I was so excited when the children of Rita
Winchell contacted me and showed me pictures of Harry Mahoney.
The children decided that Harry should come to reside here at
the Ventriloquist Central Collection so here he is in all his
beauty.
He is a Nosey figure and was made by Frank Marshall in the late
1930's purchased by Paul Winchell and given to his younger
sister Rita in 1940 for her 11th birthday.
He is in terrific condition too not having been messed with. The
control stick is set up exactly how Paul Winchell had his head
stick with the mouth control on the front of the head stick and
the eye control on the side. There is a screw placed under the
eye control so that you can tell when the eyes are centered.
Paul did not use self centering eyes. His body is the standard
shaped shoulder board with spline shaping to make the front. All
original muslin arms, legs and body covering are present. His
hands are also original.
Rita had done some over paint in a pink color and also had made
his lips pink. I could see that the original paint was still
there and thought it just might be nail polish. I used a cotton
ball and acetone and low and behold the pink came right off
showing all the original paint. I did have to go over the lips
with a red to fill them in. Other than that the paint is
original. He also has his original wig and two tone suit.
I also have the red Tourister suit case, from the 1950's, that
Rita kept Harry in.
Harry Mahoney, as Rita Winchell named him, is a permanent member
now of the Ventriloquist Central Collection
Click here for more about Rita Winchell
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