Ventriloquist Central - A Tribute To Ventriloquism

I am a great fan of the late Brian Hamilton’s work. He was a talented youngster that I only wish were still here building his fabulous figures. Since he isn’t here I have tried my best to perpetuate his name here on Ventriloquist Central.

I was fortunate to come across this wonderful three page brochure that Brian put out early in his figure building career. The figures look great and so do his prices. You can just imagine and drool over the possibilities of having purchased one of these great ventriloquist figures back then at these prices. I know I am salivating at that thought.

Click here to see catalogue

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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When I first received the picture of Brian Hamilton holding the female figures head (click here) I wondered where this particular figure had gone. I made some inquiries and found out that this figure was originally made for ventriloquist Ken Karter to use as a floozy type character. When it was completed Ken passed on it for what ever the reason may have been.

Brian was a fellow who lived day to day and was always in need of money so when this figure did not sell he called his friend Bob Isaacson who came to his rescue and purchased the figure. Bob in turn sold her to another performer/collector who would like to remain anonymous. The figures rested with him for the better part of 20 years. I of course contacted this person and was told it was not for sale but maybe some time down the road it would be and I told him to just let me know.

Over a year passed and suddenly I was doing a deal for something else with this collector and he decided he would let the Hamilton go and she passed to my collection. I have had her for a while and had to have her all around eye movement repaired as they did not work when I received her. I completed this task myself and they now work perfectly in all directions. I first wigged her in a blond wig but the original idea of a floozy character didn’t seem to work with blond hair so then a red wig came into play. I think you will agree it works much better.

She is dressed in her slinky red dress with red feather boa fishnet stockings and black patent leather shoes to complete the look. Oh yes red fingernails were a must.

She has the McElroy body, hands, harness and her functions are all around weighted eye movement, winkers/blinkers and of course slot jaw. The paint on her is all original from Brian Hamilton and she is cast in fiberglass. She is just a wonderful creation and I am happy she is here in my collection.

Click here to see more pictures of her

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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There have been some questions by some of our readers as to sales ads which were put out to the public by Frank Marshall. Unfortunately I do not think that there were many.

One of the more common ads was for his Ricky Tik figure (click here for ad) and another was for the Tommy Knots figure (click here for ad).

The one I have pictured here might be the best example of his sales ad (from 1950) because he does incorporate some great marketing of himself. I think it is a great presentation for his figure making work.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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It is hard to believe that today is the 20th anniversary of the passing away of one of the most talented builders of both wood (Marshall style) and Fiberglass (McElroy style) ventriloquist figures. Brian Hamilton was from Chicago IL and in his very young years produced some amazing ventriloquist figures. I am please to be able to say that I myself own a few of his creations and they are exceptional figures. There is not telling how great this fellow could have become if he had lived.

Lee Dunn, an owner of a great McElroy style Hamilton figure, sent in this very nice ad for me to show you which offered his figures for sale. Check out that high price for one of his creations. His starting price was $750.00 and went up depending on the functions you ordered for the figure. $750.00 today may not seem like a lot of money but in 1988 dollars it was quite a tidy sum.

The figure shown in this ad happens to be the one that is currently owned by Bob Isaacson and is one of only a handful of the McElroy style figures that Brian ever created. I hope you enjoy looking at the ad.

Click Here for Brian Hamilton Ad

Brian, you can rest assured that your memory lives on in all of us in the ventriloquial world.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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James Tattersall was a ventriloquist that may have been unique to the ventriloquist world. This performer was popular in England in the 1940’s and 1950’s and built all of his own figures and to my knowledge never sold or made his figures for anyone else. They are truly unique and are very large in size.
 
I myself was lucky enough to purchase one of his figures from a friend of his in England who was given one of the figures. I subsequently sold that figure to Bob Abdou aka Mr Puppet and it now resides in his collection. This figure is also pictured in the Tribute to Ventriloquism pages under Hard figure Makers. 

