In the early days of SOAP HBO was just a cable station in New York but they were already trying to do original programing. They produced a variety show called, "The Vent Event" with all the ventriloquist of the day. Shari Lewis, Edgar Bergen, Jimmy Nelson and myself being the fresh face in the vent world at the time.
It was my second time to be around Edgar Bergen who was one of my idols. He watched this routine and later came up to me and said something that I will never forget. Mr. Bergen said to me, "That was very, very good. You have such great control. And your voice is... well... your voice is... Well damnit it's a YOUNG VOICE."
Funny how those words come back when I accidentally found this clip on YouTube. I watched this routine like I had never seen it before, much like Edgar Bergen might have experienced seeing it. This turned out to be the last television show Mr. Bergen did before he passed away. It has been a long time since I did "The great Figaro Challenge." I never felt closer to Mr. Bergen than right now in my life. It is an odd roll being one of the elder statesmen of ventriloquism. As I watched this routine I thought, "that's a young voice."
As you were,
Jay
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I've been friends with Christine for many years, and sang with her in various groups. Sooo, glad she posted this link to your site. I love your work and would like to see you do some of it again, in person. You are a GIANT! Thank you for posting, again. Larry Kenton
ReplyDeleteJay, this is AWESOME. I'm so glad you found it and posted it. Although, I think you and your partner (wooden American) could have used a few more lessons from Wylie. ;-). Keep hunting for gems like this!
ReplyDeleteBill the band director
Absolutely incredible!
ReplyDeleteHere's another "young voice" bit I like and found a while ago on youtube:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KlpYsV6L-E
The reason your star is still rising. So amazing!
ReplyDeleteJay, you were and still are an inspiration to so many vents out there. Being in Australia my first sight of Squeaky wasn't until years later when I too saw this clip on YouTube. Perhaps that "young voice" came from a fresh new act in ventriloquism that a lot of people had never seen before.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Just...(Holy Toledo!)...wonderful.
ReplyDeleteTo make another Bergen comparison, I bet few noticed that Squeaky's eyes do not move. But just like Charlie McCarthy with Bergen, your manipulation of Squeaky with just a turn of the head makes him real, without any other mechanics inside the head.
ReplyDeleteMay be a young voice being projected, but there's an old vaudeville soul in there, too.