by Joanne Johnson / Humor Editor T a l k i n g C o m e d y . c o m

“Ventriloquism is a matter of artful deception wherein the tongue is quicker than the ear,” this was how ‘The Great’ Lester viewed his craft … a logical way of looking at it since he was also trained in magic. Many today have not heard of ‘The Great’ Lester but while he was alive he was considered to be the Father of Modern Day Ventriloquism. That title has since been given to Edgar Bergen … a fitting passing of the mantle since Bergen was a student of ‘The Great’ Lester. After obtaining fame himself Bergen told listening audiences during a broadcast of the Rudy Vallee radio program that he had actually learned the art from Lester. So if we are to consider Edgar Bergen the Father of Modern Day Ventriloquism then ‘The Great’ Lester should be viewed as the Grandfather of the modern day version of his craft.

‘The Great’ Lester was the most renowned ventriloquist during the vaudeville era here in America. And his following in parts of Europe was rather large as well. If vaudeville is to be considered the Golden age of ventriloquism then ‘The Great’ Lester would have to be considered it's Golden Boy. He was born Harry Szajkowski in 1878. Although he had little interest in formal education growing up that does not mean he didn't pick up any knowledge or skills along the way. He showed talent at the piano at a very young age and had mastered many other instruments by the time he was in his teens. If he had not been drawn to ventriloquism he might have chosen a career in music. This loss to the world of music is the ventriloquism community's gain.

As a young teenager Lester took a job doing a little of this and a little of that behind the scenes at a traveling circus when he was sixteen. He was soon promoted to performing … his first position being that of a clown. Eager to learn anything and everything he became quite adept at magic, mind reading, bare back riding, rope twirling, sward swallowing and many other skills he picked up in the next couple of years of his life. But an injury caused his career in the circus to be cut short. He was briefly at a loss for which way to turn after his initial career prematurely ended but he would soon find his true calling.

It wasn’t until the age of twenty that Lester would see a ventriloquist perform for the first time. With all his travels he had never come in contact with a ventriloquist before this time. But at the age of twenty a performance by Orrin Knight, who amazed audiences with distant voice illusions and imitations, would impress Lester so much so that he found himself hooked on the art form immediately.

He did everything he could to locate information on ventriloquism but there was not much written at that time and the little that was wasn't very informative. Still he treasured any little nugget of knowledge he could uncover and practiced the technique till he had perfected it. Then he gathered together every last dollar he could and purchased two professionally made papier-mâché ventriloquist figures so he could venture out on his new career. But disaster would soon strike when while traveling to an engagement in Chicago his suitcase, along with both his ventriloquist dummies, were stolen.

What seemed like disaster at the time turned into the opportunity for Lester to make his first major contribution to his newly chosen field. If he were to keep on working he had to get a new ventriloquist figure for his act and he had to get one fast. He had been dissatisfied with the figures of the day … most were made of papier-mâché and had a very lifeless, expressionless quality. Figureless in Chicago he set out to find a local craftsman who could create a dummy quickly that he could use for his act. Phones were a rarity at the time so Lester visited the library and looked up addresses of the craftsman that might fit the bill. Desiring something in wood rather than the currently fashionable papier-mâché he looked up woodworkers — searching for any with a background in cherub carving — figuring that the skills used in carving cherubs would apply perfectly to crafting a face for a ventriloquist figure. He located Theo Mack and Son and paid them a visit. What he saw when he got to the talented cabinet maker's shop was a large display of wonderfully carved decorative cherubs on the walls of the woodworking shop and the attached bar which they owned as well. His spirits were high when he approached the owners son and asked them if they could make him a ventriloquist dummy. The son, Charlie Mack, had never made a ventriloquist figure before and had no interest in starting now. His father Theo Mack was just as uninterested in making a figure for Lester. But Theo Mack made a friend that day … for upon seeing how desperate Lester's situation was he allowed Lester to use a part of his shop and some scraps of wood and gave him some guidance and encouragement so Lester could create his own figure.

Armed with a vision of what was desired in a ventriloquist figure, Lester set out to create the perfect partner for his act. Since Lester had a deadpan delivery he desired a liveliness and expressiveness in his dummy that didn't exist in dummies of that day, reasoning that the contrast between his dummy and himself would make the act even better. Inspired by the cherub carvings that surrounded him as he worked and his own vision of what he desired he set out to create the perfect partner. He carved the eyes on slightly different levels of the face. In real life both sides of a person’s face are not perfectly symmetrical so Lester decided he would carve the eyes on slightly different levels of the face. He made one side of the mouth appear to have a slight smile, while the other he gave a slight frown … envisioning himself working with the dummy in his act and turning his head one way or the other depending on the dialog and which emotion he wished to show. The prop of his professional craft … his ventriloquist figure … was taking on more and more of a lifelike quality. It would not just be a tool to distract audiences from looking at the ventriloquist lips — which was what the primary purpose of ventriloquist figures were in his early days — it would be a real character with it's own charm, it's own personality.

Frank Byron Jr., the name Lester gave his new creation, would have a great influence on the world of ventriloquism and make wooden figures the standard in America in the coming years. And the man who had befriended Lester in his time of crises would soon start creating ventriloquist figures for other ventriloquists working during the vaudeville era. Theo Mack and Son would go down in ventriloquism history as the company that created the first Charlie McCarthy figure the worlds most well know ventriloquist figure of all time.

But his influence on the world of ventriloquism was only beginning. Lester is regarded by many to be the ventriloquist who first created and performed many of the classic routines of modern day ventriloquism. He was often imitated in his day … so much so that many of his less scrupulous emulators would even take his name when he was off in Europe entertaining and try to get work here in America during his absence.

When the telephone was first sweeping across America it was The Great Lester that developed a style of distant voice known as the telephone voice and used it to great success in his act. He would even do a three-way conversation on the phone. Another first for Lester was the routine where the ventriloquist attempts to light a cigarette while his dummy continually tries to blow it out. And although there is dispute over whether he originated drinking a glass of water he is definitely the ventriloquist who popularized the routine … drinking a glass of water while his dummy talked, hummed or sang.

Before Lester, the style in vaudeville was to create distraction from the lips by elaborately outfitting the stage with many different characters, fancy scenery, sets and props. ‘The Great’ Lester would change all that. His act was very striped down and simple, from a visual point of view, in comparison to other ventriloquists that came before him. Lester boldly worked on an almost empty stage by comparison. He sat on a simple chair, only one figure upon his knee, next to a small table which held only three props … a telephone, a wine decanter and a glass. All of these props would become standard to ventriloquist acts in the years that followed. And variations on many of his routines that utilized these simple props became the building blocks of many future successful acts in the world of ventriloquism. Lester was bringing his craft into modern times … ‘The Great’ Lester was, in many ways, the prototype for 20th century American ventriloquists. No, you may have never had the chance to see‘The Great’ Lester perform … because Lester's performances were not preserved for future generations simply owing to the fact that he performed live on stage not for television, or movies, or radio. Still, you have seen Lester's influence. There are bits and pieces of 'The Great' Lester in most every ventriloquism act today even if the performers themselves haven't seen 'The Great' Lester at work.

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