Taylor Mason

Last updated
Taylor Mason
Birth nameFranklin Taylor Mason
Born (1956-02-22) February 22, 1956 (age 67)
Genres Ventriloquist, comedian, and musician
SpouseMarsia Mason
Notable works and rolesBananas, Thou Shalt Laugh
Website taylormason.com

Franklin Taylor Mason (born February 22, 1956) is a comedian, ventriloquist and musician. [1]

Contents

Early life

Mason was raised on a farm in the suburb of Chicago, where his father was a farm news broadcaster on radio and TV. [2] [3] Mason graduated from the Ottawa Township Highschool in 1974 and went on to attend the University of Illinois where he majored in agriculture and communication. [4] Mason graduated from the University of Illinois in 1979. [4] He was first introduced to puppets by his parents at the age of 9. [5]

Career

While Mason was attending the University of Illinois, he suffered a knee injury during a football game. [1] During recovery Mason started performing as a disc-jockey and stand-up comedian at his fraternity. [1] He mixed up his act by adding music, piano and ventriloquism to it. [1] He soon started performing at various Chicago piano bars. [1] According to Mason, when he started out as a comedian, he was the only ventriloquist in Chicago. [1]

In 1981, Mason was hired as the musical director of "The Second City Touring Company", a comedy improv group where Mason worked alongside other comedians such as Dan Castellaneta. [1] [6] While working at "The Second City Touring Company", Mason also met his future wife Marisa. [1]

Mason continued his ventriloquist act and also worked on his Masters in advertising. [4] He graduated with a degree from the Northwestern University in 1983. [4] By the end of his time at Northwestern, Mason was working full time as a comedian and performing at the Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago. [4]

From 1986 to 1989, Mason performed comedy shows at the New York City's Catch a Rising Star. [7] By 1990, Mason started appearing on comedy television shows. [7] During a period of 11 years starting from 1989, Mason did over 1,500 college shows across the country. [4]

In 1990, Mason auditioned for Star Search and later on he won the competition in 1991. [1] [5] Currently, Mason is working on his Dry Bar Comedy Series. [1]

Mason has authored two books on ventriloquism. He wrote his first book, A Complete Idiots Guide to Ventriloquism, while he was working at the Second City Touring Company. [1] His second book titled "Irreversible" was published in 2019. [8]

Personal life

Mason lives with his wife in Beach Haven, New Jersey. The couple have two adult sons. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Flynn, Kelly (2019-01-05). "Taylor Mason: From 'closet ventriloquist' to international comedian". The Sun Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  2. 1 2 Ford, Victoria (2020-06-17). "Laugh It Off With Taylor Mason". The SandPaper. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  3. ↑ Heise, Kenan. "FARM BROADCASTER WILLIAM D. MASON". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "OTHS 2014 Hall of Fame inductees announced". www.mywebtimes.com. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  5. 1 2 "Taylor Mason: The Comedian of Clean". CBN.com - The Christian Broadcasting Network. 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  6. ↑ Lane, Lauren (2015-10-19). "It's kind of a funny story: Seasoned comedian Taylor Mason to perform at Bryant Conference Center". The Crimson White. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  7. 1 2 Pearson, Mike. "Illini legends, lists and lore: Taylor Mason". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  8. ↑ "IRREVERSIBLE by Taylor Mason". YouTube. 15 Jan 2020.
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