Ventriloquism is an act of stagecraft in which a person speaks in such a way that it looks like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to "throw" one's voice.
Edgar John Bergen was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen pioneered modern-day ventriloquism and has been described by puppetry organization UNIMA as the “quintessential ventriloquist of the 20th century”. He was the father of actress Candice Bergen.
Paul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted The Paul Winchell Show, which also used two other titles during its prime time run on NBC: The Speidel Show, and What's My Name? From 1965 to 1968, Winchell hosted the children's television series Winchell-Mahoney Time.
Cleo Virginia Andrews, better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews, was an American novelist. She was best known for her 1979 novel Flowers in the Attic, which inspired two movie adaptations and four sequels. While her novels are not classified by her publisher as Young Adult, their young protagonists have made them popular among teenagers for decades. After her death in 1986, a ghostwriter who was initially hired to complete two unfinished works has continued to publish books under her name.
The Ventriloquist is the name of multiple supervillains appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics. All of the Ventriloquist's versions are enemies of Batman, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.
Keith Shenton Harris was an English ventriloquist, best known for his television show The Keith Harris Show (1982–86), audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey. He had a UK Top 10 hit single in 1982 with "Orville's Song" which reached number 4 in the charts.
Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 Gothic novel by V. C. Andrews. It is the first book in the Dollanganger series, and was followed by Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, Garden of Shadows, Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth, Christopher's Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger, and Christopher's Diary: Secret Brother. The novel is written in the first person, from the point of view of Cathy Dollanganger. It was twice adapted into films in 1987 and 2014. The book was extremely popular, selling over 40 million copies world wide.
Dummy is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Pritikin. The film stars Adrien Brody as an ex-office worker who becomes a ventriloquist. It also stars Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter, Ron Leibman, and Jared Harris. It premiered at the American Film Market on February 21, 2002, and received a limited theatrical release on September 12, 2003.
John Walcott Cooper Jr. was an American ventriloquist, entertainer, and singer with the Southern Jubilee Singers. He was known as the "Black Napoleon of Ventriloquism" and also performed under the pseudonym Hezekiah Jones. Over the course of his lifetime Cooper was a member of the Negro Actors Guild of America, the Colored Vaudeville Benevolent Association, and the International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists.
Devil Doll is a 1964 British horror film directed and produced by Lindsay Shonteff and starring Bryant Haliday, William Sylvester and Yvonne Romain. The story is about an evil stage hypnotist and his dummy Hugo.
Slappy the Dummy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in the Goosebumps children's series by R. L. Stine. He is the main antagonist of the Night of the Living Dummy saga and one of the series' most popular villains, as well as its mascot. He is also the main antagonist of the franchise's film adaptation and its sequel, described by their interpretation of Stine as having a "serious Napoleonic complex" in the former. He comes alive when the words, "Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano," which roughly translates to "You and I are one now" and can be found on a sheet of paper in the coat pocket of Slappy's jacket, are read aloud. After being brought to life, Slappy will try to make the person who did so serve him as a slave, to the point of framing them for his evil deeds.
Triloquist is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Mark Jones and produced by Jack Edward Sawyers, Marlon Parry, and Michael Levine. It stars Paydin LoPachin, Rocky Marquette, Katie Chonacas and Brian Krause.
Terry Wayne Fator is an American ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer. Born in Dallas, Texas, he developed an interest in ventriloquism from a young age, developing both this and a talent for singing. After initially performing with two bands, Fator eventually conducted solo performances, combining ventriloquism and singing with comedy. He gained national recognition for his talent when he won the second season of America's Got Talent, which helped to boost his career.
Pin fully titled as Pin: A Plastic Nightmare is a 1988 Canadian horror film directed by Sandor Stern and starring David Hewlett, Cynthia Preston and Terry O'Quinn. It is based on the novel of the same name by Andrew Neiderman. The film was released direct-to-video in the United States on January 27, 1989.
Karen Horney was a German psychoanalyst who practiced in the United States during her later career. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views. This was particularly true of her theories of sexuality and of the instinct orientation of psychoanalysis. She is credited with founding feminist psychology in response to Freud's theory of penis envy. She disagreed with Freud about inherent differences in the psychology of men and women, and like Adler, she traced such differences to society and culture rather than biology.
James Edward Nelson was an American ventriloquist who appeared on television in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for commercials for Nestlé chocolate featuring Farfel the Dog. He also hosted a children's show sponsored by Nestlé.
Andy Gross is an American former professional racquetball player, now a touring comedian, ventriloquist, magician and illusionist. He is known for his television and film appearances, and for his live touring show called Andy Gross' MindBoggling Variety Show.
Valentine Vox is a British born American ventriloquist and author known for his scholarly book on the history of ventriloquism, I Can See Your Lips Moving: the history and art of ventriloquism, which traces the practice back some three thousand years.
A killer toy is a stock character in horror fiction. They include toys, such as dolls and ventriloquist dummies, that come to life and seek to kill or otherwise carry out violence. The killer toy subverts the associations of childhood with innocence and lack of agency while invoking the uncanny nature of a lifelike toy. Killer toy fiction often invokes ideas of companionship and the corruption of children, sometimes taking place in dysfunctional or single parent homes. They have historically been associated with occultism and spirit possession, though artificial intelligence became more common in later works.
