It has been my pleasure this past week to have had a visit here in Boston from the extraordinary Ventriloquist Dummy Builder and repair man Lee Dunn. He arrived here last week and spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Helen and me.
He was like a kid in a candy shop being able to pick up and handle any of the figures and even open some of the heads and inspect the inner workings. I too was thrilled because it was my chance to get a few things repaired that had been sitting for a while.
If you look at the Frank Marshall collection you will find the figure (Theodore F. Peckerwood) that looks almost like Frank Byron Jr. used by the Great Lester.
This Marshall figure happens to have wiggling ears but on one side the cord had slipped off of the pulley and was caught behind it causing the ear to not really work quite right. I certainly knew what was wrong but had no way of opening the head because the paint is all original and I did not want to have the paint spoiled by this procedure.
Lee said he could do the job. It took him quite some time and he was successful in replacing the cord onto the pulley so that the ear works fine now. All I could think of was that the figure had a dental appointment. So look at the pictures and just imagine trying to do this repair!!
Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
***************************************************
Dan Willinger is a ventriloquism enthusiast and ventriloquist figure collector. He has been collecting for over 25 years. His collection of ventriloquist figures now numbers over 100 figures of which there are over 50 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 2008 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
