This is uncanny, but I need to share it. I just woke up from a good night's sleep and had the most wonderful vent dream, and then I read the news that Clinton had passed away.

It's kind of weird that I never have vent dreams, but upon his passing I had a marvelous one.

In my dream, Winch was still alive, and he was marketing reproductions of Jerry and Knuck. 

I obtained BOTH and in my dream I vividly remember the pure magic of when I opened the package, and there they were, shiny and new, still in the packing material, just waiting for me to bring them to life! It was like getting oned hundred wonderful,magical Christmases all wrapped up in one!

In the next scene and for the rest of the dream, I was out in public, walking around, with both figures perched on my extended left arm, while my right hand deftly switched from one figure to the other so they could banter. It was pure magic! The figures were very light weight, and a dream (pardon the pun) to operate. 

And I was on my game, coming along with one clever quip after another. Between Jerry and Knuck, the magic was there. As I walked along with the figures, people were digging it, and especially children. People would stop and point me out to their little girl or boy, and I would let the figure say something funny, and the kids were delighted. 

Boy, was the magic real!

The only thing I wanted in the dream was for Jerry to snigger, but he didn't have that feature, and I was thinking of sending him back to have the alteration made. 

But other than that, the dream was quite lucid and vivid. 

Then I woke up to read that Clinton had passed away.....

Daffydoug! Good to see you again, you've been away from the forum for some time now, glad to see you back!

Thank-you! Actually, I've been posting at the Café, but I have very limited internet access these days. So posting is not profuse for me.

I hadn't seen you posting in the vent section in a long time, unless it was in a thread I wasn't interested in so I didn't see it. If you posted on the magic threads, I wouldn't see that because the vent part is the only part of the Café that I look at because I'm not into magic.

Oh. I see. Personally I do both, but every person is different. Isn't it great of the Café to offer forums for ANY interest? The Magic Café is non-pareile!

I like magic, like to watch it, but personally....I tried it a bit - I sucked at it with no prayer in my mind of getting any better, so I decided it was better to just appreciate it rather than do it badly.

Good call!

Is there anybody ANYWHERE that has figured out a way to manipulate two figures simultaneously as I did in my dream???


I'm asking because the dream keeps haunting me, as if someone is trying to tell me something that I am supposed to pay attention to!

I'm not trying to be weird or otherworldly, but this dream is really dogging me!


Anybody know of a method, provided both figures are light weight?

Paul Winchell did it all the time.
He of course had assistants.
Use a 2 headed figure?

Jeff Dunham has done it, and I know there have been others, but can't come up with any names right now.

Roy Douglas actually used a two headed figure which was carved bu John Carroll. He did two distinct voices and then did the double voice singing.
Dan
http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com

I remember Winch doing something similar on an episode of the Lucy Show. On second thought, actually he had Knuck amd Jerry interacting with each other and having a food fight, but as I recollect, they were not on his person at all. They were seperate on a little stage like set up and were probably being controlled by two seprrate operators. No way of telling if Paul was doing the voices real time, or if they were pre-recorded.

Hey Doug,

Check with Jerry Lane. He built a lot of Paul Winchells stuff over the years. About 3 years ago at VHC, Jerry did a very impressive routine where he was dressed in a tux. Then his dummy was dressed in a tux on his knee. Halfway through the act, Jerry's dummy brought out a smaller dummy and put it on his knee. It was very impressive watching Jerry do himself and the two dummy's at the same time. It was one of the best acts I remember that year.

Steve

http://thedummyshoppe.com/blog

That sounds fabulous!

I've been brainstorming the problem since I had my dream. I think I have the solution. but I wonder if its been already been done!

Here is what I visualize. You need a large piece of solid, but lightweight wood, maybe an inch thick. You cut out a semi-circle or half moon. On the straight edge, you cut out a large curved area that would allow the edge to rest against your abdomen. Now you have a "platform" of sorts, that the two figures can sit on. Attach straps to it so that it can be suspended from your shoulders while resting comfortably and snug against the front of your body.

Decorate it as you see fit.


Now the two figures bodies have to be of as light weight maferials as possible. The lighter the better. Both figures sit on the platform, one on your right and the other on your left, respectively. You should be able to walk around through a crowd with this, but I don't know about sitting.


The tricky part is learning to manipulate your controls for both figures simultaneously. That could be a challenge that might take months, as the idea is to create the needed illusion of "aliveness" without dead spots in either figure.

What do you think? Has it already been done? Would it be practical? Would the ability to have the two figures banter and cut up between each other ( and you in the middle! ) be worth the trouble?


One thing is obvious: Your hands being both wrapped up in the figures would be not able to do ANYTHING, (eat, drink, shake hands, sign autographs, hand out business cards, take a pee.......

C'mon fellas!

Are you wanting to do walk around?

Yes. With two figures simultaneously interacting with each other and me.

Your idea would work but it sounds like it would be more than a little awkward, both in working and in appearance.

Dreams have been the inspiration for many a great idea, however. I believe Isaah Singer had a dream in which cannibals were hunting him, and he noticed that they had eyeholes near the point of their spears, which is what gave him the idea of putting the eyelet near the needle's point on his sewing machine.

Rather than having full-sized figures, why not a glove puppet or even sock puppet on each hand, interacting with the crowd. Such performers as Senior Wences, Shari Lewis and Jay Marshall have worked magic with such figures!

I know. I hear what you are saying. I even thought of some day when money magically comes my way, purchasing two of Axtell's hang on monsters. That would be fun. I've already worked with two Axrtell bird puppets (one on each hand) but my dream was with two full vent figures. I just thought it would be cool. As I said earlier, I agree with you that it would be a challenge. Would take some time to learn to co-ordinate two control sticks simultaneously. And definitely the bodys would need to be extreme light weight materials or fatigue would set in quickly.