♪♪ -Psst.

♪♪ See that guy back there?

Working away at the bench?

♪♪ He's got delusions of grandeur.

Yeah, yeah.

He says that he made me from scratch.

♪♪ Not only me, but everybody in this room.

Hey, but don't take my word for it.

Let him tell you.

♪♪ -No, I think I became interested in doing this kind of work when I was about six, I kind of fell in love with ventriloquism because I saw a toy Charlie McCarthy dummy for sale in the mall, and, I got it for Christmas.

Santa was really good to me that year, and that kind of, lit the flame, for some reason, I don't really know why, but I w... just became obsessed with, not just the art of doing ventriloquism, but the actual props and the dummies themselves like, I thought it was so fascinating that there were these props that were multi-purpose, that had to be animated and they had a jaw with two lines on the side, and the eyes moved and, so I really just kind of wanted to figure out how all that worked.

♪♪ ♪♪ [projector whirring] Yeah definitely the, the initial spark for me was very much the dummy itself.

I loved the performing aspect of it too, but I was never very good.

So I learned pretty quickly I was not going to be the next Edgar Bergen, but I absolutely loved making the props themselves and then in high school, I started to perform a little bit more regularly at retirement homes and that kind of thing, and I needed, some updated dummies so I kind of actually started making what I thought was a professional style ventriloquist dummy carved out of wood.

So I started that first one when I was about 14, and then I finished it in college because I took a few years off.

[projector whirring] I, I really got so interested in making these in college that I started to seek out the, who I believed were the best craftsmen of my lifetime, making these puppets.

And I would literally cold call these figure makers and just ask to come to their shop and see them, spend time with them.

And I really just kind of acted like a sponge, taking in anything that they would, show me or tell me.

Yeah so these figure makers were in the Seattle, Washington area and then all the way out in Wembley in England.

So I was able to use my dad's Delta airline benefit of flying anywhere for free.

I bounced back and forth from the West Coast all the way super east to, to, to England to learn this craft.

So I had amazing guidance from some of the best figure makers who ever lived.

Obviously I was kind of at an age and era where ventriloquism was not the height of popularity anymore, but, I grew to love ventriloquists like Edgar Bergen and, especially this guy named Paul Winchell, who also people know him if they don't even know him, because he was the voice of Tigger.

He also, he invented the a... first artificial heart.

This man was an absolute genius.

But he was a television ventriloquist star, and I think he was the most multi-talented, amazing ventriloquist I had ever seen.

He also had the world's perfect dummy.

He used this character called Jerry Mahoney that to me and pretty much every other ventriloquist, we bowed down to because that's kind of the stereotypical, dummy with a bow tie and the combed back hair.

So definitely Paul Winchell was, my hero from a pretty young age.

I'm actually the person now who is authorized to replicate exact copies of those under the Paul Winchell copyright and trademark and licensing.

So now it's just amazing I'm, you know, I’m 30 years old and not that long ago, I used to see pictures of this dummy in a book and drool over it and now I'm the person who's allowed to make that dummy, and it's, it's absolutely crazy what's happened in the short span of time I've been doing this work, and, yeah, it's, it's nothing short of a miracle that I get to go to work every day and make Jerry Mahoneys for a living.

[Austin chuckles] ♪♪ [projector whirring] So there's this one, very special event that takes place every summer for me and that's called the Vent Haven ConVENTion and that's the world's only international ventriloquist specific convention.

And it happens every year in Kentucky because this convention started, around the world's only museum dedicated to ventriloquist dummies, which is in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

♪♪ So on average, it's about a 500, person turnout for attendees.

We've, I've seen it as high as about 750.

Happens every single year and it consists of, seminars, breakout workshops.

♪♪ That's the same on Charlie.

This is a glass eye, taxidermy bird I put on.

But that's a relief carving of an eyeball.

That's not an eyeball placed in the back.

So there's a flatness about it.

There's something unrealistic about it.

But that's a stylistic choice.

This is like in Egypt with the relief carvings.

It's the same idea.

It creates the effect, but it's an illusion.

But what that does is it gives him intelligence without being too scary or weird.

It's relatable.

Look at him like this.

