Ventriloquists
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Darci Lynne Farmer is a ventriloquist and singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She was inspired to start doing ventriloquism in 2014 by Laryssa Bonacquisti, whom she met when they both won their age brackets in the International Cinderella Scholarship Program. After just a month of practice, she won a local talent show, and was quickly brought to the attention of ventriloquist coach Gary Owen, who was so impressed with her level of skill that he voluntarily offered his services as coach and business manager. She made her TV debut on Little Big Shots (2016) in 2016, and later won the twelfth season of America's Got Talent (2006) in 2017.- Actor
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Jeff Dunham was born on 18 April 1962 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Delta Farce (2007), Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007) and Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special (2008). He has been married to Audrey Dunham since 12 October 2012. They have two children. He was previously married to Paige Dunham.- Mike was born in Tuckerton NJ. From an early age he battled a form of autism, his interest in puppets and ventriloquism helped him cope with this disorder. He attended Southern Regional High and graduated from Pinelands Regional High School. He proudly served a tour in the United States Coast Guard. Mike was a long time ventriloquist and Announcer for the Tropicana in Atlantic City. He also spent over 20 years as a radio announcer and voice over artist at many south Jersey Radio stations. Mike has performed his Ventriloquist act all over the East Coast, and across several southern States. He has also acted in many small roles in commercials, regional theater and short films, but his breakout performance was as the Ventriloquist in John Carpenters Halloween Kills. He said working for Director David Gordon Green was a dream come true. He helped entertain the other actors between scenes. Mike still does voice overs and cartoon voices and he can be heard all across the U.S. He still enjoys performing as a ventriloquist, mostly for good causes. Mike's hobbies include collecting vintage wood ventriloquist figures and collecting and repairing antique broadcast Microphones.
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Terry Fator was born on 10 June 1965 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas (2009), Drop Dead Diva (2009) and Terry Fator: We Are the World (2024). He has been married to Angie Fiore since 4 September 2015. He was previously married to Taylor Dew and Melinda Fator.- Dan Horn is known for The Wallace and Ladmo Show (1954).
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Edgar Bergen was born on 16 February 1903 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Fun and Fancy Free (1947), The Muppet Movie (1979) and Letter of Introduction (1938). He was married to Frances Bergen. He died on 30 September 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Actor
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Jay Johnson was born on 11 July 1949 in Richardson, Texas, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Soap (1977), Annabelle's Wish (1997) and That '70s Show (1998). He has been married to Sandra Asbury-Johnson since 14 May 1972. They have two children.- Actress
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Nina Conti was born in 1974 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Her Master's Voice (2012), Sunlight and Family Tree (2013). She is married to Stan Stanley. They have two children.- Director
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Showko is an acclaimed Japanese female comedian, ventriloquist, Rakugo performer (Japanese traditional comedy), writer, speaker and actor. She has appeared in the film Anata no tamenara dokomademo (2010) and has featured on TV as a finalist on Australia's Got Talent and Is Motherhood Overrated? The ABC Radio International Women's Day Comedy Debate (2017)
Showko's unique career has also been the subject of two TV specials Gutto! Chikyubin-umi no mukou no taisetsu na hito e (2014) and Sekai Naze Soko ni? Nihonjin - Shirarezaru Haranbanjoden (2018)
Her latest release is Showko Absolutely Normal (2019).- Actor
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Jeff Panacloc was born on 8 September 1986 in Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes, Seine-et-Marne, France. He is an actor and writer, known for Jeff Panacloc perd le contrôle! (2015), Jeff Panacloc: In Pursuit of Jean-Marc (2023) and L'étrange Noël de Jeff Panacloc (2018).- Y.K. Padhye is known for Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963).
- Pietro Ghislandi was born on 19 April 1957 in Comun Nuovo, Lombardy, Italy. He is an actor, known for The Invisible Wall (1991), Ombre (2008) and Screw Loose (1999).
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The Spanish born ventriloquist Senor Wences was one of the highest paid vaudeville acts in the world. Hugely popular with American TV audiences Wences was also a top nightclub favorite.
