The Man Edgar Bergen, actually born Edgar John Berrgren, was born in Chicago a first generation Swedish American to Swedish immigrants on Feb. 16, 1903, though he grew up in Michigan. Edgar started his early years with an aptitude to entertain his friends with mimicry which led to them prodding him into becoming a ventriloquist, which he didn’t even know what it was. The story is that he actually had to pull out a dictionary and look up the word. Not too long after that, 11 y

My First Ventriloquist Instructor Jimmy Nelson is the first ventriloquist who put out an actual recorded training series that you could purchase. Years ago, Dick Clark and Ed McMahon had a tv show that was centered around commercials and in one episode, they showed an old black and white commercial for Nestle that featured Jimmy Nelson and two of his most famous characters, Danny O’Day and Farfel the dog. I believe that was the first time I realized that puppets weren’t just

S’OK? S’OK, S’Alright, S’Alright Señor Wences was the creator of a catchphrase that millennials who don’t even know who he is, use. Born April 17, 1896 in Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain Died April 20, 1999 (Yes, the math is correct, that is 103) in New York City, New York, USA 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 a

The Legend James Maury Henson, or just Jim as he was known by, was born in Greenville, Mississippi, on September 24, 1936. I joke that my daughter better be glad she was a girl or I would have named her Jim in memory, as she was born on September 25th. Jim was the youngest of two children, his father was Paul Henson, his mother was Betty Marcella. His early childhood was lived in Leland, Mississippi, before moving with his family to Maryland in the late ‘40s, near Washington

Birds of a Feather… Ventriloquism is one of those skill sets that becomes better with time, but also gets better with proper feedback from other ventriloquists. Study masters in the field and mimic their actions and techniques until you develop a style of you own. Find a Mentor In certain ways, puppetry and ventriloquism is dying out. Less and less people are showing interest in this skill. Most of the veterans in this art would love to pass on their techniques to the next ge

Don’t jump the gun If you haven’t read the previous blog introducing ventriloquism, click here to read it first. Consider it mandatory homework before learning the cheats. To learn these techniques without having a grasp of the basics will lead to sloppy ventriloquism. Now for the cheats Even though learning the techniques will make you an expert ventriloquist, there are some cheats that you can do to accomplish a good ventriloquist act. The visual perception of the audience

What is Ventriloquism? Ventriloquism is a finely crafted art that has been mastered by a select few. The techniques of distorting one’s voice to make it seem as though it is coming from another source; in this case a puppet. Like magic, these techniques were guarded and passed down throughout the centuries. It has been used as a form of entertainment for years, and has its origins dating back to as early as the sixth century, back when many thought it to be a form of witchcra