I hope y'all can see I apologize if you can't, but if he's looking down, there's a natural shadow that casts over that face and eyes, that gives him a knowing.

But if he wants to wake up, you just tilt him back.

Then he comes to life.

That is magic!

[faintly] That is... it’s not a bad thing... And it's also, you know, this is my time of the year to... This is my Super Bowl, so I get to nerd out for four days and just connect with people who equally love nerding out.

♪♪ Yeah yeah.

What I like is it gives em a little bit of weight, because sometimes I’ve found with the custom figures, they're almost too lightweight.

-Yeah, yeah... -And so when you're manipulating it's too fast.

Having this weight is more of a balance.

You can work the figure there’s a little bit more life in it.

So it slows down the movements which... what you actually want... and these are built to be performing figures you know I didn't want these to be put on a shelf.

So you want to have the weight right, you want to have the animations work right, and you want the artistry to really pop.

I like putting on a big show for everybody I think it's a really special time of year and I love having, brand new stuff there available to purchase and try on and try out hands-on.

I think that's really important.

But the halls are full of other vendors of different types of puppets, more soft style puppets like Jim Henson type stuff, for hard dummies like I make, but also loads of ephemera, antique books on the subject, courses on how to do it, sound systems, everything, all the way to, hard cases for transporting your puppets in so, it's a one stop shop for everything you could ever need for this art.

[projector whirring] One of the highlights every year is when we gather in the lobby for the group photograph.

However, this can be a bit like herding cats.

♪♪ [crowd chattering] -You’re welcome to get in the photo.

[crowd chattering] [crowd cheering] [crowd chattering] [shouting] - Stop moving!

Look up this way!

[crowd chattering] [shouting] Stop moving!

[camera flicks rapidly] [indistinct announcement] [crowd cheers] [projector whirring] -So if you're looking for an opportunity to break out and try ventriloquism yourself, the convention is one of the only places in the world where you should feel absolutely comfortable to do that.

They do these open mic nights, pretty much daily, and... where you can try out your stuff to, a fresh audience of eyes.

You can workshop this stuff.

You can, you can go out there with no experience at all or you can go out there doing this stuff all the time and just work on new material.

-What's more magical than a bunch of people walking around, talking to dolls?

[audience laughs] -It's this great, comedy club workshop type atmosphere if you want it to be that as well and, again, that's so important is having an opportunity to try this stuff in front of a live audience that you may not have the opportunity to do from where you're from.

The participants of the open mic, I think yeah, probably as young as six all the way up to 85 plus I've seen it so it's really incredible that, on that stage, everybody's kind of at the same level and having the most fun they can have.

[indistinct speaking] [projector whirring] So when I'm not in the dealer's halls, a lot of what I love to do is reconnect with either old friends or new friends and kind of breaking off into, ♪♪ More private sessions and really kind of having really intimate talks with these people about the nuts and bolts of what we do and, just sharing ideas and also it's amazing for me to kind of check up with past, clients and performers who use my products to see how they're liking it.

So there was one particular project that was, a very special project to me, but also one of the biggest headaches of my life to do, and that was a puppet called Sergeant Major Boorah which was for my good friend Dave Pendleton.

-I helped to set up puppet governments.

-David was very patient with me, and he had this idea of making, not just a dummy, but something that was very realistic so, incorporating animatronic controls, but also a really unique system of how the head moves, so, ♪♪ -That’s what I said.

-Okay.

♪♪ [indistinct mumbling] Make this a bit of a challenge.

♪♪ Okay, so.

♪♪ [crowd gasps] -I believe, that anyone who brings, 20 items into a 15 item or less line, [crowd chuckles] should be shot.

[laughter] -I wouldn't say that it's unique but, it's not... it's rare.

-Yeah, it's what I would say the way you use it in your act is unique, because typically what people do is they'll set this up as a gag at the very end of the show and somebody the magic of it is, oh you're walking off and the figure is still on, and then there's a blackout after that.

- Yeah.

- David does it in the middle of the act where he kind of walks away but then the figure is alive throughout the rest of the act.

[crowd chuckles] [indiscernible dialogue] - It’s time you did something new [chuckling] -Never.

