TV News Interview w/Willie Tyler & Lester, Professional Ventriloquist #138

Comic ventriloquist Willie Tyler, and his pal, Lester; do a TV interview from back in 1984. Lester gets in lots of jokes, and Willie shares how he also does music in his shows...and why.
Great interview and short comedy entertainment from this Evening News Interview.
Willie Tyler, a renowned ventriloquist known for his captivating performances with his beloved figure, Lester, holds a deep admiration for the art of ventriloquism, despite its challenges and the limited number of successful practitioners. His enduring career, marked by numerous TV appearances and performances at clubs like Laughs Unlimited, underscores the skill and artistry required in this unique form of entertainment, with Lester's expressive eyes being a particularly captivating feature. R. Scott Edwards, a respected TV News Host from the 1980s, shares Tyler's appreciation for ventriloquism, having regularly featured Tyler and Lester on his shows, and fondly recalls their engaging dynamic that treated Lester as a separate, charismatic entity. Both Tyler and Edwards reflect positively on the era, emphasizing their support for fellow performers and the nostalgic charm of ventriloquism's comedic banter.

(00:01:31) Willie Tyler's Engaging Ventriloquist Interview

(00:05:09) Dynamic Banter: Ventriloquism Unveiled

(00:05:09) "Ventriloquial Figures: Professional Terminology and Etiquette"

Transcript

0:02

Stand up comedy. Your host in MC presents comedy Appeteasers, a podcast where you will find short comedy sets, stories, and funny bits from the famous and not so famous. Here is your host and MC, Scott Edwards. And today I'm sharing a terrific interview done back in 1984 of a good friend of mine and one of the world class ventriloquists that often played my club, Willie Tyler and his pal Lester. In fact, you may have caught his interview earlier in my podcast season. Very interesting guy, terrific talent. And back in the early eighties, he was on all the tv shows. He was really probably America's number one ventriloquist at the time. And I was very lucky to make friends with him and have him work my room many times. Anyway, on one of those occasions, he dropped in on KCRA Channel three, be noon News, and did a promo for his week at my club, laughs Unlimited. It's interesting. There's a little funny. You'll hear Lester and Willie Tyler, and much like my interview with him earlier, we treat Lester like he's an additional interviewee. So sit back and enjoy this short interview from 1984 of Willie Tylere and his pal Lester. You have to be familiar with the old expression, children should be seen and not heard, right? Our guest today found a way around that, and he has found that keeping his mouth closed can be, and in fact, is quite profitable. He is a veteran performer whom I've admired for years. He's worked in every area of the entertainment business, and he opens tonight at Laughs Unlimited in Sacramento. You know Willie Tyler and I think you know Lester. Hello. Good afternoon, Carol. Good afternoon, Mike. Nice to meet you. Lester, how long have you been a ventriloquist? Well, I've been a ventriloquist, Mike. I guess it was since I was ten years old. I really threw your car. You had made you answer when you. Basically, you asked me the question. Usually when he asked Lester the question, he gets on and he gets on a rolling. He never stops. Lester, how'd you get hooked up with this guy? Well, actually they got, he got me out of the catalog. It's like a mug shot with a little number underneath the picture, and he couldn't think of the name for me. And his brother came up with the name Lester about a month and a half after he had me. And so I came into being. Does it make sense? That makes a lot of sense to me. Congratulations to you. You know what? You had the weather on just a minute ago, you know, not the way I was a weather man. Once upon a time, you were weather. Yeah. You know. You know why lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice? You don't know because the same place is not there the second time around. Mike Carroll, Lester. Details at a letter. The thing that is so great about Lester, and I was telling you just before we went on, is that if you look at Lester's eyes, they capture you. You can't see that on tv too often, but look at the eyes, they just bring you in. See, the reason why is because I don't blink. I can always win at discos. I can always win staring contests. I can look at a woman, and she'll link this live link. Tell me something, Lester. How do you handle problems with groupies? You know, people always wanting to come after you for your autograph and, no. I don't mind that, because, you know, this shows that I'm unrealistic to them and they like me, and so those are my fans, and they pay to come see me and all that stuff. So I don't mind that. That's good. That's good. I like that. Well, I gotta talk. I gotta talk to you, your big brother here. Okay. All right. Go for it. Willie. Yes. You do a lot of other things. You also do music, don't you? I write songs. What songs have you. You written that it. That we would recognize? Well, actually, there's songs that we do in the act. In other words, what? It was a situation. One time, I did a talk show, and I was gonna do a song that was already published, a hit song that everybody knew. But I'll tell you, it was a Mike Douglas show a long time ago, and Mike was doing that same song that particular day. So, of course, he's the host of the show. He has priority. So he did the song, and I didn't do the song. So I said, well, why not write a few songs? So I wrote a couple of songs. And what we do is we do them in the act. And granted, we submit them to other people, and hopefully one of these days, other people will record our songs. But we've done songs like laid up is called and lunch called how you gonna know if the roof leaks if it never, ever rains? Yeah, no big hits like that. And you sing, lester? Yes, you do. You don't make Willie sing, do you, Lester? Well, he sings, too. Yes. We're working on singing together, though. If that happens, I want to be there when you do it. Sure. Well, we're going to do it with mirrors, something. No prison sound like that. Willie, I have a question for you. A while ago in the news, they were talking about a ventriloquist convention where I suppose several of you gathered together and there was some discussion about not calling your partners dummies because that didn't seem to be too flattering a word. Sort of harsh. How do you feel about it? Well, I think, you know, actually the professional name for him is like a ventriloquial figure, but the average person can't say that. So it's basically a figure or the name of the character, like Lester or Jerry or whoever, because, but as I say, dummy is harsh. How many ventriloquists, and I mean really, that are before the lights are there in this country? Aren't that many, I guess I would say approximately ten. I mean, approximately. There are a lot of them, a lot of amateurs around, but aren't that many. It's a very difficult business to crack. I certainly have admired you for years and you wish the best of luck at laughs Unlimited. That's three days this week starting tonight. Don't forget that you need to get reservations. And you better hurry. I would tell you that. 446-5905 yeah, come on out with some. Laughs, a little music. Also, you know the name Willie Tyler. And Lester, both of them. Thank you very much for joining us. Thank you. Wow. I got to tell you, it is so neat to listen to these old recordings. Back in 1984, which was quite a while ago, I was so blessed to work with so many famous people and talented people and having Willie Tyler and Lester as regular acts. And they did, boy, my tv shows, my concerts, my club many, many times. And getting a chance to hear Willie Tyler tell his story with the noon news anchors to promote his appearance at my club is just fun and a good memory. Anyway, I'm sure it was entertaining for you as well. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of comedy Appeteasers. Be sure to share with family and friends, and we will see you this Sunday for our regular podcast, your host and MC. And again next Friday for another episode of comedy, Appeteasers. Bye.