born December 15, 1928 in Chicago, middle child of James and Winifred Nelson. In 1938 Jimmy's Aunt Margaret gave him his first ventriloquist "dummy" as a birthday gift, something that she had won as a bingo prize, which he named Dummy Dan/Danny Dum. He used that figure, which his father modified for better movement; until he asked Frank Marshall construct a new Danny in 1945. Marshall had a penchant for trying to make the hand carved wooden figures look like the performer that would be using them so the folks could see to them as related. Nelson was very pleased with the figure and gave his figure an Irish name, like Edgar Bergen's "Charlie McCarthy" and his mentor Bob Evan's "Jerry O'Leary" had before him, by adding O'Day. Two years later in 1947 Jimmy married his high school sweetheart Margot Humphries in Buffalo N.Y.
It was at that time that Danny started to need a little T.L.C. so Jimmy returned to Frank Marshall to have a duplicate made. However the figure "Just didn't look like Danny" said Nelson "but I didn't have the heart, or the nerve, at the age of nineteen to tell Frank that I wasn't a hundred percent satisfied." By 1949 the Nelsons were back in Chicago with their two boys. Talent Agent Louis Cohan got Jimmy better bookings than he was able to get in New York and Jimmy Nelson and Danny O'Day were now in the big time! So Jimmy added the new figure to his act, as the highly cultured Humphrey Higsbye and he became the foil to Danny much like Mortimer Snerd was for Charlie McCarthy. Jimmy went on to host Chicago's Hollard's Happy House on WGN-TV. In 1950 Nelson and Danny appeared for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show and were a great success with the audience as well as with Sullivan.
That same year Nelson had Marshall construct a dog character and named him "Farfel" after an item on a hotel menu, he brought that new figure with him as he joined the troupe on Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater." Nineteen-fifty-one saw the Nelson marriage come to an end and Jimmy moved to New York with his three sons on their own until 1956 when he married the pretty girl singer, Betty Norman, who worked as his supporting act.
The year before his nuptials Jimmy, Danny and Farfel began the Nestlé's campaign that made them even more of a house hold name, if that is possible, than they were on the Milton Berle show.
The facts in this short biography are from Jimmy Nelson himself and Kelly Asbury's book "Dummy Days" where you can find more on Jimmy Nelson, Danny O'Day and Farfel, as well as the four other most well known ventriloquists in American history.- Actress
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Shari Lewis was born on 17 January 1934 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Lamb Chop's Play-Along (1992), The Charlie Horse Music Pizza (1998) and Star Trek (1966). She was married to Jeremy Tarcher and Stanley Harry Lipschitz (Lewis). She died on 2 August 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Willie Tyler was born on 8 September 1940 in Red Level, Alabama, USA. He is an actor, known for Coming Home (1978), Americathon (1979) and Pacific Blue (1996).
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Jay Johnson was born on 11 July 1949 in Richardson, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Soap (1977), Annabelle's Wish (1997) and That '70s Show (1998). He has been married to Sandra Asbury-Johnson since 14 May 1972. They have two children.- Writer
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David Strassman was born in Los Angeles and became interested in theatre after a visit to the Magic Castle in Hollywood at age 11. He practiced magic and ventriloquism until high school where he attended New Trier West High School in Chicago, performing in plays and musicals. Strassman studied improvisation for a year after taking a master class with Viola Spolin from 2nd City. After High School and 1 year of college, Strassman moved to New York City to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for a year and then later at the Herbert Berghoff Studios. To earn money, he started performing on the streets of New York, London, and Paris, then got performance spots at the Comic Stip, Catch a Rising Star, and Improv comedy clubs in NYC. Performing the comedy club circuit throughout the late '70's and 1980's, Strassman worked his way up from opening act to high paid headliner. He made numerous appearances on television in the US, headlined Las Vegas, and, won critics awards at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. His shows have played all over the English speaking world and his latest show, "Careful What You Wish For", is soon to be released on his 6th DVD.- Actor
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Jeff Dunham was born on 18 April 1962 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Delta Farce (2007), Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007) and Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special (2008). He has been married to Audrey Dunham since 12 October 2012. They have two children. He was previously married to Paige Dunham.- Actor
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Terry Fator was born on 10 June 1965 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas (2009), Drop Dead Diva (2009) and Terry Fator: We Are the World (2024). He has been married to Angie Fiore since 4 September 2015. He was previously married to Taylor Dew and Melinda Fator.