Ventriloquist Central - A Tribute To Ventriloquism

One of my favorite things to do is to go to a live auction. There is nothing like the excitement of bidding in person against real people and actually being the wining bidder. Ebay just can’t give you that feeling. That being said I am very fortunate because just 30 minutes away from where I live is a city named Watertown. In this city is a remarkable store called “The Magic Art Studio”

This is a very special place because my son Jason at a very early age of 9 decided he wanted to be a professional magician, which today at the age of 28 he is, and he got a job working behind the counter at this great magic shop. He worked there from the age of 10 to the age of 18 when he left to go to California to take the Chavez Course in Magic.

For me the Magic Art Studio opened my eyes to the world of collectible magic and the owner, Mr Ray Goulet, actually introduced me to Ventriloquist Figure Makers George and Glen McElroy. Well not literally, he showed me pictures of Female magician Dell O’Dell who owned a McElroy Johnnie figure which is now in the collection of magician historian John Gaughn.

I have gotten off subject so I will redirect my thoughts. Four times a year Mr Goulet holds a magic auction at his Magic Art Studio where you can purchase some great magic and yes I have even purchased Vent figures there. The crowd usually numbers around 45 and the sprit and fun of a big time auction gallery is there. This past auction Jason came with me and he shot a few seconds of this great venue for you all to see.

It might be hard for any of you to ever catch one of the auctions but if you are in the Boston area ,if you don’t visit with me I will be disappointed, make sure you go visit The Magic Art Studio. It is a wondrous place and is a true magic shop no tricks and jokes here.

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Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. His collection of ventriloquist figures now numbers over 100 figures of which there are over 50 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 2008 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

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Ventriloquism, like Magic, is about deception because of the great illusion that is presented by the ventriloquist. When the illusion is perfect the figure is alive and that is without question as good an illusion as any women that has been cut in half. This brings me to talk about the use of magic tricks in ventriloquism. Many performers incorporate magic. Bill Boley was one and today Steve Taylor uses magic throughout his show as well as many others.

Ray Goulet, the owner of the Magic Art Studio in Watertown MA (http://www.magicartstudio.com/), and also the owner of the Mini Museum of Magic, actually it is one of the world’s largest collections of antique magic, produced a number of magical items over the years and among them were a few ventriloquial items. He produced a talking cane, a Toby Jug and also a Mandarin Head in a box. All were made in limited edition numbers of only 12.

The Mandarin head is great for a ventriloquist because not only is it a head in a box but you can actually perform a real card trick with him. Just picture this: You have a spectator select a card and remember it, Then you take the deck and put the selected card back in the deck and place the deck inside the box with the head. Close the door and ask the Mandarin if he has found the card. After a bit of ventriloquism banter you open the door and the selected card is in the mandarins mouth. The card is removed and shown to everyone to be the selected card. This is great visual magic and you incorporate the ventriloquism as well. Two illusions packed together.

We are fortunate to have one of these rare items for sale on the Marketplace. Take a look!!

Click here to see the Mandarin Head

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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

Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. His collection of ventriloquist figures now numbers over 100 figures of which there are over 50 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 2008 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

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