History Main / Ventriloquism

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Several characters use ventriloquism for various reasons. For example, Ranma has done Akane's voice to mess with Ryoga, Ryoga's voice to mess with Akane, Tatewaki Kuno's voice because Tatewaki refused to apologize Kodachi and it was causing Ranma problems. Shampoo impersonated Akane's voice to get her waterproof soap back from Ryoga.

* ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'': Lunar tries to put on a ventriloquist act for her class. But since she doesn't have time to practice, she has Maki hide inside the puppet. Naturally, Lunar and Maki get into a fight during the performance, to rave reviews.
* Inverted with one of ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' gadgets, the "Ventriloquism Doll". It will talk like the user and trick the listener(s)'s into believing what the doll said. However, should the gadget be stopped, the listener will immediately come back to sense.

* ''Manga/Fabricant100'': [[spoiler:The singer Roxy has no singing voice, the Fabricant she's partnered with sings behind the stage]].

** In ''ComicBook/TheLeperFromKrypton'', villain Ventor uses his skills as a ventriloquist to infiltrate Metropolis Prison, with the excuse of giving a performance with his dummies, and stealthily receive a sample of Lex Luthor's newly-engineered virus.
* ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' had the short-lived strip "Ventriloquist Priest" by Duck Edwing.
* ''ComicBook/RobinDubois'': The titular character once used ventriloquism to fool the sheriff into kissing a toad which "said" it really was an enchanted princess.
* ComicBook/KidColt foe Dr. Danger was a highly skilled ventriloquist who combined throwing his voice with his mastery of magnet to convince people that he had a partner called 'the Invisible Gunman'.

* ''Fanfic/TheGreatAlicornHunt'': During the Port Malfou ZombieApocalypse arc, Sweetie Belle uses the ventriloquism skills she picked up during one her previous adventures in order to escape the {{Lich}}.

%% * ''Film/{{Magic}}''

* ''Film/TakeTheMoneyAndRun'' has a brief background gag of a prison inmate holding a ventriloquist's dummy and taking through a glass screen to a visitor, who also holds a dummy.

* ''Dummy'' is a little-known romantic comedy starring Adrien Brody. He plays a "lovable loser... who finds his inner voice through ventriloquism." The DVD includes commentary by ventriloquist/comic Creator/JeffDunham as well as a tutorial in ventriloquism.
* Hawkhead has one in ''Film/RocketBoy''. It just loves to talk while Hawkhead is drinking a glass of water.
* ''Film/DeadOfNight'' features a ventriloquist with a SplitPersonality (played by Creator/MichaelRedgrave) who ends up in the madhouse.
* John Carson, from the film ''Film/TheMiracleWoman'' uses his dummy to voice his feelings about Florence Fallon. It's fairly nerdy and cringe-worthy, but it still comes off as sweet.

* In ''Problem at Sea'', an Creator/AgathaChristie short story, Literature/HerculePoirot discovers that the murderer had faked an alibi using ventriloquism. He killed his wife, then talked to her from outside the closed door of the room and projected her voice coming from the inside, then left in the company of other people.

* Charles Brockden Brown's ''Wieland'', one of the earliest American novels, features as an antagonist the mysterious Carwin the Biloquist, whose ability to throw his voice creates confusion for the characters.
* In the original ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' novel by Gaston Leroux, the Persian declares that Erik is the best ventriloquist in the whole world. He must be, because he uses this skill to do a lot of {{Practical Joke}}s, including convincing Opera Singer Carlotta (an all the Opera’s audience) that she croaked like a toad. Also he uses it to convince people he is a real ghost, because they hear his voice clearly, but don’t see anyone.
* In "The Scrambled States of America Talent Show," the lower peninsula of Michigan uses the upper peninsula as his dummy. After the talent show, he does this again, but without a dummy.
-->'''Michigan''' ''(lower peninsula, "throwing his voice")''''':''' Ohio, give Michigan your donut.\\
'''Ohio:''' Who said that?
* In the ''Literature/SpiralArm'' series, Mearana the harpist is talented at throwing her voice, a skill which she occasionally uses to deceive adversaries.

* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'': The kids in the "Night of the Living Dummy" series take up ventriloquism as a hobby. Then they find out the dummy is talking on its own…
* In ''Literature/TheHobbit'' [[WizardClassic Gandalf]] throws his voice to keep the trolls arguing until daybreak.
* ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'': The Wizard:
--> "Oh, I am a ventriloquist," said the little man. "I can throw the sound of my voice wherever I wish.

* In the children's series about the talking dog called Himself by Kenneth and Adrian Bird, our canine hero comes up with a plan to raise money without giving away his ability; have his owner Timothy pose as a ventriloquist. Everyone's impressed by Timothy's ability to 'throw his voice' to his pet dog while eating and drinking on stage. At one point a jealous rival guesses the truth and demands Timothy be arrested for fraud, only for it to be pointed out that you can't charge someone for putting on a fake talking dog act when the dog really can talk!

* Averted in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E9ThePuppetShow The Puppet Show]]". What seems to be awesome ventriloquism at first is later revealed to be [[spoiler:a ''living'' puppet that's ''actually'' talking]]. The audience can see it coming from a mile away, though, because when the ventriloquist tries his act at the beginning of the episode, he's ''terrible'', and then suddenly [[spoiler:he becomes able to perfectly throw his voice and the dummy starts acting and moving very realistically as if it's alive]]... [[GenreBlindness The characters themselves don't notice it, though]].
* Edgar Bergen and Charlie [=McCarthy=], guesting on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'':
-->'''Edgar Bergen:''' Oh, you don't know what you're saying.\\
'''Charlie [=McCarthy=]:''' Yes I do, Bergen. I can read your lips.
** The same episode has Fozzie attempt a ventriloquism routine. Unfortunately, he hasn't grasped that he's supposed to talk for the dummy, and gets angry when it won't answer him. (And then after he's left the stage, it ''does''.)
* Burt's son Chuck & Bob Campbell (played by Jay Johnson) in ''Series/{{Soap}}'' was a ventriloquist. In the same series, the character Bert attempts ventriloquism when he tries to convince people he has been turned invisible by aliens.
** Chuck was never seen without Bob (the dummy), ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKRFmpWLTwg except when people separated them,]]) they wore the same outfits and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwDbd4jQpkA many of the characters forget that Bob isn't real.]]
** When Chuck meets his step-aunt, Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond), Bob stares at her magnificent bosom and says "Nice jugs." Chuck would never do this.
* ''Howdy Doody''
* In one episode of ''Series/GreenWing'' Sue White gets a dummy, which insults everybody around her and she swears blind it's got nothing to do with her even though (as Caroline points out) they can see her moving her lips. When Sue breaks into Holly's locker, the dummy is sitting on a bench and tells her "she shouldn't do that". Sue argues with it before stuffing it in the locket.
* One skit in ''Creator/MorecambeAndWise'' had Eric have a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV3q3f1v8UI giant dummy]] that he couldn't operate properly due to the size.

* On ''Series/SquareOneTV'', there was a ''Mathnet'' episode in which a ventriloquist had gone catatonic, and could talk only through his dummy.
* Neal tries his hand at this in the ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'' episode "Noshing and Moshing".
* An episode of ''Series/NightCourt'' had a visiting ventriloquist who annoyingly talked without moving his lips, even though he didn't currently have a dummy. He was finally inspired to create one based on the bailiff Bull.

* Alan on ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' uses a dummy, much to everyone's dismay.
* The syndicated early-'90s sitcom ''What a Dummy'' centered around a wisecracking "live" dummy that was willed to a family by a dying ventriloquist uncle.
* The ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' episode "Where Have You Gone, Billy Boy?" has the trope of the cripplingly shy ventriloquist whose dummy does his talking for him, without making it a DemonicDummy.
* Episode "Belly Speaker" of ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' had a murder suspect capable of ventriloquism. His DemonicDummy was super creepy.

* During one episode of ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', one of Kelly's rivals in the BeautyPageant does ventriloquist act for her talent performance[[note]] -- or, more accurately, tries, as Kelly's friends undermine it with a magnifying glass aimed at the dummy, causing it to start smoking before the performance is complete and the contestant in question ending up being too busy blowing out the smoke to finish the act[[/note]].
* Zack's hobby of the week of ventriloquism in ''[[{{Series/TheZackFiles}} The Zack Files]]'' episode "You Don't Say" leads to him literally losing his voice because it [[OrganAutonomy developed a mind of its own]] and wants to leave him. At one point it mocks all his friends using Zack's voice coming out of random objects to make them mad at him.
* In one episode of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' Howard finds a ventriloquist dummy Bernadette used in a talent show, and she creeps him out with it

* For most games, especially horror genred, can have an audio clip play and make it seem like it's coming out of nowhere. Or right behind the player.
** It's not uncommon for a game to have a few lines of dialogue and it sounds odd compared to the distance of another character. An example: Player 1 is moving way infront of Player 2 but when Player 1's character talks, for Player 2 it sounds like Player 1 is right nearby.
* The second ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' game has a witness named Ben and his puppet [[PunnyName Trilo Quist]].
* In ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'', you come across one of the Toys of Power, a creepy ventriloquism doll named Charlie Ho Tep. You can use him to throw your voice, for the purposes of advancing the plot and also just for laughs.

* Richard of ''[[Webcomic/LookingForGroup Looking for Group]]'' Uses a Ventriloquism spell to hilarious effect in [[http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/5/ this scene.]]
* ''Webcomic/CrossTimeCafe'': In one [=NEOlithic CTC=] [[http://www.whiteponyproductions.com/neoctc/NEOCTC_528.htm strip]], Marmoe introduces his "invisible new friend" To Tiger T.

* Seen in several cartoons, e.g., "WesternAnimation/VentriloquistCat" by Creator/TexAvery.
* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' had an episode with an alien that looked like a ventriloquist's dummy, and was sold to Jon for an act of his. He didn't reckon on being exposed to the major weakness of his species: [[spoiler:Cartoon termites]].
* The 1960s ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' cartoon had Spidey using ventriloquism to beat a team-up among the Green Goblin, Electro, Vulture and [[CanonForeigner Dr. Noah Boddy]] by imitating their voices and making them fight each other.

* The episode "Ventriloquist Barney" of ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones The Flintstones]]'' has Barney using his newfound ventriloquism skills to make Fred think Pebbles can talk. [[BerserkButton And he doesn't take the joke very well.]]
* One of the culprits in a case of ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'' was a ventriloquist. It made things difficult for Fillmore an Ingrid to find him in a crowded attic, as he was throwing his voice so they couldn't easily locate him.
* A short for ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'' hung a lampshade on the fact that [[{{Creator/MarkHamill}} Mark Hamill]] not only reprised his role of the Joker, but also his role of the Trickster as well as the Swamp Thing for the series. In it, he plays himself, kidnapped by Joker and Trickster, and he uses ventriloquism to turn them against each other to distract them long enough for Swamp Thing to rescue him.

* Averted in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "The Puppet Show". What seems to be awesome ventriloquism at first is later revealed to be [[spoiler:a ''living'' puppet that's ''actually'' talking.]] The audience can see it coming from a mile away, though, because when the ventriloquist tries his act at the beginning of the episode he's ''terrible'', and then suddenly [[spoiler:he becomes able to perfectly throw his voice and the dummy starts acting and moving very realistically as if it's alive.....]] [[GenreBlindness The characters themselves don't notice it, though.]]

Ventriloquist dummies are often considered creepy due to their UncannyValley qualities ("automatonophobia" is the technical term for fear of one) and are often used in horror or horror parody. It's very common for there be a scene where the ventriloquist leaves the room and his dummy starts talking on its own.

* Other famous ventriloquists include Terry Fator (the winner of Season 2 of ''Series/AmericasGotTalent''), Darci Lynne Farmer (winner of Season 12), Ronn Lucas, David Strassman, Willie Tyler, Señor Wences, and Paul Winchell.
* Creator/JimHenson famously ''averted'' this, he was not a ventriloquist and never tried to hide the fact that he was performing the voice of [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit]] and other puppets whenever himself was part of an act or was interviewed along with a puppet -- camera work focusing on the puppets in such cases might have helped spreading confusion about him being one.

* Creator/JimHenson famously ''averted'' this, he was not a ventriloquist and never tried to hide the fact that he was performing the voice of his puppets whenever himself was part of an act or was interviewed along with a puppet -- camera work focusing on the puppets in such cases might have helped spreading confusion about him being one.

[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/{{PlasticMan}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_61g3lzh51yl.png]]]]

[[quoteright:300:[[Comicbook/{{PlasticMan}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_61g3lzh51yl.png]]]]

->''"Who're you callin' "Dummy", Dummy?"''
-->-- '''Scarface''', ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''

* Several characters use ventriloquism for various reasons in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. For example, Ranma has done Akane's voice to mess with Ryoga, Ryoga's voice to mess with Akane, Tatewaki Kuno's voice because Tatewaki refused to apologize Kodachi and it was causing Ranma problems. Shampoo impersonated Akane's voice to get her waterproof soap back from Ryoga.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* A short for ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction hung a lampshade that [[{{Creator/MarkHamill}} Mark Hamill]] not only reprised his role of the Joker, but also his role of the Trickster as well as the Swamp Thing for the series. In it, he plays himself, kidnapped by Joker and Trickster, and he uses ventriloquism to turn them against each other to distract them long enough for Swamp Thing to rescue him.

* Zack's hobby of the week of ventriloquism in ''{{Series/TheZackFiles}}'' episode "You Don't Say" leads to him literally losing his voice because it [[OrganAutonomy developed a mind of its own]] and wants to leave him. At one point it mocks all his friends using Zack's voice coming out of random objects to make them mad at him.

* A short for ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction hung a lampshade that {{Creator/MarkHamill}} not only reprised his role of the Joker, but also his live action role of the Trickster as well as the Swamp Thing for the series. In it, he plays himself, kidnapped by Joker and Trickster, and he uses ventriloquism to turn them against each other while imitating their voices to distract them long enough for Swamp Thing to rescue him.

* Rob Lucci, TheDragon in the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs of ''Manga/OnePiece'', goes undercover in the Galley-La shipwrights' company as a stoic ship-builder who utilizes ventriloquism to talk through his pet pigeon Hattori. Once he's revealed to be a member of the Cipher Pol 9 agents' unit, he ditches this act and shows himself capable of normal speech.
* In ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'', Lunar tries to put on a ventriloquist act for her class. But since she doesn't have time to practice, she has Maki hide inside the puppet. Naturally, Lunar and Maki get into a fight during the performance, to rave reviews.

* Conan from ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' uses a bow tie created by his professor friend to imitate people's voices when solving cases. For some reason, nobody ever seems to notice those voices are actually coming from behind the person's chair (or from a micro-speaker on his clothing or ''occasionally his forehead'').

* Burt's son Chuck & Bob Campbell (played by Jay Johnson) in ''Series/{{Soap}}'' was a ventriloquist. In the same series the character Bert attempts ventriloquism when he tries to convince people he has been turned invisible by aliens.
** Chuck was never seen with Bob, ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKRFmpWLTwg except when people separated them,]]) they wore the same outfits and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwDbd4jQpkA many of the characters forget that Bob isn't real.]]

* Other famous ventriloquists include Terry Fator (the winner of Season 2 of ''Series/AmericasGotTalent''), Ronn Lucas, David Strassman, Willie Tyler, Señor Wences, and Paul Winchell.

* ''Film/{{Magic}}''

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': In the Golden Age Diana would occasionally throw her voice so it appeared that Diana Prince was talking to an out of sight Wonder Woman just around the corner or on the other side of an open doorway.

* The Ventriloquist is a Franchise/{{Batman}} villain (who has also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'') with a split personality who delivers his orders through his doll, Scarface. Scarface is notoriously incapable of pronouncing the letter B and instead uses "G", but in animated adaptations, this was considered too weird. (If correct.) Interestingly, the "Scarface" personality is the outwardly villainous one, and he frequently bullies the Ventriloquist. If the Scarface dummy is destroyed, then the Ventriloquist will appear cured until he builds another dummy. This led to a MythologyGag in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "A Better World": In an alternate universe ruled by KnightTemplar versions of the League, Batman's RoguesGallery was lobotomized via Superman's heat vision. The Ventriloquist briefly appears, and his Scarface dummy has the lobotomy marks instead of him.
* Franchise/{{Superman}} notoriously had super-ventriloquism as one of his powers.

* RobinDubois once used this to fool the sheriff into kissing a toad which "said" it really was an enchanted princess.

** Creator/ShariLewis[[/index]]

* Notable American ventriloquists includes the aforementioned Creator/EdgarBergen, Creator/JeffDunham, Terry Fator (the winner of Season 2 of ''Series/AmericasGotTalent''), Ronn Lucas, Creator/ShariLewis, David Strassman, Willie Tyler, Señor Wences, and Paul Winchell.
** Creator/JimHenson famously ''averted'' this, he was not a ventriloquist and never tried to hide the fact that he was performing the voice of his puppets whenever himself was part of an act or was interviewed along with a puppet -- camera work focusing on the puppets in such cases might have helped spreading confusion about him being one.

** Creator/JimHenson famously ''averted'' this, he was not a ventriloquist and never tried to hide the fact that he was performing the voice of his puppets whenever himself was part of an act or was interviewed along with a puppet. Camera work focusing on the puppets might have helped spreading confusion about him being one.

** Creator/JimHenson famously ''averted'' this, he was not a ventriloquist and never tried to hide the fact that he was performing the voice of his puppets whenever himself was part of an act or interviewed with a puppet.

* The RealLife list of notable ventriloquists includes the aforementioned Edgar Bergen, Creator/JeffDunham, Terry Fator (the winner of Season 2 of ''Series/AmericasGotTalent''), Ronn Lucas, Shari Lewis, David Strassman, Willie Tyler, Señor Wences, and Paul Winchell.

* John Carson, from the film ''Film/TheMiracleWoman'' uses his dummy to voice his feelings about Florence Fallon. It's fairly [[{{Adorkable}} nerdy]] and cringe-worthy, but it still comes off as sweet.