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Ventriloquist

Bob Evans

A traveling Chicago ventriloquist who filled some of the biggest rooms in town, then made time backstage for a schoolboy who had nowhere else to learn this business from.

  • 1915–1951
Bob Evans in a dark suit, holding his ventriloquist figure Jerry O'Leary, a converted Willie Talk toy
Bob Evans and Jerry O’Leary, the converted Willie Talk toy that carried him through the biggest rooms in Chicago. Photo via Ventriloquist Central.

Thirty-six years isn’t a long run in this business. Bob Evans made his count for something bigger than the length of it. He filled some of Chicago’s biggest rooms, played New York’s Palace Theatre, and made it onto national television, and none of that is really why this story gets told three quarters of a century later. We’re telling it because of five minutes he gave a kid in the wings, more than once, for no better reason than the kid loved the same thing he loved. Pull up a chair. This one’s short. It matters anyway.

The traveling act

Evans worked the rooms that mattered in the 1940s, city after city, more than a decade before most American living rooms had a television set in the corner. Jimmy Nelson, just a schoolboy at the time, remembered exactly where in Chicago: the Chicago Theatre and the Chez Paree, the kind of stages a traveling act had to earn its way onto.[2] By September 1947 the same name turned up nine hundred miles away, in the nation’s capital: a Washington, D.C. picture-house stage show billed “BOB EVANS, MASTER VENTRILOQUIST” on the same program as a Victor Mature crime picture and a troupe of dancing mannequins.[1] Sixteen months after that he made it to the biggest stage television had to offer, sharing an Ed Sullivan broadcast with Rudy Vallee, Nanette Fabray, and Jean Carroll, credited simply as himself: ventriloquist.[3] In May 1950 he played New York’s storied Palace Theatre, and the Oracle’s entire review ran four words: he “as usual did a marvelous show.”[4] Seven months before he died, he was booked into the Blue Room at the Hotel Roosevelt in New Orleans, Jerry O’Leary in hand, working right up to the end.[5] He carried card number 71 in the International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists, a number low enough to mark him as one of the club’s earlier members.[6]

A toy converted into a partner

Bob Evans with his figure Jerry O'Leary, close portrait

Jerry O’Leary

Not a carved figure from any of the famous workshops. Jerry O’Leary started life as a Willie Talk, a mass-market toy sold to any kid with a couple of dollars, and Evans converted it into a working professional partner good enough to carry onto the same bills as the custom-built figures.[7]

Photo via Ventriloquist Central

Evans gave the character a falsetto voice, and it worked well enough that a schoolboy watching from the wings borrowed the same trick a few years later for his own figure, because his own voice hadn’t changed yet.[2] That schoolboy was Jimmy Nelson. The figure he built the habit on was Danny O’Day.[2]

The kid in the wings

Here’s the part of the story Evans never had to bother with, and did anyway. Nelson was just a schoolkid, too young to legally be inside the nightclubs Evans played, and he showed up every time Evans came through Chicago.[2] Evans noticed. He gave the kid pointers. He let him manipulate his own professional figure, the only real one Nelson had ever held, since all Nelson owned himself was an amateur model. When the club couldn’t legally let a boy in the door, Evans got him a spot in the back to watch anyway, and let him stand in the wings the rest of the time.[2] Nelson's own words, decades later: “I was just a kid and he was so nice to me.”[2]

“He was the first ventriloquist to influence the way I perform.” Jimmy Nelson said that about Bob Evans, on the record, more than sixty years after the fact.[2]

The habit didn’t stop with Nelson. In 1960, a college freshman named David Erskine tracked Nelson down backstage at the State Fair of Texas, where Nelson was performing for General Motors, and Nelson let him operate Danny O’Day, the first real professional figure Erskine had ever held.[2] Nelson's reasoning was Evans’s reasoning, handed down whole: “I figured if they took the time to come see me, the least I could do was spend some time with them.”[2] A kindness that cost Evans five minutes in a nightclub hallway ran three generations deep before anybody wrote it down.

The night it ended

Early on the morning of October 18, 1951, Bob Evans’s car struck a safety island at Western and Belle Plaine Avenues in Chicago. The car was demolished. He was thrown seventy-five feet. He was alone, there were no witnesses, and he died on the way to the hospital.[6] He was thirty-six.

