Jerry Mahoney, Paul Winchell, Knucklehead Smiff
Two of the most famous of all the ventriloquist figures are Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff. What you may not know is that Knucklehead is a derivative of the Jerry Mahoney figure.
During the early days when Winchell was performing with just Jerry Mahoney, Jerry would make comments about his pal Knucklehead. There was so much fan mail to Winch asking to see Knucklehead that he finally decided to make Knuck.
A few days ago I showed you this great little Brant Gilmer “Knucklehead Smiff”.
A few of you emailed me to see a video of this little guy, so here it is.
Mortimer Snerd Licensing Rights
Edgar Bergen was a terrific promoter when it came to pushing his name and his characters. This is a very rare ad that Mr. Bergen took out to promote the use of his character Mortimer Snerd.
You can see that he knew exactly what to do to both protect his character and also make money from others using the character’s likeness.
Puppetry Guild | Bob Abdou/Mr. Puppet
Once again Bob Abdou/Mr. Puppet has sent us blog to share with everyone.
Puppetry Guild! Who Me? Yes You? But why, I’m a Ventriloquist??…..Exactly!!
I am a big supporter of hangin’ with others who appreciate puppets, they can be newbies, professionals, competitors, big shots, small shots, hobbyists or just lurkers. We can all do ourselves a favor and our art form a big boost by being open to associate because the benefits will be rewarding forever.
Brant Gilmer’s “Knucklehead Smiff”
Quite a while ago I did a deal in which I acquired this fabulous rendition of the famous Knucklehead Smiff carved in basswood by Brant Gilmer.
Brant’s work is of the highest caliber and this creation is no exception. He is 42″ tall and is all carved from wood. This includes the body and hands. Today Brant uses cast hands instead of carving.
