MUSEUM JUST ACROSS THE BORDER, YOU CAN'T RESIST.
>> YOU KEEP ON INTERRUPTING ME,
YOUNG MAN, AND I MAY NOT FINISH
THIS STORY.
THIS STORY. >> WELL, THAT'S THE BEST NEWS
WE'VE HAD SO FAR.
>> THE STORY GETS BETTER AS IT
GOES ALONG.
GOES ALONG. >> WELL, IT CAN'T GET WORSE.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> WELL --
>> CHARLIE McCARTHY LIVED A
LIFE MANY WOULD ENVY.
HOBNOBBING WITH THE RICH AND
FLIRTING WITH THE HOLLYWOOD
ELITE, BUT LIKE MANY OF HIS
ENTERTAINMENT COMPATRIOTS, HIS
STAR ISN'T ON HOLLYWOOD
BOULEVARD BUT IN FORT MITCHELL,
KENTUCKY.
KENTUCKY. IT MAY NOT BE WILL MOST
GLAMOROUS RETIREMENT HOME BUT IT
IS THE MOST EXCLUSIVE.
THE VENT HAVEN MUSEUM IS THE
ONLY VENTRILOQUIST MUSEUM IN THE
WORLD.
WORLD. >> VENT HAVEN WAS ESTABLISHED BY
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE BURGER.
HE LIVED UNTIL 1972.
HE WAS NOT A VENTRILOQUIST.
HE WAS ON A BUSINESS TRIP IN
1910 AND YOU SAW A LITTLE DUMMY
SITTING IN THE STORE WINDOW.
HE THOUGHT IT WAS A NOVELTY AND
HE SHOWED IT HIS WIFE AND PUT IT
AWAY.
AWAY. THAT WAS FIRST DUMMY.
AS FAR AS WE KNOW, HE DIDN'T GET
ANOTHER DUMMY UNTIL THE 1930s
BUT BY 1947, HE HAD 100 OF THEM.
>> AS MR. BURGER'S COLLECTION
GREW SO DID THE ADDITIONAL
BUILDINGS AND THE PUBLICITY.
UPON HIS DEATH IN 1972, THE
PRIVATE COLLECTION WAS
TRANSFORMED INTO A PUBLIC
MUSEUM.
MUSEUM. >> HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING FOR
SURE.
SURE. HE WAS A VISIONARY, AND HE WAS
VERY DELIBERATE IN WHAT HE WAS
DOING WHILE HE WAS HERE.
HE ACCOMPLISHED HIS GOAL IN THAT
THIS IS THE CENTER OF THE
VETRILOQUIOL WORLD.
VETRILOQUIOL WORLD. IT IS' BELOVED BY VENTRILOQUIST
WORLD.
WORLD. YOU CAN'T BE IN THE INDUSTRY
WITHOUT 15 MINUTES, WHEN
MR. BURGER DIED HE HAD 500
DUMMIES.
DUMMIES. TODAY WE HAVE 840.
>> WE STILL GET 5 TO 10 DUMMIES
DONATED A YEAR.
SO IT'S AN EVER GROWING
COLLECTION.
COLLECTION. EVERY VENTRILOQUIST OR FAMILY
MEMBER OF A VENTRILOQUIST WANTS
TO BE REPRESENTED HERE.
IT'S THE ONLY MUSEUM OF ITS TYPE
IN THE WORLD.
MR. BURGER WAS VERY DETERMINED
TO BRING THE VENTRILOQUIST
COMMUNITY TOGETHER AND IN FACT,
VENT HAVEN WAS NAMED THE MECCA
OF VENTRILOQUISM WHICH WAS
SWEET.
SWEET. HE WANTED VENTRILOQUISTS TO KNOW
IF THEY DONATED THEIR DUMMIES TO
THE MUSEUM, THAT THE DUMMIES
WOULD BE CARED FOR.
THEY WOULD BE CLEANED AND
DISPLAYED BUT THAT THEY WOULDN'T
BE HANDLED.
