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Ventriloquism is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) 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.
Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. [1] The name comes from the Latin for 'to speak from the stomach: Venter (belly) and loqui (speak). [2] The Greeks called this gastromancy (Greek : εγγαστριμυθία).[ citation needed ] The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the unliving, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future. One of the earliest recorded group of prophets to use this technique was the Pythia, the priestess at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, who acted as the conduit for the Delphic Oracle.
One of the most successful early gastromancers was Eurykles, a prophet at Athens; gastromancers came to be referred to as Euryklides in his honour. [3] Other parts of the world also have a tradition of ventriloquism for ritual or religious purposes; historically there have been adepts of this practice among the Zulu, Inuit, and Māori peoples. [3]
The shift from ventriloquism as manifestation of spiritual forces toward ventriloquism as entertainment happened in the eighteenth century at travelling funfairs and market towns. An early depiction of a ventriloquist dates to 1754 in England, where Sir John Parnell is depicted in the painting An Election Entertainment by William Hogarth as speaking via his hand. [4] In 1757, the Austrian Baron de Mengen performed with a small doll. [5]
By the late 18th century, ventriloquist performances were an established form of entertainment in England, although most performers "threw their voice" to make it appear that it emanated from far away (known as distant ventriloquism), rather than the modern method of using a puppet (near ventriloquism). [lower-alpha 1] A well-known ventriloquist of the period, Joseph Askins, who performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London in the 1790s advertised his act as "curious ad libitum Dialogues between himself and his invisible familiar, Little Tommy". [6] However, other performers were beginning to incorporate dolls or puppets into their performance, notably the Irishman James Burne who "carries in his pocket, an ill-shaped doll, with a broad face, which he exhibits ... as giving utterance to his own childish jargon," and Thomas Garbutt.
The entertainment came of age during the era of the music hall in the United Kingdom and vaudeville in the United States. George Sutton began to incorporate a puppet act into his routine at Nottingham in the 1830s, followed by Fred Neiman later in the century, [7] but it is Fred Russell who is regarded as the father of modern ventriloquism. In 1886, he was offered a professional engagement at the Palace Theatre in London and took up his stage career permanently. His act, based on the cheeky-boy dummy "Coster Joe" that would sit in his lap and 'engage in a dialogue' with him was highly influential for the entertainment format and was adopted by the next generation of performers. A blue plaque has been embedded in a former residence of Russell by the British Heritage Society which reads 'Fred Russell the father of ventriloquism lived here'. [8]
Fred Russell's successful comedy team format was applied by the next generation of ventriloquists. It was taken forward by the British Arthur Prince with his dummy Sailor Jim, who became one of the highest paid entertainers on the music hall circuit, and by the Americans The Great Lester, Frank Byron Jr., and Edgar Bergen. Bergen popularized the idea of the comedic ventriloquist.[ citation needed ] Bergen, together with his favorite figure, Charlie McCarthy, hosted a radio program that was broadcast from 1937 to 1956. It was the #1 program on the nights it aired. Bergen continued performing until his death in 1978, and his popularity inspired many other famous ventriloquists who followed him, including Paul Winchell, Jimmy Nelson, David Strassman, Jeff Dunham, Terry Fator, Ronn Lucas, Wayland Flowers, Shari Lewis, Willie Tyler, Jay Johnson, Nina Conti, Paul Zerdin, and Darci Lynne. Another ventriloquist act popular in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s was Señor Wences.
In south India, the art of ventriloquism was popularized by Y. K. Padhye and M. M. Roy, who are believed to be the pioneers of this field in India. Y. K. Padhye's son Ramdas Padhye borrowed from him and made the art popular amongst the masses through his performance on television. Ramdas Padhye's name is synonymous with puppet characters like Ardhavatrao [9] (also known as Mr. Crazy), [10] Tatya Vinchu [11] and Bunny the Funny which features in a television advertisement for Lijjat Papad, an Indian snack. [12] Ramdas Padhye's son Satyajit Padhye is also a ventriloquist.