Born Wenceslao Moreno in Peñaranda de Bracamonte, Salamanca (Spain), Wences began performing ventriloquism as a child An early career in bullfighting proved unsuccessful so he took up ventriloquism and juggling professionally. Wences toured Europe in the 1920s before coming to America in 1935 where he made his New York debut at the Club Chico.
He became an overnight sensation on "The Milton Berle Show" and later made appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and TV specials with Jack Benny and Perry Como. In 1947 he had stand-out cameo in the film comedy Mother Wore Tights (1947), starring Dan Dailey and Betty Grable.
Among his famous vent characters were 'Johnny', ingeniously formed by one of Wences's hands and 'Pedro', a torso-less head in a box. In the middle of a routine Wences would lift the lid of the box and say "Are you alright?" to which Pedro would reply "S'alright". "S'alright" - which became a classic catchphrase.
In 1986 Wences toured America with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in the musical Sugar Babies. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Comedy Hall of Fame which was inscribed "For his devotion to entertaining generations of audiences and bringing countless hours of joy and happiness to millions throughout the world."- Actor
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Born Paul Wilchinsky on December 21, 1922, the son of Sol and Clara Wilchinsky, Paul Winchell grew up to be the most beloved ventriloquist of American children. Ironically, as famous as Paul was, his dummy, Jerry Mahoney, was probably more famous. Not since Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy in the previous two decades had a ventriloquist and his dummy known equal celebrity.
Entering the spotlight on the Edward Bowes "Original Amateur Hour" (1948), he began working soon after in a review show in which Major Bowes would showcase the winners of his radio program. He started his television career on the CBS program The Bigelow Show (1948) in 1948; The Paul Winchell Show (1950), originally called "The Spiedel Show," in 1950; and, finally, the best-known of his shows Winchell-Mahoney Time (1965). With a clubhouse premise, his dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff--another of Paul's characters--as the clubhouse leaders, and the music of the bandleader Milton Delugg. A new innovation of Winchell's was to replace the dummy's hands with those of puppeteers who were hidden behind the dummies in a crate. Winch also played many serous dramatic roles on television without his dummy sidekicks.
What may be even more famous is that he created the voice of Tigger for the Walt Disney Company's "Winnie The Pooh" motion-picture series, based on the famous books by A.A. Milne. He played the role behind the scenes until 1999, when he was replaced by Jim Cummings, who also voiced Pooh from the time that Sterling Holloway died. He was also the voice of many other world-famous cartoon characters.
A little-known fact about Winchell is that he was one of the original inventors of an artificial heart--years before the first successful transplant with such of a device--an automobile that runs on battery power, a method for breeding tilapia, and many other inventions that are still around today.- Actress
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Lisa Whelchel was born in Littlefield, Texas, USA on Wednesday, May 29, 1963. She is the daughter of James "Jimmy" and Virginia "Genny" Whelchel. Her parents divorced in 1981 and her mother married Roy Coleman in 1983. She has a younger brother, James (Cody) Whelchel, and a younger half-brother, Casey Coleman. Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, she is an American actress, singer-songwriter, author, and speaker. She discovered acting at age 8 and performed in musical theater for the next four years. At 10 she became a born-again Christian and devoted her life to her Christian faith. When she was 12 she wrote to the Disney Studios asking for an audition as a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club (1977). She moved to California the next year and appeared in syndication from 1977-1978. In 1979, she began her starring role as wealthy, preppy, private-school girl "Blair Warner" on The Facts of Life (1979). The show lasted nine years and she filmed the last regular episode, Big Apple Blues (1988) televised on Saturday, March 19th, 1988. 6 and 7 weeks later came two larger-cast specials, The Beginning of the End (1988), televised on Saturday, April 30, 1988, and the series finale, The Beginning of the Beginning (1988) televised on Saturday, May 7, 1988. On Saturday, July 9, 1988, she married Steven Cauble, who was an associate pastor at Whelchel's church, "The Church On the Way" in Van Nuys, California. On Saturday, January 17, 1990, she gave birth to son Tucker Stephenson Cauble (aka Tucker Cauble). Her second child and first daughter, Haven Katherine Hill Cauble, was born on Thursday, September 26, 1991, followed by third child and second daughter, Clancy Elizabeth Cauble (aka Clancy Cauble), who was born on Thursday, November 12, 1992. She released a Christian pop album, "All Because of You," in 1984. The next year she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance. She has written many books including "Creative Correction", "So You're Thinking About Homeschooling", "The Facts of Life (and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me)", "Friendships for Grown-Ups", "Taking Care of the Me in Mommy", and "Speaking Mom-Ese". In 2001, she reprized her role of "Blair Warner" for the made-for-television movie, The Facts of Life Reunion (2001), on the ABC Network. On Sunday, March 7, 2004, she and Charlotte Rae performed "The Facts of Life" theme song at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards. On Thursday, April 10, 2011, Whelchel and the cast of The Facts of Life (1979), including Charlotte Rae, Nancy McKeon, Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Geri Jewell & Cloris Leachman were honored with the Pop Culture Award at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center in New York City. She officially divorced her husband, Steven Cauble, on Thursday, March 1, 2012, after 23 years of marriage. She appeared on the 25th season of Survivor (2000), located in the Philippine Islands, as part of the Tandang tribe. The first episode aired on Wednesday, September 19th, 2012. She appeared on the CBS talk show, The Talk (2010), to promote her appearance on "Survivor" on Wednesday, September 19, 2012. Whelchel appeared on "The Jeff Probst Show" (2012) on Monday, October 29, 2012, on the episode, "Teen Star Lisa Whelchel: Surviving 'Survivor' and Divorce". She also appeared on a second episode titled "Survivor Finalists" along with fellow 'Survivor: Philippines' contestants, Abi-Maria Gomes, Michael Skupin, Denise Stapley and Malcolm Freberg for being in the final five. On Wednesday, December 16, 2012, during the 25th Season Reunion Show on CBS, "America's Sweetheart" won the fan-voted Sprint Player of the Season by 0.7% over Malcolm which is the closest margin of victory in Survivor history. The prize money that Lisa Whelchel won was $100,000 U.S. Lisa began to co-host on The Jeff Probst Show (2012) with filming, that started televising in January of 2013.- Willie Tyler was born on 8 September 1940 in Red Level, Alabama, USA. He is an actor, known for Coming Home (1978), Americathon (1979) and Pacific Blue (1996).
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Four years after appearing with Gene Autry on a national radio show in 1932 he went to Hollywood. By that time he Max was a skilled vaudevillian (magician, juggler, whistler, impressionist, card tricks). His specialty was ventriloquism. On the Orpheum Circuit his dummy was named Skully Null; he became Elmer Sneezeweed in the movies. His debut was in Ride, Ranger, Ride (1936) in 1936, the same year he took over the part of Lullaby in the "Three Mesquiteer" series. He played the part in 21 films, leaving in 1939. After that he did 24 "Range Buster" pictures, co-starred in Ken Maynard's last picture and co-starred eight times with Johnny Mack Brown. He played a doctor in Giant (1956). After leaving movies he continued to appear in television shows such as Ramar of the Jungle (1952). He died in Cottonwood, AZ.- Writer
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David Strassman was born in Los Angeles and became interested in theatre after a visit to the Magic Castle in Hollywood at age 11. He practiced magic and ventriloquism until high school where he attended New Trier West High School in Chicago, performing in plays and musicals. Strassman studied improvisation for a year after taking a master class with Viola Spolin from 2nd City. After High School and 1 year of college, Strassman moved to New York City to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for a year and then later at the Herbert Berghoff Studios. To earn money, he started performing on the streets of New York, London, and Paris, then got performance spots at the Comic Stip, Catch a Rising Star, and Improv comedy clubs in NYC. Performing the comedy club circuit throughout the late '70's and 1980's, Strassman worked his way up from opening act to high paid headliner. He made numerous appearances on television in the US, headlined Las Vegas, and, won critics awards at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. His shows have played all over the English speaking world and his latest show, "Careful What You Wish For", is soon to be released on his 6th DVD.- Actress
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Otto Petersen was born on 29 July 1960 in Staten Island, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Aristocrats (2005), Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen (1988) and White Chicks, Incorporated (1998). He died on 13 April 2014 in Parsippany, New Jersey, USA.- Actor
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James Nelson was born December 15, 1928 in Chicago, middle child of James and Winifred Nelson. In 1938 Jimmy's Aunt Margaret gave him his first ventriloquist "dummy" as a birthday gift, something that she had won as a bingo prize, which he named Dummy Dan/Danny Dum. He used that figure, which his father modified for better movement; until he asked Frank Marshall construct a new Danny in 1945. Marshall had a penchant for trying to make the hand carved wooden figures look like the performer that would be using them so the folks could see to them as related. Nelson was very pleased with the figure and gave his figure an Irish name, like Edgar Bergen's "Charlie McCarthy" and his mentor Bob Evan's "Jerry O'Leary" had before him, by adding O'Day. Two years later in 1947 Jimmy married his high school sweetheart Margot Humphries in Buffalo N.Y.