The International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists ran his obituary in the Oracle that November. Founder W.S. Berger listed the survivors in his own words: a widow, Virginia, two children, and, in the same sentence, “and ‘Jerry O’Leary.’”[6] Whether that was Berger's own touch of grace or simply how everybody in that room already thought of the figure, the club's own newsletter counted a ventriloquist figure as family, right alongside the widow and the kids. That's not a small thing to get right in an obituary.

The circle

protégé Jimmy Nelson figure Jerry O’Leary wife Virginia Evans IBV Card No. 71

Bob Evans never became a household name the way some of the performers he shared a bill with did. He didn’t need to. He filled every room he was booked into, he carried a converted five-and-dime toy onto the same stages as the custom-built figures, and he spent five minutes at a time on a kid who had nowhere else to learn this business from. That kid built Danny O’Day, then handed the same five minutes to a college freshman thirty years later at a Texas state fair. Bob Evans is the reason that chain started at all.

Freddy Fiddlesticks, the Ventriloquism.org spokesdummy

Jerry O'Leary started life as a store-bought toy, not some workshop's pride, and somehow that feels right for a man who spent his spare five minutes on a kid nobody else would teach. Card number 71 in the Brotherhood, and worth more than the number suggests.— Freddy Fiddlesticks, spokesdummy

Sightings in the newspapers

42 dated notices between 1940 and 1951. Each links to the scanned page at the Library of Congress. Browse all Career Snippets

