Muppets are they Ventriloquist Figures ??

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Webmaster

For quite some time now there have been a deluge of Muppet puppets listed on eBay by a maker from the United States and then there are other soft figures with the listing of Ventriloquist in the title made in England and they list them by the hundreds. I have no problem with these being labeled as Muppets and or puppets but why do they use the word ventriloquist when in fact that is not what they are.

The Muppets in no way were ever used as a ventriloquist figure. The puppeteers were never visible and no one was ever seen throwing their voice. The characters all moved by way of a puppeteer and voices were all their own. Jim Henson was a wonderful puppeteer and he never ever used the words ventriloquist or ventriloquism when talking about his creations.

I really hate it to see so many listing which flood the ventriloquism pages of eBay when in fact they are not ventriloquist puppets. Just an observation by a ventriloquist figure collector!!

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

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 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Posted in Puppetry, Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central | 8 Comments

Special J C Turner Ventriloquist Figure

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Webmaster

turner04-002S

I am calling this Turner ventriloquist figure special because it has the smiling upper lip. I have owned quite a few Turner figures over the years but this is the first I have had that has this feature. He is a full size standing 42″ tall he also has slot jaw, side to side moving eyes and raising eyebrows.

He has been lovingly restored (not by me) to look as you see him now and it is a fine job. The crepe hair is superb. Usually this type of hair is a real night mare and is hard to correct. His eyes have the glass marbles but the great feature is the upper lip.

Undoubtedly Turner copied Ken Spencer in this upper lip design where the metal is exposed and then painted over. It works really well and you can’t see it from a very short distance.

He is a great addition to the Ventriloquist Central Collection and I hope you enjoy seeing him.

Click here to see Special J C Turner Ventriloquist Figure

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

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 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Posted in Dummy Collecting, Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central, Ventriloquist Figure (Dummy) Makers, Ventriloquist Figure Building, Ventriloquist Figures | 2 Comments

In Case You Missed the Pete Michaels Interview

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Webmaster

ventriloquist pete michaels

In case you missed the interview with ventriloquist Pete Michaels on the Ventriloquist Central BlogTalkRadio, we’re providing a link for you to listen.

We got some rave reviews about the interview so please make sure you take the time to listen to this show.

Some of the people that called in were, Bob Isaacson, Sammy King, Ray Guyll, just to name a few.

 

ventriloquistcentral-blogtalkradio

Click here to listen to the Pete Michaels interview

Stay tuned for more from Ventriloquist Central on BlogTalkRadio.

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

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 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Posted in Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central | Leave a comment

Ventriloquist Chuck Fields and A Relative of "The Great Lester"

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Webmaster

chuck-and-youngster

Ventriloquist Chuck Fields did a show where a relative of “The Great Lester” was in the audience.

Here is their email to Chuck:

 

It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Field at St. Matthews Church in Schaumburg on behalf of our New Beginnings Organization. I thoroughly enjoyed your performance; and that of the audience particiants…you gave us a good laugh. Thank you! I will highly recommend you to my family and friends. I was very pleased that your remembered my Mother’s Brother, my Uncle and God Father, The Great Lester. Unfortunately, I was too young to appreciate him or his talents. He traveled quite extensively and it wasn’t until we were both older (and by now he was ill and no longer heavily involved in theatre) that we met. I know I missed a Great Man. My Uncle constantly wrote articles in “The Oracle” and when he passed away Mr. W.S. Berger, President of “The Oracle” was kind enough to send my Mother the September-October, 1956 issue dedicated to my Uncle entitled, “Great Lester Memorial Edition”. I would be happy to make you a copy if you so desire. Also, you mentioned a video of my Uncle. It would please me to no end if you could display that for me so I may make a copy. My family and I would be most interested and appreciative. Members of my family have visited the “Great Lester Room” in Vent Haven located in Kentucky. I am making plans to visit in the near future. Thank you again for a very pleasant evening; and will look forward to seeing the video. Gratefully yours, Gloria Swart

 

 

If you’re interested, here’s Chuck’s website:

http://www.whatsupchuck.com/

 

My thanks to Chuck for letting us share this with everyone. Also want to thank Bob Abdou for bringing this to our attention.

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

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 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Posted in Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central | 1 Comment

Top Hat for Charlie McCarthy

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Webmaster

When Edgar Bergen was out in Hollywood performing in movies with Charlie McCarthy it was no problem for him to have Charlie attired in the best of cloths as they were all custom made for him. I can’t say for sure that Edgar was able to keep all the clothing but I assume he would because who else would have been able to wear the costumes. I do know he had a room in the house which just had Charlie’s clothing so the wardrobe must have been extensive.

His top hat was made by Barrons of Hollywood and they are still in business today and I have recently been told they sell the top hat that fits Charlie McCarthy for $350.00. Considering that the hat has to be hand made I don’t think that is too bad a price.

Charlie’s head wore a size 6 1/4 which to find an existing silk top hat in that size is a near impossibility today. That is a child’s size hat and a child would only have had this type hat if he was from a very well to do family. Not many were produced hence the rarity of this size especially in the United States. Over in Europe there is a much better chance of finding one as there were many more aristocratic families there with children that would have been formally attired.

I have seen many size 6 7/8 which can be used but a piece of foam must be placed inside around the brim to take up the extra room. That is what Bob Isaacson did to make the top hat fit on the Charlie now residing in the Ventriloquist Central Collection.

A Reminder:

Don’t forget, tonight is is my interview with ventriloquist Pete Michaels on BlogTalkRadio at 6pm eastern, 5pm central, 3pm pacific. For more information go to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ventriloquistcentral

 

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

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 2010 by Dan Willinger

NOTE: You may use this blog article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with the blog article in it to: webmaster@ventriloquistcentral.com

Posted in Edgar Bergen, Ventriloquism/Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist Central, Ventriloquist Figures | Leave a comment