The popularity of ventriloquism fluctuates. Comedian Jeff Dunham has been credited with reviving the artform and is said to done more promoting it than anyone since Edgar Bergen. [13] In the UK in 2010, there were only 15 full-time professional ventriloquists, down from around 400 in the 1950s and 1960s. [14] A number of modern ventriloquists have developed a following as the public taste for live comedy grows. In 2007, Zillah & Totte won the first season of Sweden's Got Talent and became one of Sweden's most popular family/children entertainers. A feature-length documentary about ventriloquism, I'm No Dummy , was released in 2010. [15] Three ventriloquists have won America's Got Talent : Terry Fator in 2007, Paul Zerdin in 2015 and Darci Lynne in 2017. Two ventriloquists, Damien James [16] and Christine Barger, [17] have appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us . Several ventriloquists have grown large followings on popular social media apps like TikTok, as well. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]
One difficulty ventriloquists face is that all the sounds that they make must be made with lips slightly separated. For the labial sounds f, v, b, p, and m, the only choice is to replace them with others. A widely parodied example of this difficulty is the "gottle o' gear", from the reputed inability of less-skilled practitioners to pronounce "bottle of beer". [25] If variations of the sounds th, d, t, and n are spoken quickly, it can be difficult for listeners to notice a difference.
Modern ventriloquists use multiple types of puppets in their presentations, ranging from soft cloth or foam puppets (Verna Finly's work is a pioneering example), flexible latex puppets (such as Steve Axtell's creations) and the traditional and familiar hard-headed knee figure (Tim Selberg's mechanized carvings). The classic dummies used by ventriloquists (the technical name for which is ventriloquial figure) vary in size anywhere from twelve inches tall to human-size and larger, with the height usually 34–42 in (86–107 cm). Traditionally, this type of puppet has been made from papier-mâché or wood. In modern times, other materials are often employed, including fiberglass-reinforced resins, urethanes, filled (rigid) latex, and neoprene. [26]
Great names in the history of dummy making include Jeff Dunham, Frank Marshall (the Chicago creator of Bergen's Charlie McCarthy, [27] Nelson's Danny O'Day, [27] and Winchell's Jerry Mahoney), Theo Mack and Son (Mack carved Charlie McCarthy's head), Revello Petee, Kenneth Spencer, Cecil Gough, [28] and Glen & George McElroy. The McElroy brothers' figures are still considered by many ventriloquists as the apex of complex movement mechanics, with as many as fifteen facial and head movements controlled by interior finger keys and switches. Jeff Dunham referred to his McElroy figure Skinny Duggan as "the Stradivarius of dummies." [29] The Juro Novelty Company also manufactured dummies. Geoffrey Moran of Australia has built foam puppets Koala (Kevin) and Billy Baby. He has also built a wooden Irish Dancing Donut puppet along with Plunger the pull apart puppet, Ernie (from Tasmania) and Siegfried the World's Greatest Marching Band Leader. Other puppets, such as George, Darryl the Dinosaur, Goggles the bird, Barry the Box and Bruce the Robotic Bucket have been made by other associates.
The plots of some films and television programs are based on "killer toy" dummies that are alive and horrific. These include "The Dummy", a May 4, 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone ; [30] Devil Doll ; [31] Dead Silence ; Zapatlela ; [32] Buffy The Vampire Slayer ; Goosebumps ; Tales from the Crypt ; Gotham (the episode "Nothing's Shocking"); Friday the 13th: The Series ; Toy Story 4 ; and Doctor Who in different episodes. This genre has also been satirized on television in ALF (the episode "I'm Your Puppet"); Seinfeld (the episode "The Chicken Roaster"); and the comic strip Monty.
Some psychological horror films and other works feature psychotic ventriloquists who believe their dummies are alive and use them as surrogates to commit frightening acts including murder. Examples of this include the 1978 film Magic, the 1945 anthology film Dead of Night, [30] and the Ventriloquist from Batman comics and other Batman media.
Literary examples of frightening ventriloquist dummies include Gerald Kersh's The Horrible Dummy and the story "The Glass Eye" by John Keir Cross. In music, NRBQ's video for their song "Dummy" (2004) features four ventriloquist dummies modelled after the band members who 'lip-sync' the song while wandering around a dark, abandoned house.
Peter Brough was an English radio ventriloquist who became a well-known name to audiences in the 1950s. He is associated with his puppet Archie Andrews.
Wenceslao Moreno Centeno, known professionally as Señor Wences, was a Spanish ventriloquist and comedian. His popularity grew with his frequent television appearances on CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show during the 1950s and 1960s. Later, he became popular with another generation of fans on The Muppet Show.
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.
Jeffrey Douglas Dunham is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has seven specials that run on Comedy Central as well as two Netflix specials among others. He also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series that ran in 2009. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and holds the Guinness Book of World Records record for "Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour" for his Spark of Insanity tour.
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.
