Archive for January, 2010

« Older Entries

Dan Horn Ventriloquist Extrodinaire

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

I must admit that I watch way too much ventriloquism but hey it is what I love and since I don’t perform I love to watch. One of my favorite ventriloquists is Dan Horn. He is one of the regulars at the VentHaven ConVENTion and is known by most everyone who attends but there are a lot of folks out there who read this blog that have not seen Dan perform and I thought it would be apropos to show you some of his work here on Ventriloquist Central.

danhorn-orson
Dan Horn and Orson

Here is a video from 1988 so he is using his original Orson figure which I just loved. It was kind of crude compared to Dan’s current Orson but I just liked his look.

Dan uses soft figures but for me this guy is so talented with his manipulation as well as his great voice control that I overlook that the figure isn’t wooden. You know I just love the hard figures.

Anyway take a look at this older video of Dan and enjoy. Then you can Google him and look at other videos he has on the web and I am sure you all will agree with me that Dan is one of the best ventriloquist in the world today!!

<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=HQcwJTn_FHM">http://youtube.com/watch?v=HQcwJTn_FHM</a>

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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

Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Copyright 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Like this blog post? Buy me a coffee or send me a tip!

Posted in Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central, Ventriloquist Videos | 4 Comments »

Ray Conlin with his Ventriloquist Figure

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

RayConlin

A while back I wrote about how I purchased a Marshall figure in parts, first the body and then the head. If you missed that particular blog, here it is:

Click here for a Special Frank Marshall Ventriloquist Figure

I was fortunate to just acquire the same picture which I spoke of that is in the Vent Haven museum which shows Ray Conlin with his figure. In this picture you can see how large the figure is due to the walking body.

Of course he is now named Junior Junior because of his use by Bob Isaacson but it sure is nice to have the picture showing the figure with his original owner.

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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

Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Copyright 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Like this blog post? Buy me a coffee or send me a tip!

Posted in Frank Marshall Figure (Dummy), Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central, Ventriloquist Figure (Dummy) Makers, Ventriloquist Figures | 1 Comment »

Working for Free as a Ventriloquist

Friday, January 29th, 2010

I was reading the chatter on another forum about performing shows for free and it really got me to thinking and so I decided to give my thoughts on this.

It seems to me that when it comes to show business it is one of the very few venues that people think you should work for free. Isn’t it amazing to think that if you were a plumber, you advertise in the yellow pages, and you get a call saying there is a leak under my sink and the party asks if you can come over and fix it for free?

Or you are a lawyer and a client calls and says he has just been arrested for drunk driving. I need you to represent me but please will you do it for free? OK maybe on the law if you prove indigence you can get a court appointed attorney but working in the court system for over 30 years, you know what you get for free. Answer is, “see you when you get out of jail.”

As a performer, in any venue, you have expenses such as props, sound systems, script writers, set decorations etc, etc. So why would you perform for free. Just does not make any sense. My son, who is a pro magician and does restaurant magic has had this problem many times and when he explains to the prospective client about his costs usually they either pay or go elsewhere. Never, Never perform for free because once you do you will never get paid and believe me word spreads that hey do you know so and so…..you can get him or her to perform for free.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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

Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Copyright 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Like this blog post? Buy me a coffee or send me a tip!

Posted in Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central | 5 Comments »

Bergen and McCarthy, Old Time Radio Shows

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

In case you haven’t noticed, we have a new sponsor on Ventriloquist Central, “Old Time Radio Show Catalog.” I think they have every old time radio show (or so it seems) on this website at a very reasonable investment.

The last time I looked, under the “Comedy” category, the second most popular item is “Bergen and McCarthy” and they have 191 of their shows. Click the player button below for a sample.

 

 

Bergen & McCarthy

 

If you want to hear some great old radio shows, I highly recommend you check them out.

Click here for Bergen & McCarthy on the Old Time Radio Shows

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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

Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Copyright 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Like this blog post? Buy me a coffee or send me a tip!

Posted in Edgar Bergen, Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central | 2 Comments »

Fabulous Dummy Dan Ventriloquist Figure

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

dummydan

I try to go to antique shows on the weekends and I can tell you it is very rare that you will ever find a ventriloquist figure at one that is for sale. But a couple of Saturday’s ago, my wife and I ventured to the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, MA, to an antique show called the Greater Boston Antique Show and Sale.

We were there for about half an hour when my wife Helen said to me that there are never ventriloquist figures at these shows so why do we keep going. I chuckled and agreed with her but the hunt is what draws me to the shows.

We went our separate ways and all of a sudden Helen comes and gets me and says I found something. I got excited and said to myself could it be a great vent figure? Well low and behold under a table she found a box with some dolls in it and among the dolls was a mint condition 1930’s composition 20″ ventriloquist figure made by the Freundlich Co of New York.

The figure is the smallest size they sold and is still in his original tuxedo with original bow tie and silk dickey shirt. His paint is fabulous and there is no crazing or cracking what so ever. The only flaw is the sole on one shoe is missing. It was made of cardboard and glued on and went missing at some point. The original string is present and the mouth still works when pulled. He is just a superb condition figure.

This particular figure was the one that Fred & Madeline Maher used and converted to make the figure named Tiny in their catalogue.

Watch the video of this Dummy Dan figure.

 

Get the Flash Player to see this content.

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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

Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are Frank Marshall figures. Because of his love for the art of ventriloquism, Mr. Willinger created the website Ventriloquist Central. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Copyright 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Like this blog post? Buy me a coffee or send me a tip!

Posted in Dummy Collecting, Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central, Ventriloquist Figures, Ventriloquist Videos, Video Collecting Series | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries