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MAX ALEXANDER
Circa 1902. |
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FRED ALLEN 1894-1956
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Allen
Comedian best known for his witty, pointed radio
programs of the 1930s and 1940s. Photo taken in 1916.
Figure: Jake. |
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JACK ALLEN
Billed as The Colonial Ventriloquist |
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FRANK G. ARMITAGE
Circa 1923. Primarily known for impersonating
characters from Dickens. |
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A. C. ASTOR
The Globe-Trotting Ventriloquist.
|
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AL BAKER
Figure: Dennis. Circa 1920-26. |
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CHARLES E. BROWN
Ventriloquist, Mimic, Character Comedian.
Also known as Professor Maurettus. Performed primarily in the
Midwest. Received a Gold Medal at the 1904 St. Louis World's
Fair for his ventriloquist act.
|
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HARRY BURTON
Burton, a US ventriloquist circa 1911, used a
walking figure named Silas Green. |
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FRED CECIL |
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THE GREAT CHESTERFIELD
1882-1977
Real name: Howard Axel Olson. From Chicago,
Illinois. Figure: Jake. Anecdote: One day as
Chesterfield was carrying a suitcase, some thieves waylaid him to
get whatever valuables might be in it. The thieves were
greatly disappointed, though, to find that the suitcase contained
only one item: Jake. The thieves felt that Jake had no value
and, so, did not take him. Trivia: Howard Olson (see Stage vents) is the son of The Great
Chesterfield. |
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JOHN ELLWOOD CHRISTINE 1890-1985
Listed in McPharlin as Ellwood and Ripel Mr and Mrs John Ellwood
Christine- based in Philadelphia 1935 did Punch and Judy 1936,
created an marionette "Gus the Imp" known for magic too, awarded a
Silver cup by the International Brotherhood of Magicians |
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JOHNSON CLARK 1886-1956
Billed as The Sportsman Ventriloquist. Figure: Hodge.
Read a transcript of Johnson Clark's
The Apple Orchard. Clark used only a single figure, Hodge. Hodge was a yokel
talking to Clark, who dressed as a "Squire." His
sketch or scena involved an elaborate farmyard setting, including a
painted backcloth depicting the English countryside. |
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CHARLES CONYERS
Figure: Tommy Trotters |
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JOHN W. COOPER
1873-1966
www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/
One of the few black ventriloquists in
vaudeville. Figure: Sam Jackson, made by Theodore Mack.
In 1886 he joined the Southern Jubilee Singers. In 1901-02 he
was part of Richards and Pringles Georgia Minstrels. Cooper
was able to break into the white-dominated vaudeville circuit when
there was a strike in 1901. Cooper also performed on the
weekly radio show "The Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour"
during the 1930s.Best routine: Fun in a Barbershop -- an African-American barber
shop for whites. Cooper used five dummies. Since he cut the
hair with his hands, he operated the five dummies with his feet.
Trivia: John W. Cooper taught ventriloquism to Shari
Lewis. |
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TOM CORAM
Real name: Tommy Whitaker. Figure: Jerry Fisher. London
debut in 1905. On occasion Coram would operate Jerry through a
pneumatic device. Later the Jerry figure could cry, wink,
spit, smoke, blink, and even walk. Coram and Jerry became especially
known for their military act. |
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WILL COWLING 1902-1977
Will wrote much of his own material and songs. his
"bill heading" always quoted "clever and clean" after each show he
would say "Your pleasure is my pleasure and a good audience gets the
best from an artist every time".
One of his greatest fans in those days was Lady
Armstrong from Cragside, Rothbury, Northumberland he often appeared
at her residence. He was a well known music hall ventriloquist in
those days and in the war worked with famous stars such as Lawrence
Olivier and Vivian Leigh one of his buddies in the war was Nat
Gomella the trumpet player whose best number was "Georgia".
Will still entertained until 1970.
