Kelly Ashbury discusses his book, “Dummy Days.” He begins by describing the popularity of ventriloquism in the early days of radio, television, and vaudeville. He talks about the famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy. Ashbury also talks about Paul Winchell’s career as a ventriloquist with his dummy Jerry Mahoney, and how Winchell went on to invent the artificial heart. He discusses W. S. Berger’s ventriloquist museum and his collection of dummies from dead vaudeville actors. Ashbury talks about the decline in popularity of ventriloquism, and how films and television shows like “The Twilight Zone” portray the art in a negative manner. He ends the interview by discussing modern day puppets and how Shari Lewis familiarized children with a new kind of ventriloquism.
U-matic tape: Excerpt of show with Martinson interviewing Kelly Ashbury before the break and J. Robert Lennon after the break. Date and times on case spine: 6/4; 11:30am: 4:30pm; 7:00pm. Date on case front cover: 9/22/03. Date on tape: 9/22/03.
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