Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a ventriloquist changes his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered “dummy”.
Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin for ‘to speak from the stomach’. 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. Uh…
The shift from ventriloquism as manifestation of spiritual forces toward ventriloquism as entertainment happened in the eighteenth century at the travelling funfairs 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.
Fast forward about 240 years and I had the opportunity to see one of the modern masters. My friend owned a recording studio in North Hollywood, California and he called me one day and asked if I wanted to come down and watch him record a session with Shari Lewis.
AP Photo by Nick Ut
Shari Lewis was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children’s entertainer and television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s and was best known as the original puppeteer of sock puppet Lamb Chop. She was considered one of the best and most popular of all time. Sadly, Shari Lewis died a year later and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be basically a private audience to her.
Fast forward another 20 years and my friend Little Woo writes the blog post “How A Puppet Dog Came To Life – a 30 minute journey that took 35 years” which you can read on LittleWoo.org. In the article she talks about her journey and interest in ventriloquism. She writes that when she was around 11, she borrowed a book on ventriloquism from the library. Fast forward a few years later and she finds herself following her fetish and practicing ventriloquism with her newly acquired little white dog puppet. (This is just one of many fetishes she follows which you can read about in her Follow Your Fetish series.)
After 10 minutes of “ventriloquism lessons” on YouTube and 20 minutes of practice, this is what happened. You must watch her video. She is amazingly good.
I leave you with the same question Little Woo posed on her blog – “What fascinations did you have growing up that still contain a spark for you now?” Share your thoughts in the comments. Would love to hear from you.
If you liked this or any other posts you read on 1KSmiles, please share it with your friends using the Shareaholic buttons below.
And feel free to ‘like’ us on our Facebook page.
Check out The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Ventriloquism
today on Amazon.
I’ve always loved ventriloquists and have posted some videos on Nina Conti on Wassupblog. I think she’s great.
This is the first I’ve learned about the history of it though and I found it really interesting. Thanks for the post Troy.
Will have to check out Little Woo.
Peter recently posted…Easy Betting Sites Where To Find Them
Oh cool Peter. Thanks for dropping by and sharing.
Yes, please do check out Little Woo. She is so talented and has a lot to share.
Troy recently posted…6 people I would love to chat with
I really love ventriloquist, when I was a kid, my parents hired some of them instead of clowns :D, as I grow old, most of the ventriloquist in our town are now gone, I really dont have any idea why they stop doing it.
Edward Gate recently posted…The all new, global, Common Reporting Standard
Sadly some of the art forms we had while growing up are disappearing. Our parents said the same thing and probably their parents too. I suspect it will be the same for our children and their children.
Anyway, thank you for visiting and for your comments. Always appreciated.
Troy S. recently posted…History of Tiramisu
I told you, I’m starting to love your blog :).
Neways, how many times you post in a week Troy?
Edward Gate recently posted…The all new, global, Common Reporting Standard
The original idea was to post 5 days a week. That got cut down to three days and sometimes two. I do as much as I can but well, you know, Life.
If you use something like Feedly you can add this URL to the site and it will tell you each time something new is posted.
Thank you for the compliments. Glad you like the site. If you would be so kind to spread the word via Twitter or StumbleUpon ??? or using the ShareAHolic buttons that would be much appreciated.
Troy S. recently posted…Legacy
Ahhhh I see. It’s my pleasure to share your site to others Troy :). I will be posting one of your topics in my social media account with the topics made by Mitch Mitchell of http://www.imjustsharing.com/ :). Your’s and Mitch’s blogs are now my favorite blog sites, and I would love to share them :).
Edward Gate recently posted…The all new, global, Common Reporting Standard
Mitch is good people.
thank you for the compliments. 🙂
Troy S. recently posted…Interesting stuff people buy on Amazon part 5
yes that is cool
Sandeep Lokhande recently posted…Happy Easter Bible Quotes for Whatsapp | Facebook
howdy Troy!
from the first time read this article, i’m starting to love your website!
Thanks for sharing this post!
thanks and good luck Troy, everybody!
Nick Carter recently posted…Why are women harder to lose weight than men?
Thanks Nick. What things make YOU smile?
Troy recently posted…#800 Windmills
Hello morning, on the morning of the day, you will be surprised by the people’s people. Everyone is welcome.
I know that today you will have a recipe for the people of the world.
This is my link.
Pgma.ir