Click Here for Ventriloquist Hard Figure Maker’s Page

We were fortunate that our good friend George Boosey sent us in this great video of James Tattersall for everyone to see this clearly unique and very talented ventriloquist perform. I hope you enjoy this video.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

P.S.  ATTENTION Las Vegas Ventriloquists…I’ve been contacted by an international magazine that wants to do an interview with a Las Vegas vent.  If you are based out of Vegas and are interested, please contact me at dan@ventriloquistcentral.com .

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Frank Marshall not only produced great faces for his figures but he was a great craftsman on his bodies. I have been fortunate now to inspect and own nearly 40 different bodies that were constructed by this genius and he did do some different things to them. I will try to cover some points.
 
First it is rumored that he would use orange crates for scrap wood to build his bodies. I think that is a misnomer because none of the bodies that I won were made from so called orange crates. In fact I have found that for the most part the perfectly shaped shoulder boards are made of Maple which is a hard wood. There are 3 pieces of maple laminated together and cut on a band saw to make the shape of the shoulder. I can certainly let you know that was not scrape wood which was used.
 
The base board as well as the side boards were made with poplar or pine. After this the entire front is crisscrossed with reed which is then tied and then the front is covered with a quilted material. This made for a very sturdy body and a very comfortable fit for the hand. The reed is bent into place forming the front of the body and was attached by small brads and glue.
 
The hole for the headpost is a 2″ in diameter hole and if the body was used for a flat bottom neck the hole remained just like that a plain circle but if the neck was ball and socket, the hole had a carved by hand route around the hole about 3/8″ wide and about 3/8″ deep. Perfect size. Marshall did it perfect.

If you check back on the Marshall article by Bob Isaacson (click here to see article) there are some great photos of Marshall in his shop creating one of his bodies as well as some great shots of him working on his heads.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

P.S.  A regular contributor to Ventriloquist Central, Val Hilliker, sent us a link to some of her YouTube videos….check them out:
Val Hilliker on YouTube
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I received this email from Steve Barry yesterday about my blog post showing of the ventriloquist figure he made for me.  With his permission, I’m sharing it with you:
 

Hi Dan,
 
 I have been making full size pro figures (I call them stage figures) for many years. Since I have started my blog I have made four of them on it.

When I sold my first figure on eBay in Sept. of 2005, I received 350 dollars for something I put a lot of effort and work into. I decided from then on, I wouldn’t sell stage figures on eBay. I want the price that I decide, not what other people decide. I think Al Stevens said it best. Take all the tools, supplies, material and time that go in to making a figure and then you can make a decision on a figures worth.

The reason I sell conversion figures is not for the almighty dollar.  It is to catch those people on the edge of getting involved in ventriloquism.  They won’t spend 5 to 12 hundred dollars on a stage figure. They don’t want a converted Charlie or Mortimer that they sell on several web sites for 299 dollars. They want something individual to them. I give them that alternative for the same price with much more work put into it.

I have had many people who bought my conversions come back and request stage figures afterwards. That’s how you get them involved  I don’t want it this to be an exclusive club. I want everyone involved. I am constantly emailed by people who ask questions about how to do something when it comes to figure making. They tell me they were ignored by other figure makers or answered vaguely. If they are concerned about competition, they shouldn’t be. The more who get involved, the more demand there will be for their products. Some people will make one for themselves, others will start to make them professionally. They in turn will get other people involved.

 I did not make this figure to prove to you I could. I have never felt the need to prove anything. The only thing I asked is that you restore me to the Makers page. I appreciate that you did this.  I made this figure for you because, I found out that ventriloquism is a passion for you as well as me and I was very impressed with the amount of work you put in to your web site. As I said in my blog, it is my tribute to your work. We could argue about definitions and what your feelings are and my feelings are forever. That is not my or your goal in this field. If I am correct, and I think I am, our goal is to get people involved by our actions.I will continue to do exactly what I do. That is what I decided to do for the reasons I gave you in this letter. I am not, nor have I ever been in the business of deceiving people as I was accused of doing. Anyone whoever felt that way was given ALL of their money back including shipping and handling. I am in the business of giving people an alternative to the run of the mill Juro doll, unpainted, with fleece on its head in a cardboard body sold for the same price I charge for mine. And I offer free mechanical repairs for life.

