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The Secret Life of Ventriloquist Puppets
by Jimmy Cox
To the ventriloquist who first conceived the idea of using a mouth-moving ventriloquist puppets should be erected a monument, not only for the entertainment and amusement his ingenuity has afforded to countless thousands, past and present, but for the employment he has given to numerous figure makers and to hundreds of entertainers who would never otherwise have been able to style themselves ventriloquists. But, alas! he is not known to fame and so must forever remain un-honored and unsung.
In its primitive state the head was simply fitted to an upright pole, the base of which was fixed to a flange screwed into the stage or a stand sufficiently heavy to permit of the screwing being dispensed with. A head like that once carried its owner around the world and finally found an ignoble resting place-such is the inconsistency and inconstancy of man-in the rubbish of a workshop.
Then came small heads held upward by the hand, which was covered by a frill, and from these to knee puppets the transition was an easy one. With these the cumbersome stands, the obvious working of the strings and the absurdity of a talking head without a body, which had been serious drawbacks to all the earlier styles, were done away with.
Such dolls can be easily carried in an extension case or a portmanteau, and the ventriloquist, when requested to entertain, can bring them into a room, seat himself quietly, and have the figures chatting on his knees before his entrance is noticed.
The position is a natural one, and with his hand in the interior of the body the mouth is made to work and the head to turn, by simply grasping the round stick projecting from the nock, turning it to cause the head to look either to the right or the left, and pulling the ring down to work the lower jaw. When the entertainment is over the puppets can be removed without trouble and loss of time, and without upsetting the room and at the same time the equanimity of the host or hostess.
For vaudeville theaters and most public performances ventriloquist puppets on the knee are now generally arranged on small seats or stands, with larger full length figures standing or sitting, and worked from behind by wires or other contrivances, including compressed air.
With the latter the figures may be placed at any distance from the operator, who controls the mouth movement by compressing a rubber bulb. The air thus compressed passes through a small rubber pipe to a cylinder and piston connected with the lever operating the mouth. A small-size bicycle pump fitted with a piston and containing a hole in the bottom for the entrance of the rubber tube answers the purpose very well.
The little girl used by some ventriloquists usually adds much to the effectiveness of a performance, and is made to do duty in a variety of ways. An English ventriloquist, Robert Ganthony has a little girl figure which stands at the piano and sings to his accompaniment, the mouth being moved by the ventriloquist's foot.
It also plays the violin, the sound being a vocal imitation, while the bow arm is worked by means of a second pedal. Whether the girl stands, sits on the knee or on a stool, sings, plays or recites, depends of course upon the inclination and talent of the performer.
Ventriloquial Negroes have a variety of accomplishments, ranging from dancing to smoking. Some even play the banjo, which is made to hook on the shoulders and is readily detachable. Sometimes the arm is worked by means of a wire running from the hand on the inside of the sleeve and through the clothing at the back, where it is held by the exhibitor.
These are some of the ventriloquist puppets employed to aid the ventriloquist in his art.
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