THE FIRST VENTRILOQUIST DUMMIE
Ventriloquism got its start in ancient times, somewhere around the sixth century BC, it is believed, when it was used to supposedly communicate with the dead. The first known ventriloquist of this type was Louis Brabant. He was in the court of the French King Francis the First. It became a widespread belief that the spirits of the dead went to the stomachs of the prophets and continued to exist there. The prophets were then able to foretell the future by the spirits who were speaking from his or her belly. Hence the name "ventriloquist" which means "belly speaker" in Latin. Of course, it was the prophets themselves who had learned the art of ventriloquism so they could fool their listeners and claim to have divine powers.
For a long time, ventriloquism was viewed negatively by the Christian church. Finally, though, it was looked upon as simply being a form of entertainment. Listening to the "voices from the belly" was no longer done. Finally, at the end of the nineteenth century, a comedian by the name of Fred Russell came up with an act which he performed with his dummy. Russell became known as the "father of modern ventriloquism." Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wooden dummy named Charlie McCarthy came on the scene years later in 1938 and ended up becoming an international celebrity. Buffalo Bob Smith and his cowboy dummy, who was named Howdy Doody, had their own television show for over ten years, starting in the 1940's. Then, Shari Lewis and her hand puppet, which was named Lamb Chop, became popular on television in the 1950's and 1960's.
Ventriloquism got its start in ancient times, somewhere around the sixth century BC, it is believed, when it was used to supposedly communicate with the dead. The first known ventriloquist of this type was Louis Brabant. He was in the court of the French King Francis the First. It became a widespread belief that the spirits of the dead went to the stomachs of the prophets and continued to exist there. The prophets were then able to foretell the future by the spirits who were speaking from his or her belly. Hence the name "ventriloquist" which means "belly speaker" in Latin. Of course, it was the prophets themselves who had learned the art of ventriloquism so they could fool their listeners and claim to have divine powers.
For a long time, ventriloquism was viewed negatively by the Christian church. Finally, though, it was looked upon as simply being a form of entertainment. Listening to the "voices from the belly" was no longer done. Finally, at the end of the nineteenth century, a comedian by the name of Fred Russell came up with an act which he performed with his dummy. Russell became known as the "father of modern ventriloquism." Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his wooden dummy named Charlie McCarthy came on the scene years later in 1938 and ended up becoming an international celebrity. Buffalo Bob Smith and his cowboy dummy, who was named Howdy Doody, had their own television show for over ten years, starting in the 1940's. Then, Shari Lewis and her hand puppet, which was named Lamb Chop, became popular on television in the 1950's and 1960's. Ventriloquism is a practiced skill that is achieved by throwing one's voice. That is, a ventriloquist use a wooden dummy or doll which he or she places on their hand in order to operate their movements. The ventriloquist then pretends to carry on a conversation with the dummy by moving its mouth and providing its voice. The dummy's voice actually comes from the ventriloquist, but since there is no sign that he or she is moving his or her mouth or lips, then the voice seems to come from the wooden dummy. Our eyes naturally try to zero-in on the source of the noises or the voice that we hear. But, by controlling the movement of his or her lips, and by not moving the mouth, a ventriloquist successfully tricks us into thinking that the voice we are hearing is coming from another source, such as his or her wooden dummy. We know better, but a good ventriloquist can make it seem that his or her dummy is actually talking even though we know for a fact that it is not.
You can learn ventriloquism yourself by studying the many books and videos that are available on the market today. You will need to practice in front of a mirror so that you can practice not moving your lips or your mouth as you speak for your dummy. In order to perform your new skill, you will also need to choose and purchase a dummy, of course, which will then be used as your sidekick.