It was at that time that Danny started to need a little T.L.C. so Jimmy returned to Frank Marshall to have a duplicate made. However the figure "Just didn't look like Danny" said Nelson "but I didn't have the heart, or the nerve, at the age of nineteen to tell Frank that I wasn't a hundred percent satisfied." By 1949 the Nelsons were back in Chicago with their two boys. Talent Agent Louis Cohan got Jimmy better bookings than he was able to get in New York and Jimmy Nelson and Danny O'Day were now in the big time! So Jimmy added the new figure to his act, as the highly cultured Humphrey Higsbye and he became the foil to Danny much like Mortimer Snerd was for Charlie McCarthy. Jimmy went on to host Chicago's Hollard's Happy House on WGN-TV. In 1950 Nelson and Danny appeared for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show and were a great success with the audience as well as with Sullivan.
That same year Nelson had Marshall construct a dog character and named him "Farfel" after an item on a hotel menu, he brought that new figure with him as he joined the troupe on Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater." Nineteen-fifty-one saw the Nelson marriage come to an end and Jimmy moved to New York with his three sons on their own until 1956 when he married the pretty girl singer, Betty Norman, who worked as his supporting act.
The year before his nuptials Jimmy, Danny and Farfel began the Nestlé's campaign that made them even more of a house hold name, if that is possible, than they were on the Milton Berle show.
The facts in this short biography are from Jimmy Nelson himself and Kelly Asbury's book "Dummy Days" where you can find more on Jimmy Nelson, Danny O'Day and Farfel, as well as the four other most well known ventriloquists in American history.- Actor
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Ronn Lucas was born in El Paso, Texas, USA. He is known for The Ronn Lucas Show (1990), Scorch (1992) and L.A. Law (1986).- Actress
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Shari Lewis was born on 17 January 1934 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Lamb Chop's Play-Along (1992), The Charlie Horse Music Pizza (1998) and Star Trek (1966). She was married to Jeremy Tarcher and Stanley Harry Lipschitz (Lewis). She died on 2 August 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Producer
Mallory Lewis is known for Heir (2015).- Actor
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Like many small boys Jerry Layne grew up watching Paul Winchell on television. This inspired him to become a ventriloquist as years before Edgar Bergen had inspired his mentor. And I mean mentor in the truest sense of the word. After winning Paul Winchell's "Best Kid Ventriloquist" contest, it turned into a teacher-protégé relationship, and a friendship, which has last all through the years. In college in New York Jerry worked on campus radio. On his spring breaks Jerry worked in the hotels and clubs in the Miami, Florida area. It was back at school that he entered the original "Ted Mack Amateur Hour" and won first prize. After college Jerry fulfilled his military obligations, where the Public Relations office of the armed forces utilized Jerry and his basswood partner "Lester" talents. He then began a 14 year stint working for Goodson-Todman TV productions in Canada on "Beat the Clock." Jerry also created and hosted a children's television game show, "Puppet People," while there. He returned to the US in 1974, to perform in Atlantic City, Reno, theme parks, special events, TV shows, motion pictures, cruse ships, corporate events. As well as performing Jerry designs and builds many of his own figures. He has become the leading supplier of ventriloquist figures to magic shops, as well in the motion picture & television industries.- Veteran actor Kevin L. Johnson can be seen across both television and film, but he is best known for his role as 'Sam Dermody' in Netflix's hit series "Ozark" starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney. What originally started as a two-episode role in season one, led instead to Johnson portraying 'Sam' each additional season, including the fourth and final. Johnson will soon be seen as 'Eric' in Netlflix's "Florida Man," executive produced by Bateman and will guest star in the hit cult show "Stranger Things."
