I was contacted a while ago by a ventriloquist in Germany and was asked if I would be interested in a wood carved figure by maker Jerry Baum. I was totally unfamiliar with this man’s work but I love the wood carved figures so I asked for pictures and low and behold the figure was a rendition of Walter.
The was carved in the 1990s by Mr. Baum and is a very good rendition of the old curmudgeon. I think he captured his characteristic and he certainly is finely carved. He had a cast body but his hands are very well done and look like an old mans hands. I, like most everyone, love Walter so this was a nice figure to ad to the Ventriloquist Central Collection.
This fellow stands 30″ tall He has slot jaw and raising and lowering eyebrows. He has ball and socket neck for total movement of the head. He appears to be in all original condition.
If you happen to have any information on Jerry Baum I would love to hear from you so I can put that information out. I do know he has passed away.
Click here to see more of this Jerry Baum Ventriloquist Figure
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. He created the Ventriloquist Central Collection. It now has over 100 ventriloquist figures and over 50 of them are 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 2012 by Dan Willinger
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I remember Jerry at the vent conventions in the 1990’s. His wood carved figures were, I thought very reasonably priced but a little crude looking(which is OK.. I like that) when compared to, say Bran Gilmer’s work (which I also like..).I believe he came from New Mexico. I seem to remember Nacho Estrada having one of his figures. The carved fingers on some of Jerry’s figures were jointed with a lever control so that, with the hand raised, you could make your figure wave!
Splinter Puppets Intro video of three Baum figures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vO5rR9Nsb4 and Dr. C & Elwood, a Baum figure that Dr. Samuel R. Caron uses in his ADHD work, currently as a child psychologist at the mental health clinic at Fort Huachuca, an army base in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
his current work site being http://adhd1.net/adhd-specialists-dr-c-elwood/
Jerry Baum was my grandfather. If you have questions about him I would be happy to answer them.
Aaron