By Vicki Prichard
NKyTribune correspondent
On Sunday, June 27, the Vent Haven Museum’s Dummy Run 5K Fun Run/Walk takes place on the streets of Fort Mitchell, its trail winding throughout the very neighborhood the museum has called home since 1973.
The race’s date is a notable one. On the same date in 1948, a ventriloquist act was featured by Ed Sullivan on the first Toast of the Town variety show. The ventriloquist was Paul Winchell, who, along with Jerry Mahoney, helped usher in a new era of ventriloquism in television.
That morsel of ventriloquism history is just one of 365 notable dates in the history of ventriloquism that are featured in the new book by Bryan W. Simon and Marjorie Engesser called, I’m No Dummy Everyday, 365 Days of Ventriloquial Oddities, Curiosities, and Fun Facts.
Simon and Engesser, husband and wife co-authors, will be in northern Kentucky to sign their new book on July 18 at Roebling Point Books & Coffee at 306 Greenup Street in Covington, from 2 pm to 3:30 pm. Proceeds from the book will be donated to Vent Haven Museum. The authors have thoroughly vetted the field of ventriloquism, having produced a documentary prior to writing the book.
Simon and Engesser met in Chicago where Engesser was the co-artistic director of Stage Two, Simon’s theatre company. The two developed an appreciation for ventriloquism through television and theatre.
“I came to appreciate ventriloquism a little later in life,” Simon said. “I found out about Jay Johnson, like most everyone else, when he was on Soap. Because of Soap, I went to see Jay in person in the comedy clubs in Chicago. When he was working on his Broadway show, Marge and I went to see an early version of it at the Brentwood Theatre in Los Angeles.”
Television also provided Engesser with an introduction to ventriloquism. She became familiar with ventriloquist acts from watching Senor Wences on The Ed Sullivan Show and, like Simon, enjoyed watching Johnson on the television series Soap.
Their interest in ventriloquism, married with their own respective creative talents, inspired them to create a documentary about the art – one that that presented the ventriloquism and its artists with the integrity they deserved.
“Just about every short doc or television segment about ventriloquists made fun of them or portrayed them as creepy,” Simon said. “That wasn’t interesting to me, because that’s the easy way, in my opinion.”
As they set out to research the documentary, they learned that they would need to earn the trust of those in the industry. Initially, it seemed, no one in the ventriloquism community wanted to talk to them about the documentary.
“They had been lied to, burned so many times, and they were very weary of filmmakers that came along and said they wouldn’t make fun of them and then made fun of them,” Simon said.
When Simon reached out to Anne Roberts, Director of the Vent Haven Museum, she too was, at first, reluctant to speak to him. She suggested that he contact Kelly Ashbury, a feature animation director from Hollywood who had written a book about the golden age of ventriloquism, entitled Dummy Days.
“I called Kelly at his Disney Studio office and asked him if we could get together for an on-camera interview,” Simon said. “He said, ‘yes,’ and we filmed him at his home. It really was Kelly that signed off on us to the vent community. He contacted several people and let them know that I was a competent director and that my intentions were as stated, to discuss this much-maligned art form in a serious and respectful way, and that Lloyd, our cinematographer, and Marge and I knew what we were doing. After that, everything pretty much fell into place.”
To promote the documentary, I’m No Dummy, Simon and Engesser created a Facebook page which became a repository of photos, television clips, news, and trivia about ventriloquism. Within a few years, there were more than 400 entries. They often posted the birthdays of ventriloquists on the page, so creating a calendar made sense to Simon. He decided to bounce the idea off Lisa Sweasy, curator and executive board member at Vent Haven Museum, and fellow executive board member, Tom Ladshaw, who was also associate producer for the documentary, I’m No Dummy. Their support was “never-ending,” Simon said, and so too would be Simon and Engesser’s loyalty to Vent Haven.
“We were asked to become museum advisory board members in 2010, after the documentary was released,” Engesser said. “Both of us fell in love with the museum and find it a fun, fascinating, and educational place worth preserving and expanding.
Simon describes each page of I’m No Dummy Everyday as presenting an “hors d’oeuvre as opposed to an entrée” – smaller pieces of information on each page, but collectively the book is a veritable feast of fascinating morsels that, while focused on the art of ventriloquism, speak to how the art transcends throughout the entertainment industry.
For instance, the entry for August 15: On that same day in 1939, when The Wizard of Oz premiered, Frank Morgan, who portrayed the Wizard and four other characters in the film, was also a ventriloquist. January 25: On that day in 1949, Shirley Dinsdale became the first ventriloquist to receive and Emmy® Award for “Outstanding Television Personality” for her children’s television show, Judy Splinters. And, on July 21 (1924), actor Don Knotts, of The Andy Griffith Show fame was born. Not only was he a talented comedic actor, but he was a skilled ventriloquist. Page after page reveals a fun and interesting fact about an art that has varied and committed followers and continues to inspire next generations of artists.
The book reveals what puppet sued for divorce, which one ran for governor of Kentucky, which puppet testified before Congress, and which famous actress was banned from radio because of what she said to a puppet.
Simon explains that several distinct groups, or generations, make up a community of loyal ventriloquism followers, and through his and Engesser’s documentary – and now their book – they’ve tried to tie those groups together.
“To give them something they are familiar with and nostalgic for, and then expand their understanding by deconstructing the art form,” Simon said. “Those that grew up with Paul Winchell, Shari Lewis, and Jimmy Nelson. Then there’s the group that saw the transitional vents that like Jay Johnson or Willie Tyler, and finally, the most recent group that are familiar with Terry Fator, Jeff Dunham, and Darcy Lynn Farmer. I think ventriloquism is still enjoyed by all who are exposed to it.”
Engesser points out that there are a handful of successful, professional ventriloquists, but there are a number of people very loyal to the art, who do it as a hobby, and are very passionate about their hobby.
“Ventriloquism has had a bit of resurgence due to TV’’s American’s Got Talent and Jeff Dunham’s commercial success,” Engesser said. “But it’s a very difficult art to perfect as it’s a combination of doing many things very well all at once.”
As for uncovering particularly interesting items during their research, Simon said reading the vast number of letters to W.S. Berger, founder of the Vent Haven Museum, from ventriloquists all over the world, and his responses to them, was fun.
“Writing this book was a lot like making my comedy documentary I’m No Dummy, which involved relentless research, constant editing, and tough decisions on what to include and exclude,” Simon said. “There were surprises around every corner; you’d find out something about a ventriloquist that would then send you looking in another direction.”
Ultimately, I’m No Dummy Everyday is meant to inform and entertain even the most casual fan of ventriloquism.
“Like the documentary, the book is not meant to be a compendium of ventriloquial history nor a scholarly treatise on the subject nor a printed version of the film,” Simon said. “Instead, it’s meant to be informative, entertaining, and enlightening with remarkable facts, legends, myths, stories, and tales passed down by generations of ventriloquists.”
Join the Dummy Run — sign up here
The Vent Haven Museum Dummy Run 5K Fun Run/Walk, begins at 8:30 am Sunday, June 27. The 5K run is mostly flat and great for first time runners and walkers. The course will start and finish at Vent Haven Museum on West Maple behind the Mercedes Dealership in Ft. Mitchell. A virtual race option is available. Packet pick-up is Saturday June 26, from 5-8 p.m. at Vent Haven Museum, and Sunday, June 27, from 7-8 a.m. at the museum.