Glen Cargyle Ventriloquist Figure

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As most all know Glen Cargyle’s claim to fame was that he made the ventriloquist figure used by Danny Kaye in the movie Knock On Wood. Cargyle did in fact make figures and sold them in Hollywood in the early 1950’s.

He also was a big user of mannequin heads that he converted but he also did do some wood carved heads and heads he carved from plastic wood.

This particular figure by Cargyle is one that was carved from plastic wood ( wood dough ) and stands 40″ tall. He has side to side moving eyes, a winker and slot jaw.

I have included some pictures of how he looked when I got him with some nicks and scratches and almost all of his hair ( crepe ) was long gone. He was in such nice original condition I didn’t want to repaint him and lose that originality so instead the paint was blended in, just on the spots needed to bring him back as you see him now. His hands are very nice and are wood carved.

I also gave you some shots of the original body with the original arms and legs and body covering in this great striped material. The arms and legs are filled with straw. Inside the body between the slats and the covering material is original newspaper from the 1950’s.

Very cool to find.

See more of the Glen Cargyle Ventriloquist Figure

Glen Cargyle Ventriloquist Figure Maker

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Have you seen the Frank Marshall Tribute DVD, click here

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Ventriloquist Central is the brainchild of Dan Willinger and Steve Hurst. Dan 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. Steve is a ventriloquist as well as builder of ventriloquist figures. He also has a background in sales, marketing, building websites and computers. Because they both love the art of ventriloquism, the website Ventriloquist Central was born. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

Copyright 2014 by Dan Willinger and Steve Hurst

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3 Responses to Glen Cargyle Ventriloquist Figure

  1. Bob Isaacson says:

    Wow..another outstanding restoration job Dan. The figure looks like it just came from Cargyle’s shop. A terrific job & a really rare addition to the collection. He looks great in his suit too. Congratulations !

  2. I want to add this. I do not know the history of the figure. It is a beautiful one, present at the 1955 Pittsburgh combined IBM/IBV convention. Each copy of the figure looked the same, like it was poured from a cast, don’t know what substance or resin it was, but didn’t look carved to me.

  3. leedean says:

    University of Southern California Digital Library April 27, 1951
    Glen Cargyle; Eddie Checkers; Susie; Dannie; Sammy; (all dummies).
    http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll44/id/4368/rec/1

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