It’s with a heavy heart that we learned of the passing of ventriloquist Peter Rich on August 13th. He was 94.
If you’ve been a frequent reader you know we’ve done quite a few blogs about Peter. He spent most of his career performing vent on cruise ships and for General Electric.
Bob Abdou sent this information:
Peter Badrich, stage name Peter Rich sadly passed away on august 13th 2015 after a visit from his son, Stephen and his family. Peter was 94 years old.
Peter Rich spent most of his career performing on cruise ships and trade shows/salesman with a dummy Rawhide promoting for General Electric.
Peter Rich wrote for numerous ventriloquist periodicals and associated with many vents like Paul Winchell and Edgar Bergen.
Many stories from Peter were funny, personal and always about show business.
I was so honored to hear and remember most of these stories along with the jokes Peter loved to tell.
RIP Peter Badrich, you were loved by many
Peace,
Bob Abdou
RIP Peter.
Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com
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Ventriloquist Central is the brainchild of Dan Willinger and Steve Hurst. Dan 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. Steve is a ventriloquist as well as builder of ventriloquist figures. He also has a background in sales, marketing, building websites and computers. Because they both love the art of ventriloquism, the website Ventriloquist Central was born. For more information about the website, go to: http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com
Copyright 2015 by Dan Willinger and Steve Hurst
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Peter Rich was one of kind!
Peter was a real friend to Vents around the country and even the world. We all will miss him. Peter, please Rest in Peace. Also, our condolences to Stephen and Martha Badrich of the loss of Peter. Thank you for sharing your memories of your father and for your father’s sharing of his pasts with so many of us.
I knew Peter for many, many years. Always read his columns in the various Vent publications ( they appeared for numerous years). Peter & his wife were a charming loving couple. Peter was funny & entertaining man & always the perfect gentleman. I, along with countless others will miss him. R.I.P
A sad day indeed. We have lost another legend. A tie to our beloved art’s past. Peter came to see me with Ian Varella when I played Texas a few years back. He was as funny and engaging as ever. I will remember his wonderful smile and great sense of humor.
This is sad news, indeed. I am a friend of Peter’s son Steven since high school. I always enjoyed my time with Peter and we were correspondents later in life. I’ll miss his joke-filled letters and great pictures that he would send me in the mail. Those were always a wonderful surprise.
Peter brought a lot of joy to a lot of folks in his long life, and I will miss him very much.
Just found out about the passing of Peter Rich. I performed with him on a few ships and he was a great guy…really fun to know. I spoke with him a few years ago…must have been just before he passed. He is missed.
I’m looking at a terrific scrapbook photo of Peter Rich taken with me and his figure, Oscar Westin, in front of a smoking crowd at Gene’s Inn, in Glen Park, outside Watertown, New York, on May 20, 1954. I was then a kid and a budding vent, and my dad took me to the club where Mr. Rich was performing. He was terrific, and not only spent time with me, but encouraged me by sending me issues of the Oracle (?) a ventriloquist publication. I also have letters he sent to me from all over the country, including places like the Blue Bonnet Hotel in San Antonio, the Tampa Terrace, in Florida, along with clippings from newspapers promoting his appearances. He was a thoughtful and encouraging spirit, always caring yet professional. Long after our acquaintance ended, while in Maryland in the early 2000s I looked him up in a Hagerstown phone book and found his listing. I never called, and I’ve always regretted it. He was fine person and role model, and I’ll always cherish his nurturing me during my “ventriloquist” period. What a nice man! Wish the world had more like him today.
King of Clubs Nightclub, San Antonio, TX 1958. I was in the band and got to know Peter very well. He did two shows a night..Have a couple of pics taken with him and his buddy with one of my kids. Visited him at his house in around 1980 when I worked for Thomas Organ Co.
It was sad to see that Peter had passed away. As a youngster, I always looked forward to his regular IBV column, “Peter Rich Rites.” I had the pleasure of seeing him perform during my years in the military. He very graciously agreed to appear in my AFRTS television series, “Magic Mansion.” In 1968, I traveled to San Antonio, and we were able to share stories from the “East” from our tours there. Sadly, a month or so later, he passed away. Peter Rich was always kind, not to mention helpful, to ventriloquists. On top of that, he was a first-rate vent, performer, and all-around entertainer. He will be missed.