Not being satisfied with the non-movable head, and
the string coming out of the back of the neck, Fred soon dismantled the
doll and rebuilt it with a headstick which at the very least, allowed
movement of the head.During the next two years while entertaining mainly
at children's venues, he practiced lip movement, manipulation and voice
control. And in 1955 while preparing to entertain at his annual high
school concert in Weston, ON. Canada, two important things happened in
Fred's ventriloquial life.
I & M. Ottenheimer published a book by Paul
Winchell, titled Ventriloquism for Fun and Profit, and his parents,
Bill and Mattie Anderson sought out, and located a figure maker in
Toronto, ON. by the name of Len James. Len had moved to Toronto from
England, and was a ventriloquist; a magician; and a master bass wood
figure carver. Fred and his dad visited Len at his home in Toronto, and
purchased a figure from him. This figure was to become known as Johnny
McFlannell.
Johnny was a full size professional Vent figure
with a movable mouth and eyes. But he only came with a head. No body. So
to enable Fred to entertain at the annual high school concert which was
only a matter of days away, Len loaned Fred a body from one of his own
figures. A few weeks later Fred's dad made a new body, and a custom
built plywood suitcase for Johnny. The addition of a second Len James
figure a couple of years later rounded out Fred's ventriloquial family.
The Len James figures have been retired for quite
a few years now, and although safely stored away, Fred still brings them
out once in a while for old times sake.
Early in 1992, Fred purchased a new figure from Maher
Studios. Archie, as Fred calls him is his main character today, and
was made by that outstanding figure maker from California, Craig Lovik.
Archie is quite well animated, and has a moving mouth, full left to
right moving eyes, winkers, blinkers, raising eyebrows, wiggling ears
and a handshaker.
Being of Scottish Ancestry, Fred had the character
for a unique figure in the back of his mind, but it wasn't until he
attended the Ventriloquists' ConVENTion in 1994 at Fort Mitchell, KY,
that it started to become a reality.
Fred discussed his idea with Mary Ann Taylor, the
owner of MAT Puppets from Salem,
VA, and working together they created Uncle Sandy. A feisty Scot
complete with kilt and sporran.
Fred and Uncle Sandy were part of the
International Show at the first annual International Ventriloquist
Association ConVENTion, which was held at the Imperial Palace Hotel in
Las Vegas, NV, in 1997. The International Show included ventriloquists
from Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, and Japan, and was M.C'd. by Ventriloquist
Buddy Big Mountain.
The character inventory of the modern
ventriloquist can not be considered to be complete unless it includes
products from Axtell Expressions, Inc.
Steve Axtell, can only be described as being a genius in his field. A
master puppeteer and ventriloquist, producer of many children's videos
and TV shows, and the creator of a cast of ventriloquial characters too
good to be true. In each of his performances, Fred uses the Axtell Magic
Drawing Board, The Loudmouth, and the favorite of all ages, "Vern
the Bird".
