Ventriloquist Central - A Tribute To Ventriloquism

Everyone who knows anything about ventriloquism knows who Bill DeMar is. He is one of the finest old school ventriloquists out there and is still going strong. He recently had Chuck Norwood Re… Re-Done by Al Stevens ( a great figure maker and repairman by the way) and when he received him back from Al he wrote me a note which he has kindly said I can share with the Ventriloquist Central community. Thanks Bill!!
 
“Got ‘Chuck’s’ head today, FINALLY!!  He’s lying down right now, tired after that long ridiculous trip.   Al Stevens did a BANG UP JOB, on poor Chuck.  But the box he came in had so much popcorn in it, I can open my own theatre.   Chuck now has moving eyebrows.

I can not thank Al enough for all he’s done.   Timing is essential, and Al called me from
Florida, just minutes after I got home with ‘Chucks’ head.   It’s very interesting how one can have a figure in repair, or gone from your presence and you feel like a family member is missing.  You feel much better when you get the figure back where it belongs.
 
I’ve told this before, but…when I was working for Jack Ruby one time (I worked for him many times) and I was staying at his apartment, and someone broke into my car and stole Chucks case and my baritone Uke, and a suit, And Jack came in late and said, “it looks like someone has broken into your car.”  I ran down stairs and found ‘Chucks’ case had been abandoned in the parking lot, to much for ‘them’ I guess.
 

Also used ‘Chuck’ back in ‘53 while traveling through Germany, in a restaurant and got a free meal.  In London I got a free apartment.  And a girl.  Chuck has been a big help to me.  Without him I would have had to go to ‘work’.  Sorry about the use of the four letter word.” 

Bill told me today that he does not have a digital camera so he was unable to send me any pictures so I would like to thank Al Stevens for his pictures of how Chuck Norwood and how he now looks today.

To see Chuck Norwood,  just click on this link for Al Steven’s Blog!

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

All writings here are copyrighted by Dan Willinger and Ventriloquist Central. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I know that winter has been very mean across the entire country but with this great means of communication we can show everyone instantly what it is like so here you are with the pictures of an additional 12″ of new snow that has fallen since 3AM this morning. We shoveled out but it is now going to change to rain and then super freeze to give a nice crusty topping.
 
Enjoy the pictures!! 

  
Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
***************************************************

All writings here are copyrighted by Dan Willinger and Ventriloquist Central. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Unfortunately up here in the northeast winter can be severe and this year is no exception. Just a week ago we had 5 inches of very wet heavy snow and the temps have been in the 20’s and low 30’s for the better part of a full week. This morning I awoke to a nice sheet of pure ice. The steps and walkways looked ok but as soon as you put your foot down it was like an ice skating rink. I was smart this season and purchased a 100 pound drum of ice melt so that I can get rid of the ice.
 
For the first time I covered my car with a plastic tarpaulin and all I had to do was take it off this morning and my car was ice free. It was not easy to get off because of the weight of the ice but it did make the car easier to use instead of the scraping of the windows.
 
I am very tired of these New England winters and I do hope that in the not to distant future I will be able to make a move to Las Vegas. My wife and I vacation there a couple times a year and we just love the dry heat. We also like it there in the dead of summer. Temps reach upwards of 117 degrees but like being in zero degrees you don’t go out. I just love the idea of never having to shovel again or salt my walkway. No falling down on black ice and no exorbitant heating bills.

However, the dummies are nice, cozy, and warm in their rooms, plus they never complain about the heat or cold.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

All writings here are copyrighted by Dan Willinger and Ventriloquist Central. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

My friend Al Stevens wrote a very nice blog this past week (Saturday, Dec 8th) about collecting and comparison between the ultimate Tenor Saxophone and the ventriloquist figure. For the most part I am in total agreement with Al but did want to expound on a couple things
 
The Selmer Tenor Sax Mark VI is without question the holy grail for the Sax player and prior to the existence of eBay this Sax could fetch upwards of $20,000.00 for a prime example. At that same time frame a Marshall figure sold for around $2500.00. We are talking about the mid 1980’s for a time reference. Another comparison can be made between the John D’Angelico Guitar and a Marshall figure. In the mid 1980s you could purchase a D’Angelico New Yorker jazz guitar, also considered a holy grail, for around $6000.00 or the Marshall figure for $2500.00. The reason why I wanted to also show the guitar is significant.
 
The Selmer Sax was a mass produced instrument albeit being hand finished. The D’Angelico guitar was a totally hand crafted instrument. The Marshall ventriloquist figure was hand crafted as well. Now I will get to my point. With the advent of eBay the availability of certain items became readily available. One of them is the Selmer Tenor Sax Mark VI. At any time, on eBay, you can find a Selmer Mark VI, and because of that, the price of one has dropped remarkably from the 20K to under half that price.

Even though it is still without question the sax every pro player wants the price is much more acceptable and affordable, especially with the drop in price and the value difference of the dollar from the 1980’s to now. The D’Angelico guitar went from a price of $6000.00 to over 30K for a great example. Why?? Because they were hand built and very few are available for purchase. There have been only 2 D’Angelico’s listed on eBay as far as I know in the past year. The price for a Marshall has gone from $2500 to ?????depending on the model. Why? Because they were limited in production, even though Marshall was prolific, and again they are very rare on eBay. You can count on your hand how many have been on eBay in the past 5 years.
 
EBay is a great vehicle for sure for both buying and selling but eBay has devalued many items that before eBay’s existence sold for quite a bit more money. If you were to obtain a Warman’s Antique Price Guide from the 1980’s you would find that an original 1930’s Effanbee Charlie McCarthy listed for around $800.00.  Today on eBay they are listed almost all the time and you can purchase one for around $150.00 in very nice condition. Ebay made it very easy for everyone to list items that before were near impossible to find and caused prices in general in the antique market to fall. Those items that are unique, or hand built, will always command high prices without question and collectors will always pay a premium for a great example.
 
I said I agreed with Al and I do as far as new items are concerned. There are many new saxophones or guitars that play very close to the holy grails and the same goes for ventriloquist figures. There are many fine examples out there today that will fill any performers’ bill and do the exact same job but…….there is nothing like the old vent figure, sax, or guitar!!!

Click here for Al Steven’s Blog…

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

All writings here are copyrighted by Dan Willinger and Ventriloquist Central. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I have to take my hat off to Steve Axtell because he has come up with truly remarkable remotely controlled figures. I’ve always marveled at animatronics and thought it is amazing that no one has offered these to the vent community. I am sure that there will be many folks stepping up to the plate to have one of these to use for their shows.
 
I must let you all know that this is not the first use of remote control with ventriloquist figures. Stanley Burns, who wrote the must have book Other Voices, used a figure named Dr. Lichi. This was a Marshall figure which Stanley had converted to remote control and did a wonderful act using him. Here is a picture of him with this figure.

    
 
Another ventriloquist from the past who used remote control figures, which were also Marshall figures, was Billy Davis. His Marshall figure was able to do a complete mind reading act while Billy was walking around in the audience. Also enclosed is a picture of his remote controlled figure.

 
As they say nothing is new it is just revamped and done in a more modern method. Steve has taken it a step further because they will be readily available and not custom made.  If you have not seen Steve’s remote puppet check out the video below.

Click Here for Axtell Expression

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

All writings here are copyrighted by Dan Willinger and Ventriloquist Central. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!