His Granddaughter Eileen Thompson is still using his
vent doll:
http://eileenandjoe.co.uk/
|
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GREGORY DONSKOI
Lived 1865-1956. First great Russian ventriloquist.
Known for creating 11 different voices in his act and for using
life-sized figures. He also made a real dog speak.
Performed for the Russian troops during the Russian Revolution
(1917) and World War II.. |
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LYDIA DREAMS
Real name: Walter Lambert. Female
Impersonator. Hospital skit: Dreams played a nurse and the
figure played an accident victim. Dreams also painted
"Popularity" -- a tribute to the variety era. This painting is
in the London Museum. |
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DURNO, THE MYSTERIOUS
Primarily known as a magician. |
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EDGAR Also
known as Great Edgar. |
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MAUDE EDWARDS
Figure: Nobbler, the stable boy. Sister of Tom Edwards. |
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TOM EDWARDS
Billed as The Huntsman Ventriloquist. Top vaudeville
entertainer. Brother to Maude Edwards. |
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EDWARD ELLIOTT 1880-1924
Read a
Biography of Elliott Figure:
Sunshine James Elliott was an actor, writer, and
ventriloquist from England who began performing around 1900.
In 1904,
at the age of 24,
Elliott formed his own independent show and
became the proprietor of the Pronouns Concert Party.
In 1911 Elliott began his first overseas tour and
performed in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Sunshine James was
a
big
hit
in Australia in the
early
1920's.
He had his own
fan club,
and Elliott often
brought him to perform at large gala events. |
|
LUCILLE ELMORE
Figures: Sambo and Susie. |
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HARRY FERRIS
Radioquiolism? |
|
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LEOPOLDO FREGOLI
Lived: 1867 to 1936. Performed a one-man showing depicting
numerous characters. Quick-change artist, singer, dancer,
clown, juggler, ventriloquist. Used five different characters
in his ventriloquial act. |
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ROBERT GANTHONY
Photo circa 1904. |
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JOHN GODDARD |
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HORACE GOLDIN
1874-1939 Real name is Hyman Goldstein.
Primarily known as a magician. |
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JOE GOODMAN
From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
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GRIEVE |
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BEN F. HAMMOND
Cartoonist. Ventriloquist. |
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NELSON HARDY
Stan Burns refers to Hardy as an "alfresco" entertainer (outdoor
performance on a ladder). Burns, as a youth, saw Hardy (then
an old-timer) perform with a figure whose nose would light up and
would say "Blow it out, 'ardy" every time it did so.
(World War I photo circa 1916) |
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RAYMOND HARTER
Billed as "Master Raymond, The World's Best
Ventriloquist". Harter toured New York's Broadway theatres during
the early 1930s. |
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JOE HASTINGS
Presented a show called Dick Turpin: A Ventriloquial Novelty. |
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ARTHUR HILL
Figure: Wally. |
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LOUISE HUDSON
Conducted conversations with a full-sized male figure. |
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JOHN A. KELLY
Ventriloquist. Singer. Impersonator.
Whistler. |
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FRED KETCH 1891-1975
Born in San Francisco, California, on December 20, 1891, Ketch
learned ventriloquism on his own, and after much work and many
shows, began t o develop into a top vaudeville act. In 1916, Ketch
started on a tour from San Francisco to Seattle and Vancouver. Fred
worked on the same bill with actress Edith Wilma, and they became
friends. By 1917, the successful act of "Ketch & Wilma" was formed,
a top ventriloquist novelty combining the talents of Fred and Edith.
Here, their act "Push the Cork In" was originated and became a
standard act on the circuit. In 1919 Edith Wilma officially became
Edith Ketch. The team played around the country until Edith became
ill. Fred decided to stop traveling in 1929. Edith passed away about
a year later.
Fred went on to tour with his own creations, Jerry J and the talking
Mexican head, Jose Garcia. Fred also developed the unreal skill of
singing in two and later three voices in harmony. He was to feature
this stunt for years. |
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HARRY LESTER 1880-1956
GO TO THE
HARRY LESTER
PAGE |
|
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CHARLES MACK
Circa 1926. Real name: Charles McCarty.