This was super fun to bring out of the first year going through TSA, this thing looks like a bomb.

- Yeah, it's... - And it has a remote control.

-Oh yeah.

[chuckling] - Yeah.

- Yeah, you do a good job Dave.

- No he’s not.

[laughter] -Wow you caught on pretty quick.

-I play a lot of video games [laughter] -Oh, it was about two and a half, three years to completion.

It was a pretty amazing project and it was really amazing to see it performed at the convention this year.

♪♪ [projector whirring] So the Vent Haven Museum over the past few years has been fundraising to build a new facility, and they finally did it.

There's this brand new facility now, it's a professional establishment.

The museum this year was nothing short of amazing to see and walk through and just be a part of.

♪♪ So a question that people often ask us is, why is the world's only museum dedicated to ventriloquism, in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky of all places in the world?

Well, it's because of our founder.

His name was William Shakespeare Berger.

He was a Cincinnati businessman, and this was his home.

His house is still on the property, ♪♪ And for years he collected dummies.

He was the epicenter of the ventriloquist world.

During his lifetime, he amassed a collection of 500 figures.

It was wonderful.

His attorney helped him set it up as a private museum, and when he passed away in 1973, we officially opened as Vent Haven Museum Incorporated.

So the collection includes anything and everything having to do with ventriloquism.

Everybody is represented here, from the amateurs to the greats.

We have displays on Edgar Bergen, who was at our official opening in 1973.

♪♪ We have a fabulous Paul Winchell display.

He did Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff.

He was also the voice of Tigger.

We have a Jimmy Nelson display.

You might know Jimmy Nelson from Nestle's commercials, the N E S T L E S, Nestle's makes the very best and then Farfel would go, chocolate.

[clicks tongue] We have a Shari Lewis exhibit, which is brand new this year on display.

We are thrilled to have those figures with us Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse.

And then we also have modern ventriloquists who are currently performing, like Terry Fator and, and Jeff Dunham.

The thing I love about Vent Haven Museum is that everybody is welcome and everybody is included.

And even if you're just interested in the art of ventriloquism, you don't necessarily want to be a performer, you should come check it out because it's a great community and it's a interesting, quirky, fabulous art.

♪♪ So we're definitely seeing a resurgence in the art of ventriloquism with young kids coming to the art form having seen people perform on America's Got Talent, which is wonderful.

But, you know, there is the figure making side as well.

You know, the two sides, the two artists, you know and when we talk in the museum about the great figure makers of the past, I think, you know, down the road from now, people are going to be like, I have an Austin Phillips puppet that his puppets are going to be the ones that are sought after because they're just such beautiful creations.

[projector whirring] -Ventriloquism, I don't think, will ever really die and currently there's been a big uptick in interest.

You know, people like Jeff Dunham and Darci Lynne Farmer and the America's Got Talent, contestants who have kind of competed and won over the years have really brought ventriloquism back to the forefront and I think what's so incredible about this art form, it's just like magic and some of these old, pantomime type things.

What's old is new again and it will never fully die because we're always still drawn to the real basic, basic bones of theater and entertainment, and, ventriloquism completely encompasses that and it's a it's a wonderful art form if you use it well.

So I don't know what the future holds for me in ventriloquism I hope the future holds me still in the art of ventriloquism, doing something.

I think no matter what happens, this will always be a part of my life.

If it can't be full time anymore, I'm appreciative of the ride that I've been on and my ability to make the impact that I have, but I see ventriloquism, I see it just getting a little bit bigger and a little, you know, attracting more people who weren't probably originally interested in this and I, I try very hard in what I do every day to bring this to a modern light and a modern audience, to really outreach to these people who are going to be the people to pass the torch on to, it's really important to set the pathway for other people to kind of come up and do this.

I find myself in a, in a very, big and small world at the same time with a lot of responsibility, but at the same time, it's a lot of fun, and it's just what I do, it's second nature to me, so I just feel incredibly, fortunate that I get to do this every day and to think that what I'm doing has an impact that will help propel this to the next level is something really, unimaginable.

♪♪ [switch flicks] Good night.

[collectively] - Good night!

♪♪