Johnson fell in love with acting while attending Clemson University. As an assignment for his newly declared English major, Kevin was required to see "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." The grand production impacted him so greatly that he registered for acting classes the next day for the following semester. After he had a bit of formal acting training that helped the self-proclaimed introvert break out of his shell, Johnson had the confidence to audition for his first role at Clemson. While the audition didn't result in a part, Kevin became a part of the tech crew, furthering his knowledge of production.
Before long Johnson won the lead role as 'Sam,' the pickle maker seeking a love match in "Crossing Delancey" at Clemson Little Theatre, before starring as 'Oswald' in a Shakespeare in the Park production of "King Lear." Additional theatre credits include the lead role of 'Willy Wonka' in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at Easley Foothills Playhouse, 'Bardolph' in "Henry V" at Brooks Theater at Clemson University and 'Wally' in "1940's Radio Hour" at Clemson Little Theatre. Kevin also discovered that he could sing while attending auditions during college. Although his mother had been a country singer, Johnson hadn't tested his own voice until he checked out a cast recording of "Urinetown" from the library to prepare for an audition.
Kevin graduated from Clemson University with a degree in English and a minor in advertising before landing an agent. He then began booking roles in commercials, including the North Carolina State Lottery and Burger King, and numerous short films. Johnson landed his first television role on the hit series "One Tree Hill," an audition he almost didn't attend. He then went on to book his first film role in "My Redneck Roots" and his first lead role in the film "Destiny Road."
Johnson's expansive resume includes roles in numerous television series and films. His television credits include Cinemax's "Banshee," CBS' "Reckless," MTV's "Finding Carter," FOX's "The Resident," OWN's "Greenleaf" and OWN's "If Loving You Is Wrong." His additional film credits include "Prisoners" opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, "Careful What You Wish For" opposite Nick Jonas, "American Animals" opposite Evan Peters and "Blue Ridge" opposite Johnathon Schaech - Actor
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Wayne Federman is a Los Angeles-based comedian, actor, producer, writer, USC professor, and musician. He is best known for his stand-up comedy appearances, his recurring role on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, his scholarship on stand-up comedy history, and his many film and television roles.
Wayne grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and Plantation, Florida. His first musical instrument was drums and, at age 14, played local weddings. He also taught himself ventriloquism and performed at various school (South Plantation High School) functions as well as local churches and service organizations. While in Florida Federman made his film debut as an extra in John Frankenheimer's Black Sunday, shot at the Miami Orange Bowl.
In the fall of 1977, Wayne was accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. There he studied with legendary acting coaches from the Group Theater: Stella Adler and Harold Clurman. Wayne also began developing his stand-up at various New York comedy clubs. It was during these years that he first incorporated music into his act. He closed his sets by playing Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix on an electric ukulele.
Federman made his national television debut on the syndicated program Comedy Tonight in 1986. He also appeared in two stand-up comedy home videos: New Wave Comedy and The Dodge Comedy Showcase.
In LA, Federman began booking television commercials and appeared in dozens of national spots for clients, including Eureka Vacuums, Holiday Inn, U.S. Navy, Wendy's, Taboo, Jeep-Eagle, McDonald's, Glad Bags, Sprite, Total Raisin Bran, Ford, U.S. Olympic Team, Suzuki Samurai, Sizzler, Del Monte, U.S. Cellular, Coors, Geico, and 7-11.
Federman also began landing small television parts which led him to roles in high profile films such as Legally Blonde, Jack Frost, 50 First Dates, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Step Brothers, Funny People, Sweetwater, and The House.
Federman produced the 2022 HBO documentary George Carlin's American Dream. He also produced Don Rickles' web series Dinner with Don, Judd Apatow's Netflix stand-up special The Return, and HBO's Emmy-winning The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.
Wayne wrote two books: The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle, and (with Marshall Terrill) the authorized biography of NBA basketball legend Pistol Pete Maravich. Both books were Amazon bestseller.
