There used to be loads of ventriloquists on the telly and, bizarrely, one named Peter Brough had his own show on BBC Radio in the ‘50s.
When Peter appeared on “Wogan” with his dummy Archie Andrews in the 1980s, whenever ‘Archie’ spoke, Peter conveniently covered his mouth with an enormous, unlit cigar!
More recently, British ‘vent’, Paul Zerdin was given a $1Million Las Vegas contract when he won “America’s Got Talent”.
But he’s the only ‘vent’ who’s really made his name since the 1970s when Roger De Courcey and Nookie Bear won “New Faces” and the 1980s when Keith Harris and Orville were a mainstay of children’s TV.
‘Vents’ were sometimes regarded as eccentric or even a little sinister, possibly echoing the creepy segment of the classic 1945 horror film “Dead Of Night” in which Michael Redgrave played a ‘vent’ who believed his dummy ‘Hugo’ had come to life with evil intent. It still has the power to chill!
A master of the ventriloquist’s art was Ray Alan, aided by the monocled, permanently sloshed ‘Lord Charles’.
In 1954, Ray was way down the bill on Laurel and Hardy’s last British tour and at the end of a week’s run in one theatre, he was in his tiny dressing room at the top of the building when he heard a heavy pair of feet climbing the stone staircase.
The great Oliver Hardy had trudged up the stairs to say “Excuse me for intruding, but Stan and I like to remember everyone we’ve worked with. Would you sign our autograph book, please?”
Wow!
Ken Dodd used to do a hilarious comedy ‘vent’ act with ‘Diddyman’ Dickie Mint.
At one point, Ken asks Dickie “Would you like some brown bread and butter and a bottle of beer…or a shandy?” Dickie Mint quickly replies, “A shandy”.
Comedy gold!
As is, the apparently true, story about the ‘vent’ whose performance was interrupted by a drunken heckler.
When the ‘vent’ politely asked the drunk to be quiet, he said “I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to him!” and pointed at the dummy.