So I have been thinking about what style figure most people like best. Now isn’t that a loaded statement?
I myself am very fond of the cheeky boy style made popular in U.S. by Frank Marshall and in England by Len Insull. Of course Insull’s use of the English mouth really does change the look but Insull did call it a cheeky boy.
Here’s a video of a very nice Frank Marshall ventriloquist figure. This is a full size figure and dates from the early 1940’s.
He has slot jaw, upper lip and rolling eye winker. What is unusual is that the eyes in this figure are glass and therefore the rolling eye is the glass color. The eye never appears to ever have been painted for when it rolls down closed, it is so close in the eye socket that paint would just rub off in the process of rolling down.
Over the years I have had quite a few of the Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff figures go through my hands.. I was contacted again about a pair of figures and of course I said I was interested. The seller and I agreed on them becoming a part of the Ventriloquist Central Collection and soon they arrived. I of course was excited to get them because as a baby boomer Jerry and Knuck were my favorite ventriloquist figures and watching their TV shows was a regular occurrence every week.
As I unwrapped the figures I got very excited because in my mind I was expecting the Jerry Layne creations, which are nice, but to my surprise this pair of figures I instantly recognized as being made by none other than Ray Guyll. I know his paint and these figures just screamed Ray Guyll. So I sent him some pictures and here is his reply to me…..
Hi Dan,
The enclosed pictures you sent me of the Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff figures have a really neat story behind them. Steve Meltzer, from California, came to visit me back around 1994 or 5 just at the end of my dealing with Paul Winchell on the Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff figures. He asked and I complied with making the duo for Steve and the pair that you have is the pair I made for him.
They are special indeed as the Jerry is the only stock Jerry that I did with the blinkers. However because Steve was leaving to go home and wanted to take the pair of figures with him I had to take some shortcuts in order to get them ready. For example the whites of the eyes were not painted but Steve was satisfied even though he knew that the casting white would eventually turn yellow. The paint appears to be original but the head sticks were originally made of polyurethane and have since been partially replaced with wooden dowels by someone.
So you certainly have a very rare set of the Winchell characters and I am extremely happy to see they are now in the Ventriloquist Central Collection.
Ray Guyll
Since I have been collecting this question has come up a number of times and this is, does a ventriloquist figure lose value with a replacement body.
As everyone knows I am a purist when it comes to my ventriloquist figures and that is because I dealt in general antiques for so many years. The purist wants everything to be original. The more original the better. I just can’t stress that statement enough but you really must apply this to context in which it is involved.
If you only collect ventriloquist figures, and do not perform, then the originality is most important. I want my figures to have all original parts. Correct head with the body built by the same maker and the hands also from the same maker. That is the collector talking. ORIGINAL!!!
We all know that ventriloquist Jay Johnson was on the sitcom “Soap.” I know I used to love the outrageous humor and comedy provided on that show.
Plus the fact that a ventriloquist was on it was all the better. Jay had very few lines on the show as himself. It was “Chuck” who did most of the talking.
Here’s a great scene I thought I would share with everyone where Jay actually has some lines:
