Some entertainers excel at singing. Others have a natural gift for impressions. A more elite class maintains the tradition of ventriloquism, often with puppeteer co-stars who have more leeway to make unfiltered comic comments. Terry Fator is a triple threat, having found his voice(s) as a vocalist who can do uncanny takes on celebrity singers before discovering handheld cast members with the right amount of chemistry to create a stage show to take him to the top.
The top in Fator’s line of work included winning America’s Got Talent before becoming a Strip headliner. There are rising stars who are following in Fator’s footsteps, but his only real peer in his field is Jeff Dunham, and there appears to be room for only one resident voice thrower, as his current production, Who’s the Dummy Now? is the only one of its kind on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Fator raised the bar for this performance art with a modern history that began with vaudeville-era ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his legendary dummies—evening-attired Charlie McCarthy and slow-witted Mortimer Snerd. Shari Lewis catered to children beginning in the ’50s via television with her lovable sock puppet Lamb Chop. Wayland Flowers and Willie Tyler were the most visible ventriloquists of the ’70s, thanks to the charisma of their respective sidekicks, flamboyant Madame and wisecracking Lester.
Then ventriloquism fell out of vogue, with no real stars emerging in the ’80s when Fator began touring the country as a singer while video games and increasingly risqué comedy captured audiences’ attention. Jim Carrey took celebrity impressions to the next level by morphing his facial features into stars like James Dean, Jack Nicholson or Clint Eastwood.
There needed to be new, innovative formulas for rising to the top. Fator found his in a turtle named Winston, whose own powers of impersonation equal (some say surpass) Fator’s own. Winston really came out of his shell during Fator’s stint on AGT, but Fator would later involve many more personalities for a successful Vegas show.
Fator has been assisted in no small way by the talents of Elvis impersonator Maynard Tompkins, country music crooner Walter T. Airdale and ambitious sexpot Vikki the Cougar, among many others. Depending on who is in town, there could be a Rat Pack member or outlaw country singer with familiar-looking braids on stage. Guest stars resembling David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder in both sound and appearance have been known to join the hijinks.
Although the future of ventriloquism is uncertain (the next generation has the option of incorporating AI technology), Fator is a major factor in the demand for the performing art in the present. He appeared on the Jan. 2 season premiere of AGT: All-Stars alongside Winston and Elton John and received a standing ovation. Notoriously fickle Simon Cowell referred to him as “the best of the best” during that episode. Fator, whose leverage as an AGT winner led to his conquering Las Vegas, continues to make good impressions.
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