Mack would dress in clown costume and makeup and perform with his
black ventriloquist's figure Danny, who would tell jokes and sing
songs. Mack also performed magic and presented a Punch & Judy Show. |
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HAL MERTON
Figure: Joe. Magician. Ventriloquist. |
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MARSHALL MONTGOMERY
Figure: George. Performed in Canada circa 1913. |
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REUBEN MORE |
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PROF. J. NELSON |
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NORMAN OSBORNE
Presented a Fishing Scena or Sketch. |
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OXLEY PARR
Entertainer. Conjurer. Ventriloquist. |
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DAVID POOLE
Billed as The Schoolmaster Ventriloquist: Poole dressed in an
academic gown and used a little girl figure and little boy figure as
pupils. |
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ARTHUR PRINCE 1881-1948
BORN: 1881, Wales
FAME: First
ventriloquist to drink and talk at the same time
CHARACTERS: Sailor Jim
LINK:
www.britishpathe.com
British Pathe has over half a dozen video clips
from 1932 to 1940 that feature Arthur Prince
Performed
before King George V
Toured
the U.S. and Australia
1932:
Norman Yendell Ward creates comic strip Arthur Prince and Jim
based on Prince's life
1948: Buried
with his widow and his puppet |
NO PHOTO |
ARTHUR QUISTO
Lived 1882-1960. Real name: Edwin Simms.
Known primarily for his Punch & Judy Shows, Quisto also built figures
for Coram and Prince. He used pneumatic devices and was the
first to use electromagnetic devices to animate his figures. |
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AUGUSTUS RAPP
Figure: Shorty Jones, made by Theo Mack.
Rapp was born in 1871. Shorty was born in
1908. Rapp listed Shorty's godfather as Frank Marshall on his
"birth certificate." |
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HENRY ROX
Photo circa 1902, Germany. Real Name:
Fedor Albert Paul Witkowsky
Born on March 25th,1855, in Berlin |
More Information Here |
FRED RUSSELL 1862-1957
BORN: 1862 in England
FAME: First Knee-Sitting Vent Figure, “The
Father of Modern Ventriloquism”
CHARACTERS: Coster Joe
QUOTE: "'It fell to my lot,' as the British
entertainer Fred Russell stated, with the conscious gravity that seems
to be a hazard in his line of work, 'to revolutionise the presentation
of Ventriloquial acts by endowing a single "figure" with a personality'.
... Looking back on his revolution sixty years later, Russell observed
contentedly that the invention of the personality puppet had advanced
'the art of Ventriloquism' throughout the civilised world, winning
thousands of fresh converts to the cause." (from "Tummy
Talkers"
by Jonathan Rée)
QUOTE: "The credit for inventing the single small doll,
usually perched on the ventriloquist's knee, belongs to Fred
Russell. He first presented his dummy 'Coster Joe' in 1896 and set
the format for ventriloquism which has survived with little
variation to the present day. Other dummies were sometimes
used as an experiment. Fred Russell, having pioneered the single
small doll, reverted to the use of larger dummies around 1923 when
he and his wife presented a court scene with about twenty dummies.
It was so realistic that many people thought that he had several
assistants and that the 'judge' was a real person. It was never
popular, and on one occasion when he reverted to 'Coster joe', the
theatre manager said, 'Why carry all those props about when you've
got that act?'" (From Kindly Leave the Stage!
By Roger Wilmut)
1896: First
appeared at the Palace in London, England
1910: BOOK:
Ventriloquism and Kindred Arts by Fred Russell,
London, published by Fred Russell, second English edition, 1910.
A practical treatise, giving explicit and reliable directions, whereby
the whole art of distant voice illusion, figure working and vocal
mimicry may be acquired.