Wayne co-wrote and starred in Max and Josh, a short film that premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Volkswagen Relentless Drive Award.
Federman was a founding member of the musical group Truck Stop Harrys, along with Tudor Sherrard and Matthew Porretta. Federman co-wrote several songs for the film Dill Scallion, and was the music director and keyboardist for Maria Bamford's critically acclaimed The Special Special Special!.
Wayne Federman was the head monologue writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He also wrote for the Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, DGA Awards, WGA Awards, Critics Choice, and the Creative Arts Emmys.
Federman has received one Emmy Award nomination and three WGA Award nominations and for his work.- Actress
Alyse Eady is known for Star (2016), Good Day Atlanta (1994) and Late Show with David Letterman (1993).- Shirley Dinsdale grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. When she was a child, she was severely burned when a kettle tipped over on her and she spent a year in a hospital recovering. During that time a puppet named "Judy Splinters" kept her company. After she returned home, her father bartered for ventriloquist lessons and by the age of 14 was appearing on San Francisco radio shows. Soon she moved to Los Angeles and became a regular on Eddie Cantor's radio program. She also appeared in a number of local benefits for the war effort where she was spotted by a KTLA-TV staffer. In the new medium of television, Shirley, by then 17, started with a five minute daily program. Her renown spread and her program appeared as a daily evening broadcast on NBC during the summer of 1949 and a regular afternoon show for the 1949-1950 season.
In 1953, Shirley retired from show business, married and had two children. At the age of 40, she entered Stony Brook University in New York and graduated to become a cardiopulmonary therapist. She died in 1999 at the age of 71. - Actor
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Matt Bennett was born on 13 November 1991 in Massapequa, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Bridesmaids (2011), The Virginity Hit (2010) and Victorious (2010).- Actor
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Paul Zerdin was born in 1974. He is an actor and director, known for Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Paul Zerdin: No Strings (2014) and The Crucible (2010).- Arthur Worsley was known in showbusiness circles as 'The Godfather of Ventriloquism.' A brilliant ventriloquist he topped the bills in the heydays of British variety both on stage and in numerous television shows. Unlike other vent acts who relied on cross-talk with their comic 'dummy' Worsley remained silent and let his dummy, provide the irascible patter. On stage Worsley was a faceless character with few expressions and it was his dummy, Charlie Brown, who dominated the act with his forceful personality. He would criticise Worsley's appearance and jibe him with remarks such as 'Turn me round son!' and 'Look at me when I'm talking to you!'
Worsley began performing as a ventriloquist at the age of 11 when he began appearing in variety shows in Manchester billed as 'The World's youngest ventriloquist.' By the age of 14 he had turned professional.
By the 1940s, under the management of Lew and Leslie Grade, Worsley was one of the highest paid performers in Britain. He appeared in ten variety seasons at the London Palladium sharing the bill with stars such as Max Miller, Vera Lynn and Gracie Fields and he was a favourite in cabaret at London's top hotels.
In the 1950s and 1960s he toured Australia, Canada and while in New York became an unexpected hit on television talk shows. An appearance on the top rating Ed Sullivan Show prompted the host to remark "Arthur Worsley is setting the pace - he must be the best vent in the world."
The comedian Barry Cryer persuaded Worsley to appear in several episodes of the British tv comedy show Joker's Wild. Soon after he retired to Blackpool. Fans often wrote to him simply addressing the envelope 'to The World's Greatest Ventriloquist, Blackpool.' The letters were always delivered to Worsley's home. - Terri Rogers was born on 4 May 1937 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK. She died on 30 May 1999 in London, England, UK.
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Keith started in show business at the early age of 9 in a comedy act with his father. Two years later when his father retired Keith couldn't find a partner to be a straight man so decided to be a ventriloquist. His father bought him his first 'doll' but after the string broke in the middle of his act he decided to make his own characters. he's had Orville since 1977 and Cuddles since 1967.- Writer
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Roger De Courcey was born on 10 December 1944 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for The 39 Steps (2008), Harry Hill (1997) and Summertime Special (1986). He has been married to Cheryl McCandless since 1973. They have one child.- Peter Brough was born on 26 February 1916 in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK. He died on 3 June 1999 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, UK.