Friday, Feb. 15, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.
When: 9 p.m., through Sunday.
Where: Monte Carlo's Lance Burton Theatre.
Tickets: $30.25.
Information: 730-7160.
Ventriloquism hasn't lost its voice in the entertainment world.
There are still a few entertainers out there practicing the art that has been around for hundreds of years (the historic Punch and Judy puppets date back to 14th-century Italy).
Among the best is 39-year-old Jeff Dunham, who will perform this weekend at Monte Carlo's Lance Burton Theatre.
"(Dunham breathes) life into an elderly curmudgeon, a purple creature known as a 'Woozle' and a self-effacing jalapeno, among other lovable characters," Denver Post critic Ed Will noted in a 1998 review. "Jeff Dunham is straight man to some of the funniest partners in show business.
"His comedic skill and impeccable technique serve as sleight of hand ... drawing attention away from the fact that Dunham is a ventriloquist extraordinaire."
The illusion of throwing one's voice is not as popular as it was in the days of "The Ed Sullivan Show," back when Edgar Bergen had dummy Charlie McCarthy, Paul Winchell had Jerry Mahoney and Senor Wences had his fist (which he painted and called "Johnny").
"Right now there are a handful of professional ventriloquists," Dunham said during a recent telephone interview from Phoenix, where he was performing. "There are probably 20 guys -- men and women -- who do it full time in this country, and maybe there are 40 in the world."
Dunham has been throwing his voice most of his life.
An only child, the Dallas native overcame a shyness tendency by teaching himself ventriloquism with a plastic Mortimer Snerd puppet (one of Edgard Bergen's characters) and invented a menagerie of characters of his own.
"When I started doing this back in 1969, there weren't many books to study -- so I researched Edgar Bergen," Dunham said. "He was the guy to turn to when you wanted to study anything about ventriloquism. I listened to cassettes of his radio shows (from the 1930s and '40s) and read his books."
Dunham's first performance outside the home was in his third grade class.
"I had to give an oral book report on 'Hansel and Gretel,' " he recalled. "I spent about three minutes on the book and 20 minutes berating my classmates (using ventriloquism)."
Dunham said a lot of people learned the technical side of ventriloquism by studying Bergen, but most of them forget an important lesson.
"They left out being funny," he said. "Edgar Bergen was not a great ventriloquist, but he was great at creating characters, he was funny and he was believable. His radio show was the 'Seinfeld' of that era."
Dunham said ventriloquism was more popular in the early days of television because there were not many special effects available.
"Ventriloquism is its own special effects," he said.
While earning a degree in communications from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Dunham worked as a ventriloquist in comedy clubs around the country during the 1980s.
In 1988 he moved to Los Angeles and performed at venues that included the Improv and the Comedy & Magic Club.
In 1990 he hit the big time.
"I appeared on Johnny Carson ('The Tonight Show') and after my routine, (Carson) asked me to sit on the couch," Dunham said.
Being asked to chat with Carson was as important to an entertainer's career as appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Dunham says he performs about 200 gigs a year.
"Comedy clubs and corporate dates are my main staple right now," he said. "I perform at theaters, here and there.
"I've been to Vegas a bunch. I started at the Sands, then I was at the Sahara a long time. Now I'm at the Monte Carlo, filling in for Lance Burton once in a while when he's off."
Learning ventriloquism is relatively simple, he said.
"Anybody can learn to do it," Dunham said. "It just takes time. Basically, it's creating the illusion of distance, using the upper tongue and palate."
He doesn't mind teaching the art to a new generation of ventriloquists.
"When some 10-year-old kid says he wants to learn how to do it, I think that's great," Dunham said. "But when a 30-year-old wants to learn how, that's just weird."
archive
