A duck in a sailor suit does not usually explain a whole career. For Robert Lamouret, it did the entire job. Born in Paris on February 12, 1912, he built his act around a talking bird named Dudule, dressed him for the Navy, and got rooms full of strangers to believe the gag every single night, no translation required.[1] That bird carried him across two oceans, through an American booking agent's office, and onto the biggest variety stage in the country. Pull up a chair, folks. This one starts with a duck and ends in Florida.
A duck, a dog, and a passport
Ventriloquist Central's own tribute file logs him with almost no fuss: a French ventriloquist of the 1950s, working one puppet by their account.[2] The file even misspells the bird's name. Everywhere else on the record, from Florida to Paris, he is Dudule.[1] But Lamouret's actual bookings show a fuller cast than one duck. When NBC's Perry Como Show gave him a regular Saturday-night slot in 1957, the billing read "the French vent who works with a duck and a dog."[4] Dudule got the sailor suit and the reputation. The dog got less ink, but he was there too.
American bookings started with one man: Lee Leslie of the Gale Agency, who brought Lamouret across the Atlantic in 1947.[3] The act did not just tour after that. It circled the globe.
Five years, two films, one wedding
Between 1949 and 1952, Lamouret and Dudule crossed continents on what amounted to a five-year world tour, with a photographer and secretary named Jacques Leonard along to document the run.[3] Two films came out of that stretch, both released in 1949: Helter Skelter and Make Mine Laugh.[1][3] Somewhere in the middle of all that travel, in 1950, Lamouret married Vickie Ross, one of the singing, acrobatic Ross Sisters.[3] Two years after that he took part in the first television broadcast ever linked live between Paris and London: a French duck act, helping stitch two countries' airwaves together.[3]
American living rooms
Lamouret's first American television audience met him through Disney: a guest spot on The Mickey Mouse Club, in one of the show's "Anything Can Happen Day" segments.[1] Then came the bigger stage. Between 1954 and 1955, the act played The Ed Sullivan Show more than once, the same Sunday-night hour that carried a long line of ventriloquists in front of the whole country.[1] He was back on NBC in 1958 for a spot on The Pat Boone Show, billed by the duck yet again.[5] Lamouret was not even the only vent of that era dressing an animal for the Navy. Arthur Prince had already built a long career around a sailor-suited figure named Jack Tar, and American television would later get its own duck sailor in Jimmy Weldon's Webster Webfoot.[1] Dudule just got there first, and in French.
The record
The booking photo
A promotional portrait, name typed and pasted on for anyone stateside who didn't yet know the face. Signed across the bottom for whoever asked.
Two of his figures
Filed by Ventriloquist Central simply as "French ventriloquist circa 1950s. Puppet: Duddles." The spelling is off. The face isn't.
Bien Aimée
His marker in Fort Lauderdale keeps the French. "Bien Aimée": beloved. A long way from the Paris stage where the duck act started.
His last screen credit came that same final year: a small role in the Italian revue film European Nights, released in early 1959.[3] By March he was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an ocean and most of a continent away from the Paris stage where a duck in a sailor suit first got a laugh. That is where he died, on March 17, 1959, at forty-seven.[1][3]
Ventriloquism Central logged him with one duck and got even that bird's name wrong. Dudule deserved better billing than a typo, and I speak from experience about being misfiled.— Freddy Fiddlesticks, spokesdummy
Sightings in the newspapers
14 dated notices between 1955 and 1963. Each links to the scanned page at the Library of Congress. Browse all Career Snippets
- 1955Sep 19 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret was scheduled to appear on Judy Garland's TV debut (Saturday), along with 'The Ooofers' musical-comedy quintet, as noted in a 1955-09-19 newspaper item. page
- 1955Sep 19 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret was scheduled to appear on Judy Garland's TV debut (Saturday), along with 13-year-old Japanese singer Mitsuko Sawamura and musical-comedy quintet 'The Goofers' (per 1955-09-19 newspaper). page
- 1955Oct 12 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret was listed as a guest on Ed Sullivan's show, part of a lineup including Rosemary Clooney, Edward R. Murrow, Andre Kostelanetz, Dave Brubeck, Albert Schweitzer, a tightrope act, and Melvyn Douglas (as reported in a newspaper dated 1955-10-12). page
- 1955Oct 12 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret was listed on Ed Sullivan's guest list for the Sunday broadcast, alongside Rosemary Clooney, Edward R. Murrow, Andre Kostelanetz, Dave Brubeck, and others (per TV column, 1955). page
- 1956Oct 20 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret appeared as a guest on The Perry Como Show (WRC, channel 4), a color musical variety show, on the night of October 20, 1956, alongside Pearl Bailey and Rory Calhoun. page
- 1956Oct 20 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret was a guest on The Perry Como Show (in color) on WRC channel 4, alongside Pearl Bailey and Rory Calhoun, per a TV listing dated 1956-10-20. page
- 1957Nov 14 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret appeared on the Pat Boone Show (aired 9 p.m., WMAL-7, Nov. 14, 1957) with his duck figure; Jaye P. Morgan had fun with the duck while duetting on 'Aren't You Glad You're You.' page
- 1957Nov 14 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret's duck figure appeared with Jaye P. Morgan on the Pat Boone Show, broadcast 9 p.m. on WMAL-7, as noted in a TV listing dated November 14, 1957. page
- 1962Dec 2 French ventriloquist Robert Lamouret and his duck puppet appeared as guests on the Mickey Mouse Club (repeat episode aired Dec 2, 1962). page
- 1962Dec 2 On the Mickey Mouse Club (repeat broadcast, per TV listing dated 1962-12-02), 'a French ventriloquist (Robert Lamouret) and his duck puppet' performed as part of a segment with slapstick performers. page
- 1962Dec 30 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret appeared with his duck partner 'Dudles' (described as having a French accent) on a repeat episode of The Mickey Mouse Club, as listed in a TV schedule dated 1962-12-30. page
- 1962Dec 30 TV listing for Mickey Mouse Club (repeat episode) lists 'Dudles, a duck with a French accent' guesting with his ventriloquist partner Robert Lamouret. page
- 1963Jun 30 Listed as 'Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret' appearing as a guest on the Mickey Mouse Club TV show (repeat broadcast), per a June 30, 1963 TV listing. page
- 1963Jun 30 Ventriloquist Robert Lamouret was a guest on 'Mickey Mouse Club' (a repeat broadcast), as listed in a TV schedule dated 1963-06-30. page
Sources
- Find A Grave, Memorial 18339988, Robert Lamouret
- Ventriloquist Central, "Ventriloquists of the 20th Century" tribute file
- Trav S.D., "Robert Lamouret and Dudule," Travalanche, February 12, 2026
- The Oracle (International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists), January 2, 1957 issue — scanned document, Jimmy Vee collection
- The Oracle (International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists), January 2, 1958 issue — scanned document, Jimmy Vee collection