  1. 1940Oct 26 Bob Evans, billed as 'the ventriloquist,' was the main addition to Tommy Dorsey's show beyond the band, in a 50-minute variety performance covering swing music and ventriloquism (reviewed in a 1940 newspaper, likely at Keith's). page
  2. 1940Oct 26 A critic wrote of Bob Evans, the ventriloquist in Dorsey's show, 'He is good.' page
  3. 1940Oct 26 Bob Evans, billed as 'the ventriloquist,' was 'the main addition' to a Tommy Dorsey band variety show reviewed in a 1940-10-26 newspaper; the critic wrote 'He is good, which is something we should be reluctant to say about the three Fonzales.' page
  4. 1940Dec 5 Bob Evans, described as a mimic and ventriloquist, was to appear on WATR-Mutual's 'Chicago Tonight' broadcast (Dec. 5, 1940), alongside Fats Waller and Larry Adler. page
  5. 1940Dec 5 Bob Evans, billed as 'mimic and ventriloquist,' appeared on the WATR-Mutual radio broadcast 'Chicago Tonight' on December 5, 1940. page
  6. 1941Dec 22 Bob Evans, billed as a ventriloquist, appeared in vaudeville at the Capitol theater, noted among candid camera glimpses of the week's vaudeville doings (newspaper dated 1941-12-22). page
  7. 1942Apr 16 Ventriloquist Bob Evans, with his dummy Jerry, headlined the 'April Showers Revue' held for a second week at Club Royale, sharing the bill with song star Ruth Clayton. page
  8. 1942Apr 16 Ventriloquist Bob Evans, with his dummy Jerry, headlined the 'April Showers Revue' held for a second week at Club Royale, alongside song star Ruth Clayton. page
  9. 1942Apr 30 Bob Evans, described as a 'skillful ventriloquist,' performed with his figure 'Jerry O'Leery' in a 'Keep 'Em Smiling' skit as part of Martha Raye's stage revue at the Paramount theatre, alongside the Condos Brothers, Will and Gladys Aherne, and Gaynor and Ross, per a 1942-04-30 newspaper article. page
  10. 1942Apr 30 Bob Evans, described as a 'skillful ventriloquist,' performed with his figure 'Jerry O'Leery' in a 'Keep 'Em Smiling' skit as part of Martha Raye's stage revue at the Paramount theater, reported 1942-04-30. page
  11. 1942Dec 7 Bob Evans, ventriloquist, performed at the LaMarr Unique; a committee of the New York Bar Association asked him to censor his dummy's joke that lawyers keep their hand in their own pocket. page
  12. 1942Dec 7 Bob Evans, a ventriloquist performing at the LaMar's Unique, was asked by a committee of the New York Bar Association to censor his dummy's joke that a lawyer 'can't be a lawyer—he has his hand in his own pocket' (per 1942-12-07 newspaper column). page
  13. 1942Dec 20 Rob Evans, a ventriloquist, was performing at a venue referenced in a 1942 news item, where the New York Bar Association complained about a joke his dummy made about lawyers. page
  14. 1942Dec 20 A committee of the New York Bar Association sent a request to censor a line spoken by the dummy of Rob Evans, a ventriloquist, in which the dummy said something like 'He can't be a lawyer—he has his hand in his own pocket,' per this Dec 20, 1942 item. page
  15. 1943Jan 13 Bob Evans is billed as a ventriloquist appearing with his wooden dummy figure in a new show opening at the Book Casino, Detroit, on January 13, 1943. Book Casino page
  16. 1943Jan 13 At the Book Casino, Detroit (opening January 13, 1943), Bob Evans and Jerry appeared alongside Rosita and Deno (Latin-American dance duo) and juggler Lew Hoffman, billed as the 'Mad-Hatter'. Book Casino page
  17. 1943Jan 13 Ventriloquist Bob Evans opened in a new show at the Book Casino (Detroit) with his dummy figure named Jerry, described as 'the wise-cracking wooden dummy who perches on ventriloquist Bob Evans' knee' and jokes with ringsiders; other acts on the bill included Rosita and Deno (dance) and juggler Lew Hoffman (1943-01-13). Book Casino page
  18. 1943Jan 29 Ventriloquist Bob Evans performed with his figure Jerry O'Leary at the Book Casino in Detroit, part of the Casino Revue (reported January 29, 1943). Book Casino page
  19. 1943Jan 29 Ventriloquist Bob Evans performed with his figure Jerry O'Leary at the Book Casino in Detroit, reported 1943-01-29, entertaining ringside guests and 'the beautiful orchestra leader' Dolores. Book Casino page
  20. 1943Jan 29 Evans's figure Jerry O'Leary was described as a 'wooden-headed pal' and one of the 'sassiest, most impudent dummies in the business,' singing in a high treble voice while strolling table to table with Evans. page
  21. 1945Feb 11 Bob Evans, billed as 'the ventriloquist,' appeared in the revue 'Tons o' Fun' at the Wilson theater, alongside Billy House, Sylvia Froos, Clarence Stroud, the Bricklayers dog act, the Carlyle and Aurora dancers, the Ross Sisters, and Parker Gee (Detroit, per 1945-02-11 newspaper). page
  22. 1945Feb 11 Bob Evans, the ventriloquist, appeared in 'Tons o' Fun' at the Wilson theater alongside Billy House, Sylvia Froos, Clarence Stroud, the Bricklayers dog act, the Carlyle and Aurora dancers, the Ross Sisters, and Parker Gee (reviewed in a paper dated 1945-02-11). page
  23. 1945Nov 2 Gossip item (1945-11-02) says Martinique showgirl Roz Greenwood has been haunting the Roxy's backstage area because of Bob Evans, the ventriloquist. page
  24. 1945Nov 2 Bob Evans, the ventriloquist, is noted (in a Nov. 2, 1945 gossip item) as the reason Martinique showgirl Roz Greenwood has been haunting the Roxy's backstage area. page