1955 (?): Guest Appearance on
Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town": Episode: #9.6 - 30 October 1955
SPECIAL FEATURE: Read
a description of Russell's
"Breach of Promise" routine from the tribute/obituary in
the November 1957 issue of Oracle magazine. |
|
STANLEY RUSSELL
Billed as
"Little Stanley Russell: The Boy Wonder. Comedian, Vocalist,
Ventriloquist, and Dancer." |
|
ALBERT
SAVEEN
www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/other/daisymay.htm
Used a wide variety of
figures, including a little girl character named Daisy May.
Known for his versatility and novelty, Saveen included in his act a
conversation with a live dog. Saveen had fourteen puppet
characters including Daisy May - a tiny schoolgirl dummy, Andy the
Spiv - a cockney boy, a sad little boy called Sonny, and a dog who
used to say "Drop Dead!" in a very droll posh voice whenever Saveen
spoke to him.
A sound clip is
available at the website listed above.
Trivia: Saveen listed
Daisy May in the telephone book, and she even had her own bank
account. |
|
MABEL SINCLAIR
Used a coster figure following the tradition of Fred Russell's
Coster Joe. |
|
BERT SINKINSON |
|
KEN SWAN
Figure: McGhee, a Scottish youth. Swan also
used a small doll figure which rode a tricycle across the stage and
sang at the same time. |
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CYRIL TALBOT
Figure: Larry Brown. |
|
RICH TAYLOR
Circa 1910. |
|
THORA Figure:
Hugh Thorn. Female Impersonator. Performed circa 1913.
Thora sang in a pleasant soprano voice while Hugh growled in a rough
voice. Thora would pull off her wig at the end of the
performance to reveal that "he" was actually a bald-headed man. |
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TILFORD
Photo circa 1912. |
|
FREDERICK C. TRAPPE
Circa 1925. Ventriloquist. Impersonator.
Humorist. Dramatic Monologist. |
|
HAL TREHERNE
Circa 1916. |
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STANLEY VAILE |
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PROFESSOR VALENTINE |
|
FRED VALLANCE |
|
PIETRO LA VERDI
Circa 1920s. Ventriloquist.
Impersonator. Musician. |
|
JULES VERNON 1867-1937
Real name is Walter
Lester Pope Knyvette. Figure: George. Began performing
in 1883.
Vernon's act consisted of seven characters who would
engage in humorous dialogue with each other as well as Vernon.
Though the dialogue was undoubtedly a big part of the entertainment
of Vernon's act, further entertainment was derived from his sheer
ability to jump from character to character without a hitch. His
characters included the Old Maid, who sang; George, who was
afflicted with a terrible stutter; Nettie, George's sister with a
cleft lip; the Sailor; Joe, usually the main figure in the act; and
Happy, a character who never spoke, but only laughed
at the other characters' jokes. |
|
VALENTINE VOX
(USA)
Real name: Alfred Morin.
Died 1943. Figure: Cecil Wigglenose. Comedy team of Vox
and Walters (see Emily Walters). |
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VALENTINE VOX (UK)
Real name: Hesseton Moreton.
|
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EMILY WALTERS
Maiden name: Emily Carlin. She was a dancer who fell in love
with Walter Walters, and together they became successful
ventriloquist team of Walters and Walters. Emily and
Walter were the parents of Walter Walters, Jr., who also became a
ventriloquist. Later, after her divorce to Walter, Emily
joined Valentine Vox (real name Wilfred Moran) to perform as Vox
and Walters. They were referred to as "The King and Queen
of Ventriloquism" in 1930. |
|
WALTER WALTERS
Figure: Frankie.
See description of Emily Walters (above). |
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WEGENAER
Germany.
Before or after 1900? |
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PROFESSOR WHYLEY
Magician and Ventriloquist |
|
WILLIAM WOOD
American ventriloquist, circa 1900. |
|
1904 ETCHING
Entitled THE TRICKS OF A VENTRILOQUIST. A
ventriloquist tricks an innkeeper by having his dog order dinner.
Published in Chatterbox 1904. |