The 5: Dummy Comics

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This Week on the 5: Great Ventriloquist Comedians

Whether you think they’re funny, not funny, or creepy; the ventriloquist comic has been around for over a hundred years and will probably be around for another hundred. They have to be comics, actors, writers, and craftsmen, plus have nerves of steel to walk on stage with their little buddies. There are many, many comics who are skilled ventriloquists, many still under appreciated.  Most of you already know about  Otto and George, but do you know some of the other great ventriloquist acts?  Here is a crash course of some of the biggest names to popularize the profession.

  • Edgar Bergen. The godfather of ventriloquism, he popularized the art form and became a national star by doing his act on the radio. An odd choice for such a visual style of comedy, it worked for the self-trained comic who never perfected throwing his voice without moving his lips. But his popularity was based on characters and one-liners, using his most popular dummy, Charlie McCarthy. He also created the more kid friendly Mortimer Snerd (which was sold to many children) and flirtatious female character Effie Klinker. But Charlie set the template for the over sexualized, politically incorrect dummy, and often attempted to skirt decency standards on radio and television while trying to seduce famous women with indecent proposals and insulting his rival, W.C. Field. Watch a clip on YouTube.
  • Paul Winchell. Bergen may have been hugely successful, but even he acknowledged (often) that his skills and dummies were a little rudimentary. It was Paul Winchell who established how far ventriloquists can go and popularized it as a hobby for kids when he starred in his own children’s series. He created moving parts (including hands and eyes) so he could have full conversations and perform skits with them, some over 10 minutes long. He also demanded more of himself, creating specific voices for each character, perfectly throwing his voice and added surrealism to his comedy. You’ve probably never seen him, except in his vintage commercials for Tootsie Rolls, but you’ve definitely heard his voice. He was a talented voice actor, whose roles included the voice of Gargamel in The Smurfs, Tigger in the Winnie-The-Pooh films, Pig-Pen in The Great Pumpkin, and The Owl in the Tootsie Roll comercials. Watch a clip of Paul’s work here.
  • Jay Johnson.  The only ventriloquist to win both Tony and Ovation Awards (for his “one man” show The Two and Only), Johnson is also the first ventriloquist to have a regular role on a TV series as a character. Although he has many characters in his act, including a chimp and plant, he will always be remembered for playing “Chuck and Bob” on the sitcom Soap. Mild-mannered Chuck believes his dummy Bob is real and therefore makes his entire family treat him as such. Never given an actual storyline despite starring in all four seasons, he regularly got some of the funniest jokes on the show. And if there are any questions of his popularity, just take a look at the original Bob in the Smithsonian Institute, sitting right next to Cookie Monster and Jerry Seinfeld’s puffy shirt. He also starred on another TV show (the short lived Stephen J. Cannoll series Broken Badges), was a frequent guest star, appeared on many game shows, and continues to perform live.  Watch Jay perform here.
  • Jeff Dunham  One of the bad boys of ventriloquism, he revitalized the profession and raised the awareness to a level close to Bergen’s hayday, including landing his own series on Comedy Central in 2009. He’s been called American’s favorite comedian by Slate, Top Comic during Comedy Central’s Stand-up Showdown, and was the top grossing act in North American. Inspired comically by insult comics like Don Rickles, he often makes his characters racist, sexist, and homophobic, most notably his controversial ‘dead terrorist” character whose name he refused to change. His biggest impact on comedy is probably returning ventriloquism to the comedy club. Click here to see Jeff performing.
  • Nina Conti.  Ventriloquism is primarily a male dominated profession, but the cheeky English comic Nina Conti is becoming popular in both England and North America. If you watched Christopher Guest’s comedy series Family Tree, you know her as the sister who has developed an unhealthy relationship with her monkey Monk. Along with that adorable yet sinister monkey, she also does an owl, seductive man, and old lady character, as well as her final act; bringing audience members to the stage to be turned into dummies with a mask.  Watch Nina Conti’s performance. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwDbd4jQpkA

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Lesley Coffin

Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.
Lesley Coffin

Lesley Coffin

Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.