BE HANDLED. OUT OF PROFESSIONAL RESPECT.
THEY ALL HAVE A PERSONALITY AND
A VOICE THAT THE VENTRILOQUIST
DEVELOPED AND WE OUT OF RESPECT
FOR THOSE VENTRILOQUISTS ALLOW
THAT TO STAND FOR ITSELF IN FILM
OR WHATEVER.
OR WHATEVER. WE DON'T ANIMATE THE DUMMIES OR
GIVE THEM ANY TYPE OF VOICE AT
ALL.
ALL. >> VISITORS CAN STEP INTO
HISTORY, TRACING THE
VENTRILOQUISM FROM EDWARD BURGER
AND TO JEFF DUNHAM.
NOT JUST THEIR FACES BUT ALSO
THOUSANDS OF PHOTOS, PROPS,
POSTERS AND CORRESPONDENCES
MR. BURGER PAINSTAKINGLY
PRESERVED IN ORDER TO SHARE THE
RICH HISTORY OF VENTRILOQUISM
WITH GENERATIONS TO COME.
>> IT'S BEEN AROUND SINCE THE
18th CENTURY.
18th CENTURY. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN PEOPLE
WOULD DO VENTRILOQUISM AND NOT
HAVE A DUMMY.
THEY WOULD LEARN HOW TO DO IT
AND THEN GO TO SEANCES WHERE A
SECONDARY VOICE WOULD COME FROM
SOME INANIMATE OBJECT.
THEN IN 1772, A MAN WROTE A BOOK
THAT EXPLAINED WHAT
VENTRILOQUISM IS REALLY IS.
ANYONE CAN LEARN TO DO IT.
IT'S SOUND SUBSTITUTION AND
MISDIRECTION AND THEN THROUGH
VAUDEVILLE, VENTRILOQUISM WAS
MORE LIKE A PERFORMANCE TRICK.
HOW WELL CAN I DECEIVE YOU INTO
THINKING THAT THIS LITTLE DUMMY
IS ALIVE.
IS ALIVE. EVENTUALLY WHEN EDWARD BERGEN
CAME ALONG.
CAME ALONG. BERGEN WAS FIRST ONE TO REALLY
DEVELOP A CHARACTER.
CHARLIE McCARTHY'S PERSONALITY
BECAME SO DISTINCT AND DEFINED
THAT IT SEPARATED FROM BERGEN
COMPLETELY.
COMPLETELY. SO FROM THAT POINT ON, REALLY,
IT BECAME MORE OF A COMEDY TEAM
AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IS A
BIG DEAL.
BIG DEAL. AND OFTENTIMES, VENTRILOQUISTS
WILL GET CRITICISM IF THE VOICES
ARE TOO CLOSE OR THE PERSONAL AT
THES ARE TOO CLOSE OR THERE'S NO
NICE SEPARATION OF ENTITY THERE.
IF YOU CAN WATCH PEOPLE WATCHING
A VENTRILOQUIST AND THEY ARE
WATCHING THE DUMMY, AND ENGAGING
IN THAT, AND THEN THE
VENTRILOQUIST AT WILL WILL LET
DOWN THAT ILLUSION.
AND THEN YOU REMEMBER, OH, I WAS
LISTENING TO A DUMMY TALK.
LIKE WATCHING A MAGICIAN, JUST
ALLOW IT TO BE THERE.
IT'S A NEAT LITTLE THING TO DO.
UNDER ENTIRE UMBRELLA OF
PUPPETEERING, YOU HAVE THIS
SLIVER OF PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO
DO PUPPETEERING AS
VENTRILOQUISTS.
VENTRILOQUISTS. I THINK IT'S A LOSS WHEN NOT
-- ANYTHING LIKE VENTRILOQUISM
GOES AWAY.
GOES AWAY. YOU WANT TO HAVE A RICH
EXPERIENCE AND RICH
ENTERTAINMENT, AND NOT JUST
BEING SINGERS OR JUST DANCERS.
I THINK PEOPLE APPRECIATE SEEING
SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND TH