Entertainer Terry Fator performs with his puppet Emma Taylor, a 12-year-old, during a performance in the Terry Fator Theatre in the Mirage Wednesday, July 27, 2016.
Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 | 2 a.m.
Terry Fator is no corporate puppet.
He doesn't work a 9-5 job. He doesn't file TPS reports. He doesn't have a nagging boss. Granted, he is surrounded by puppets. But hey, no job is perfect.
The world-famous ventriloquist brings his puppets — as well as his impressions, comedy and songs — to Modesto's Gallo Center for the Arts on Saturday.
The 51-year-old has headlined his own best-selling Las Vegas show since winning the reality competition "America's Got Talent" in 2007. His show remains one of the most popular on the Strip thanks to his uncanny ability to do both traditional ventriloquism and impressions — both spoken and in song.
These days he does shows every night Monday through Thursday at the Mirage, and then is on the road most weekends taking his act cross-country. The nonstop schedule is his preference.
"I think I enjoy working more than downtime. Working is fun. I was trying to explain to my wife what it's like for me. Some people ski to get a thrill. Some people mountain climb to get a thrill. My thrill is stepping on that stage to get a thrill," Fator said from his home in Las Vegas. "Most people look forward to getting away from that boring job, but my job isn't a boring job. I don't have to jump out of a plane to get the same charge. My job is a thrill."
It's a thrill he has been cultivating from a young age. He started singing when he was around 2 years old and by age 6 was trying impressions. He found comedy albums in his father's collection and would practice doing the routines in full, inflections and all. He also found he had a talent for singing, and impersonating singers.
By age 20 he had his own band, which he played in for 15 years. Part of the act was pulling out a puppet and doing a song. But he said it never really occurred to him that he could make an entire act out of it. But then he saw the late Vegas headliner and vocal impressionist Danny Gans. And realized people might be interested in his unique skill set after all.
"It's kind of crazy thing to be able to sing like almost anybody in the world without moving my lips and make it look like a puppet is doing it. I never in a thousand years thought it would fascinate the public like it has," he said.
Still it took his stint on the second season of "America's Got Talent" to take his gifts national. Fator continues to have nothing but gratitude for the long-running reality competition.
"Thank goodness for 'America's Got Talent.' I was completely unknown and here I was over 40 years old coming on the show. Whether you like the format or not -- anyone who loves the art of entertainment needs to be grateful to 'America's Got Talent' for giving a forum for people who never had the opportunity to be seen before -- myself included. That show is such a blessing," he said.
Indeed, while ventriloquism has been around for centuries, the art form wasn't necessarily in vogue when Fator came on the scene. Still it has endured, and returned, thanks to its simple premise.
"We all like magic, it's kind of a magic where you take inanimate objects and make them talk," he said. "I think the reason people love ventriloquism is it's an illusion; we like being tricked. We like it when things seem impossible."
Now, following the popularity of ventriloquists like Fator and Jeff Dunham, the art form is having a bit of a renaissance. Last season another ventriloquist, British comic Paul Zerdin, took home the top prize on "America's Got Talent." Zerdin opened his own headlining show in Vegas earlier this year.
Fator said he welcomes the company and the competition. The two performers are friends as well as Strip rivals.
"Vegas is big enough for 10 headlining ventriloquists. Paul and I could not be more different. He is a comedian who uses ventriloquism to tell jokes," Fator said. "Whereas I am more hard to pinpoint. I use it as a means to an end for something else I do — comedy, impressions, singing impressions."
He said part of what has helped keep his show on top over the past eight years is constantly coming up with fresh material. He said he works hard to change up his show so people who come to Vegas from one year to the next can enjoy an entirely new act. He said his road show is also totally different from his Mirage performances.
His new material can come from almost anywhere. The character Vikki the Cougar was developed after a visit to California. One of his more recent characters comes directly from the news. While he calls his act apolitical, Fator now includes a Donald Trump puppet in his act.
The performer is a supporter of the Republican presidential nominee. But he said his inclusion in the show isn't a political statement as much as it is a an acknowledgment of the candidate's over-the-top persona.
"Trump transcends that because he is a bigger-than-life character — he is a reality star. So it's so much easier to poke fun at persona of Trump," Fator said. "I really truly believe if Donald Trump would see the routine he'd think it was funny. It's one of those thing where I feel like whether you're a Trump hater or Trump lover, you'll think the routine is funny."
Fator said while he doesn't necessarily agree with everything the real estate mogul turned politician says, he supports him for his "anti-PC" stance.
"As a comedian, PC is the enemy of comedy. That's what we do — we poke fun, we have fun. To me, I may not agree with everything Trump says, but love that he is not politically correct.
"I think we have to fight political correctness," he said. "If something offends you, turn off the TV or radio. Let people say what they want. And the funny thing is, I am not even a controversial comedian."
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