So we are both in the business of promoting ventriloquism. I get them started, you give them history and background as well as a place to meet and discuss. Thank you for returning me to the Makers page. Feel free to post this letter.  Have a great weekend Dan. Keep up the good work. I’m an avid reader.Steve Barry

Steve and I have had our differences in the past but through many emails, we’ve found a middle ground to agree upon.  Plus, he’s very correct about my passion for ventriloquism and wanting to share as much information as possible with all of you out there.

Thanks, Steve.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
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If you don’t know who Steve Barry is in our world of ventriloquism, then you have been living under a rock. He is a prolific builder of one of a kind custom conversion ventriloquist figures and goes under the name of Gepettosworkshop on eBay.

He starts with a Juro figure for the most part, uses magic sculpt to create a new look, adds moving eyes, eyebrows, slot jaw, head stick and new body and there you have a custom pro style figure.
 
Steve and I went back and forth and he decided he would show me he could make a figure totally from scratch and in doing so he decided it should be in my own likeness. Well he is a man of his word and after about 6 months his Dan Willinger figure is done and now residing in the Dan Willinger collection.

Steve you did in fact capture many of my characteristic (especially the space between my front teeth ) and my wife thinks it is a very good characterization. So I can now take off my hat to you (so to speak because I don’t wear hats) because you have proved that you can in fact make a complete pro ventriloquist figure from scratch.

I think this is the way you should go from now on and forget about the conversions. You certainly have the ability and I know people would love to get custom figures that are full size pro figures from you!!

Click Here For Steve Barry’s Blog

Again congrats on a job well done.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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J.C. Turner was a prolific builder of figures back in the 1940’s and 50’s and he sold his figures through Abbott’s Magic in Colon Michigan. His figures were used by many of the professional ventriloquists as a starter figure. He made his figures completely of wood and they all had a very humorous look. His bodies were very sturdy and also made of wood covered with muslin. The arms and legs were stuffed with straw and sometimes he even made shoes which were permanently attached to the leg. They looked like spats. Not every figure he made had these.
 
Turner did make figures with every movement such as winkers, spitters, raising eyebrows, etc. He also made them in various paints such as Caucasian, Negro and clown. His figures stand the test of time and still work very well with audiences today!!
 
The prices for Turner figures in today’s market I consider to be a bargain. They sell in the $350.00 to $600.00 price range within the ventriloquist community but in the antique world they can bring far more as they will sell in the American folk art category.
 
I am happy to offer a great J.C. Turner for sale so please click on this link for the Ventriloquist Marketplace and have a look. He is a wonderful little fellow.

Click Here for J.C. Turner Figure For Sale

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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When it comes to the Rolls Royce of ventriloquist figures everyone agrees that The McElroys were the best and first to create these works of art but I was just sent in this great ad on learning ventriloquism and if you look at this ad (see link below), which was published in August of 1934 , you will see a figure with a similar set up of the controls for multiple movements of the figures to what the McElroy Brothers created.  If I am not mistaken the brothers first ad for their figures was in the Abbott’s catalogue of 1937 and they show their first sale of a figure to Robert Wedertz. His figure was made in 1936 which is 2 years following this advertisement.
 
I remember that on ebay about 2 years ago someone from Germany was selling a figure that was in need of repair but it had this same style handle and control box as you see pictured here. I did in fact bid on it but was not the buyer. I now wish I had been because I thought it was not original and was done by someone trying to copy the McElroys. I just may have been wrong.
 
There was a German manufacturer of Magic named Klingel and to date I only know of one figure made by them and it is currently in a magic collector’s collection and it has multiple functions but it does not have this style handle.
 
Is there anyone out there , reading this blog, that can identify the maker of this early style controlled figure?

Click Here for the “Learning Ventriloquism” Ad

Dan 
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
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