Mind Reader Medium Retired Belvedere Police chief John Lundquist was a ventriloquist. Lundquist, quist ventriloquist, d n lu lu. they will use a ventriloquist when they want to bring out a black man from a building, they will use a ventriloquist who can use the same voice box as his family members as a psychic, and he will come out. Ventriloquism. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ventriloquist redirects here. For the Batman villain, see Ventriloquist (comics). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008) Ventriloquist The Great Lester with Frank Byron, Jr. on his knee, c. 1904 Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) changes his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered dummy. The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to throw ones voice. Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Emergence as entertainment 2 Making the right sounds 3 Ventriloquists dummy 4 Fear of ventriloquists dummies 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links History Origins Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice.[1] The name comes from the Latin for to speak from the stomach, i.e. venter (belly) and loqui (speak).[2] The Greeks called this gastromancy (Greek: εγγαστριμυθία). 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 utilise this technique was the Pythia, the priestess at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, who acted as the conduit for the Delphic Oracle. In the First Book of Samuel, King Saul (who lived in the middle of the 11th century BCE) seeks advice about a coming battle from the Witch of Endor, who brings up (1 Sam 28:11 KJV) the spirit of Samuel. The Hebrew text can be translated as a voice speaking from a jug, or wineskin, typically ventriloquism. 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] The New Testament (Acts 16:16-18) relates the story of a girl who had a spirit of Python (ἔχουσαν πνεῦμα πύθωνα) and followed Paul and his companions around the city of Thyatrira, crying out after them. In the Middle Ages, it was thought to be similar to witchcraft. As Spiritualism led to stage magic and escapology, so ventriloquism became more of a performance art as, starting around the 19th century, it shed its mystical trappings. 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 Maori peoples.[3] Emergence as entertainment Sadlers Wells Theatre in the early 19th century, at a time when ventriloquist acts were becoming increasingly popular. The shift from ventriloquism as manifestation of spiritual forces toward ventriloquism as entertainment happened in the eighteenth century at the travelling fairs and market towns. The earliest recorded ventriloquists date back to as early as 1753 in England, where Sir John Parnell is depicted in an engraving of William Hogarth as speaking via his hand.[4] In 1757, the Austrian Baron de Mengen implemented a small doll into his performance.[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 appeared that it emanated from far away, rather than the modern method of using a puppet. A well known ventriloquist of the period, Joseph Askins, who performed at the Sadlers 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, 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).[7] Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his best-known sidekick, Charlie McCarthy, in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943) Fred Russells 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 who used only figure, Frank Byron, Jr., and Edgar Bergen. Bergen popularised the idea of the comedic ventriloquist.[citation needed] Bergen, together with his favourite 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, Shari Lewis, Willie Tyler and Jay Johnson. Another ventriloquist popular in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s was Señor Wences. The art of ventriloquism was popularised by Y. K. Padhye in North India and Mr M M Roy in South India, who are believed to be the pioneers of this field in India. Mr Y K Padhyes son Ramdas Padhye took from him and made the art popular amongst the masses through his performance on television. His son Satyajit Padhye continues to carry on the legacy of his grandfather. Similarly, Mr Venky Monkey, Mr Mimicry Srinivos and Mr Shanthakumar, the students of Mr M M Roy, popularize this art by giving shows in India and abroad. Ventriloquisms popularity waned for a while, probably because of modern medias electronic ability to convey the illusion of voice, the natural special effect that is the heart of ventriloquism. A number of modern ventriloquists have developed a following as the public taste for live comedy grows. In 2001, Angelique Monét performed on Theater Row her one-woman off-Broadway show Multiple Me(Written by Edgar Chisholm) where she portrayed several personalities using multiple dummies to display the shifts. In 2007, Zillah & Totte won the first season of Swedens Got Talent and became one of Swedens most popular family/children entertainers. Making the right sounds Swedish ventriloquist act Zillah & Totte 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.[8] If variations of the sounds th, d, t, and n are spoken quickly, it can be difficult for listeners to notice a difference. Ventriloquists dummy A ventriloquist entertaining children at the Pueblo, Colorado, Buell Childrens Museum Modern ventriloquists utilise a variety of different types of puppets in their presentations, ranging from soft cloth or foam puppets (Verna Finlys work is a pioneering example), flexible latex puppets (such as Steve Axtells creations) and the traditional and familiar hard-headed knee figure (Tim Selbergs 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 falling between thirty-four and forty-two inches. Traditionally, this type of puppet has been made from papier-mâché or wood. However, in modern times, other materials are often employed, including fiberglass-reinforced resins, urethanes, filled (rigid) latex, and neoprene.[9] Great names in the history of dummy making include Frank Marshall (the Chicago creator of Bergens Charlie McCarthy,[10] Nelsons Danny ODay,[10] and Winchells Jerry Mahoney), Theo Mack and Son (Mack carved Charlie McCarthys head), Revello Petee, Kenneth Spencer, Cecil Gough,[11] and Glen & George McElroy. Fear of ventriloquists dummies Fear of ventriloquists dummies is called automatonophobia.[12] It also includes fear of wax dummies or animatronic creatures. Films and programs which refer to dummies that are alive include Magic,[13] Dead of Night,[13] The Twilight Zone,[13] Poltergeist, Devil Doll,[14] Dead Silence, Childs Play (1988 film), Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Goosebumps, Seinfeld (the episode The Chicken Roaster), ALF (the episode Im Your Puppet), and Doctor Wh
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