The art of ventriloquism has been around for thousands of years, and the secrete of this craft lies within its very name. Ventriloquist stems from the Latin words “Venter Loqui,” which translates as “Belly Speak.” And during ancient times, these unique artists were considered to be of great spiritual importance as many believed that they communed with the dead who spoke through their bellies. But, while this made Ventriloquists all the rage during the times of ancient Greece, once Christianity and the middle ages came rolling along, these artists were persecuted as they were thought to be communicating with demons.
One could say that this art was nearly wiped out of Europe during the crusades, as religious fanaticism reached a fever pitch. However, the art thankfully endured and became popular again during the 1800s during the time of Music hall in the U.K, and Vaudville in the U.S. Paul Zerdin is a world-renown present-day ventriloquist who proudly carries on the tradition. He began his career in 1996 and has since been the winner of talent shows, such as The Big Big Talent Show and the 10th Season of America’s Got Talent. In this 2015, video we see Zerdin in the semi-finals with his puppet Sam, who he informs the audience decided not to talk during the performance.
Image via YouTube
Zerdin tries to talk reason into his obstinant puppet, but the tight-lipped dummy angrily declared that the human “started” the argument. As the two continue to argue back and forth, and at one point Zerdin threatens, “Listen, any more from you, and I’ll have to get myself a new dummy,” to which Sam quips, “Howie, you’re wanted!” referring to celebrity judge Howie Mendel. And one point, a frustrated Zerdin puts Sam back in his puppet bag after the dummy encouraged audience members in the upper seats to “jump.” The ventriloquist then told Sam that if he thought he could do better on his own, then he’s welcome to try. And Sam replied that he would take that challenge! So, Zerdin wound up walking off stage, leaving Sam with a microphone to finish the act by himself. And after a few seconds, the dummy began to speak, raising his head and asking, “Has he gone?.”
Image via YouTube
Check out Sam’s hilarious one puppet show in the video below.