Kevin Johnson is a professional ventriloquist, comedian, and magician.
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.
Vent Haven Museum is an American museum of ventriloquial figures and memorabilia. It claims to be the only such museum in the world. The museum is located in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, five miles (8.0 km) south of Cincinnati. It opened in 1973.
Yeshwant Keshav Padhye was the pioneering Indian Ventriloquist who started ventriloquism in India in the 1920s. He was also a puppeteer and maker.
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece.
Mahesh Amber Kothare is an Indian film actor, director and producer of Marathi and Hindi films. He started his acting career as child artist. Kothare acted in well-known movies such as Raja Aur Runk, Chhota Bhai, Mere Laal, and Ghar Ghar ki Kahani. The well known Hindi song Tu Kitni Achhi Hain from the film Raja Aur Runk features Kothare as Master Mahesh.
I'm No Dummy is a 2009 documentary film about ventriloquism directed by Bryan W. Simon and produced by Marjorie Engesser through Montivagus Productions. It premiered at the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival before being released theatrically in the United States by Salient Media and NBCUniversal in 2010.
Timothy Selberg is a sculptor of three-dimensional carved mechanized figures, most of which are specifically used in the performance of ventriloquism. Selberg and his team at Selberg Studios, Inc. create handcrafted and custom carved works of art for collectors and entertainers.
Zapatlela 2 is a 2013 Indian Marathi-language horror comedy thriller film written and directed by Mahesh Kothare, produced by Adinath Kothare under the production banner of Kothare and Kothare Vision and distributed by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures. The film stars Adinath Kothare, Sonalee Kulkarni, Mahesh Kothare, Makarand Anaspure, Sai Tamhankar, Madhu Kambikar, Vijay Chavan, Deepak Shirke and Dilip Prabhavalkar as the voiceover for the ventriloquist's puppet Tatya Vinchu created by ventriloquist and puppeteer Ramdas Padhye. The film is a sequel for the film Zapatlela (1993) released 20 years earlier and is marked to be first Marathi film shot entirely with a 3D camera. Mahesh Kothare announced in 2024 that the third installment of the series slated for a theatrical release in 2025.
Zapatlela is a 1993 Indian Marathi-language horror comedy film directed and produced by Mahesh Kothare. Released in Maharashtra on 16 April 1993, the film stars an ensemble cast of Mahesh Kothare, Laxmikant Berde, Kishori Ambiye, Pooja Pawar, Madhu Kambikar, Ravindra Berde, Jairam Kulkarni, Vijay Chavan, Raghavendra Kadkol, Bipin Varti and Dilip Prabhavalkar in a cameo appearance as well as the voiceover for the puppet Tatya Vinchu. The practical effects involving the puppet Tatya Vinchu in the film were created by Ramdas Padhye, a ventriloquist and puppeteer, and the film was followed by a sequel Zapatlela 2 released 20 years later in 2013 in 3D format. The film is dubbed in Hindi as Khilona Bana Khalnayak.
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.
Arthur Prince was an English music hall entertainer and ventriloquist.
Gharat Basale Saare is an Indian Marathi language short series which aired on Zee Marathi during lockdown period. It was premiered from 8 June 2020 airing Monday to Friday and stopped on 10 July 2020 completing 25 episodes. In this show, puppetry was done by Padhye family with various dolls and puppets.
Satyajit Padhye is an Indian ventriloquist and puppeteer carrying on the legacy of his father Ramdas Padhye and grandfather Y. K. Padhye. He also trained Bollywood stars in the art of ventriloquism and how to use technology to create unique puppets for films. Satyajit also appeared on television reality shows and performed with Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. Satyajit along with his father Ramdas Padhye designed India's first 3D printed puppet of Aditya Roy Kapur, for film Ludo and also trained Aditya who played a ventriloquist role in the movie. Satyajit also represented India at Rainforest World Puppetry Carnival in Sarawak, Malaysia and 5th China Quanzhou International Puppetry Festival in China.
Ramdas Padhye is an Indian ventriloquist, puppeteer and puppet maker. He has performed in India and abroad for five decades. Ramdas did his first TV debut in 1972 along with his puppet 'Ardhavatrao' when Doordarshan called him to do a 15-minute show.
...Ardhavatrao, also known as Mr. Crazy, made famous all over the world by Mumbai-based ventriloquist Ramdas Padhye and his family - scored a century this year.
Note the lip movement for 'big'. This is, of course, the origin of the ventriloquist's 'gottle o' gear'.
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