  25. 1945Nov 15 Bob Evans, described as 'the talented ventriloquist at Radio City Music Hall,' is mentioned as performing there, with a note he will enter radio if he can find an ace script writer (per a 1945 newspaper column). Radio City Music Hall page
  26. 1945Nov 15 Bob Evans, described as 'the talented ventriloquist,' performed at Radio City Music Hall as of 1945-11-15, and was reported to be considering entering radio if he could find a good script writer. Radio City Music Hall page
  27. 1945Nov 30 Bob Evans, described as 'the talented ventriloquist,' performed at Radio City Music Hall, according to a November 30, 1945 gossip column. Radio City Music Hall page
  28. 1945Nov 30 The column reported that Bob Evans, the ventriloquist at Radio City Music Hall, would enter radio if he could find a suitable script (November 30, 1945). Radio City Music Hall page
  29. 1945Nov 30 Bob Evans, described as 'the talented ventriloquist at Radio City Music Hall,' was reported (1945-11-30) as considering a move into radio if he could find a script writer. Radio City Music Hall page
  30. 1947Sep 3 Bob Evans, billed as 'Ventriloquist,' appeared on a vaudeville bill with acts including Andre, Andree, Bonnie ('The Dancing Mannequins'), a 'World Champion Girl Drummer,' Allen Kent, Mary McClanahan ('Dances of Yesterday and Today'), and Emma Francis, according to a theater listing dated 1947-09-03. page
  31. 1947Sep 3 Bob Evans, billed as 'Ventriloquist,' appeared with Andre, Andree, Bonnie 'The Dancing Mannequins,' and other acts on a variety bill (1947, newspaper dated 1947-09-03). page
  32. 1947Sep 4 Bob Evans, billed as 'Ventriloquist', appeared with his figures Andre, Andree, and Bonnie (The Dancing Mannequins) on a variety bill also featuring Mary McClanahan, Allin Kent, and Emma Francis with 'World Champion Girl Drummer', per a Washington, D.C. newspaper page dated 1947-09-04. page
  33. 1947Sep 4 Bob Evans, billed as a Ventriloquist, appeared on a variety bill with Andre, Andree Bonnie ('The Dancing Mannequins'), Mary McClanahan, Allin Kent, and Emma Francis (billed as World Champion Girl Drummer), per a 1947 newspaper listing. page
  34. 1947Sep 5 Bob Evans' ventriloquial comedy was billed as the top act on the week's stage bill at the Capitol theater, sharing the bill with dancers Andre, Andree and Bonnie, drummer Mary McClanahan, and the act of Allen, Kent and Francis. page
  35. 1947Sep 5 Bob Evans' ventriloquial comedy was billed as the top act on the week's Capitol stage bill, sharing the bill with dancers Andre, Andree and Bonnie, drummer Mary McClanahan, and the act of Allen, Kent and Francis (from a 1947-09-05 Washington D.C. newspaper). page
  36. 1947Sep 7 Advertised as 'Master Ventriloquist' with 'Andre, Andree, and Bonnie' (dancing marionette) performing onstage alongside a film program including 'Kiss of Death', 1947. page
  37. 1947Sep 7 Billed as 'Master Ventriloquist' performing onstage with dancing mannequin Andre Andree Bonnie, shown alongside a film program including 'Kiss of Death' (Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray), per a 1947-09-07 newspaper ad. page
  38. 1948Aug 20 Bob Evans was billed as 'Master Comedy Ventriloquist' on a stage bill alongside Betty Jane Watson, 'Singing Star of Oklahoma,' per a 1948-08-20 newspaper listing (Washington, D.C. area, WMAL). Singing Star page
  39. 1948Aug 20 Bob Evans was billed as 'Master Comedy Ventriloquist' on a program with Betty Jane Watson, 'Singing Star of Oklahoma,' per an advertisement dated August 20, 1948. Singing Star page
  40. 1950May 26 Bob Evans (ventriloquist) and his dummy Jerry O'Leary appeared on the Capitol's stage show, headlined by juggler Rudy Cardenas, alongside the Chadwicks (dancers) and Lester Cole and the Debutantes (musicians), as reported in a 1950 newspaper. page
  41. 1951Jun 8 Ventriloquist Bob Evans performed in a variety bill (advertised 1951-06-08) that also featured dancers Araini and Consuelo and wire dancers Evers and Dolorez, part of a 'Late Show' program including 'Footlight Varieties.' page
  42. 1951Jun 8 A 1951 late-show program (advertised with 'SHIM SHAM FOLLIES BURLESQUE') featured 'Ventriloquist Bob Evans' along with dancers Araini and Consuelo, and wire dancers Evers and Dolorez. page

Sources

  1. “[Display Ad, Stage Show Program],” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), Sep 7, 1947, p.51 — Library of Congress, Chronicling America
  2. David Malmberg, “James Edward Nelson…1928-2019: The Interview,” Vent-O-Gram
  3. “The Ed Sullivan Show” (billed “Toast of the Town”), Season 2 Episode 19, aired Jan 16, 1949, IMDb — air date corroborated by Plex
  4. The Oracle (International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists), May 6, 1950 issue — scanned document, Jimmy Vee collection
  5. The Oracle (International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists), Mar 4, 1951 issue — scanned document, Jimmy Vee collection
  6. The Oracle (International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists), Nov 12, 1951 issue (obituary bulletin) — scanned document, Jimmy Vee collection
  7. Ventriloquist Central, “Tribute to Ventriloquism: Ventriloquists of the 20th Century”