Jimmy Vee Is The Dummy Guy
I love all things puppets, especially ventriloquist figures. I'm also a huge supporter of our art and community.
Performer
I perform for kids, families, libraries, corporations and comedy clubs.
Evangelist
I am a supporter, champion and benefactor of the art & ventriloquist community.
Collector
I love puppets and dummies and the people that create these works of art.
See My Kids Show
Jungle Jimmy & The Zoo Crew
My jungle themed kids show has entertained tens of thousands of kids and adults. It's a zany, fast-paced and fun magic and ventriloquism show where the kids are the stars of the show.
Jimmy Vee
How I Became The Dummy Guy
“That thing is alive.” that’s what I was thinking the first time I saw a ventriloquist and his dummy on stage. I was mesmerized. From that faithful day of third grade on, I was hooked.
Every night I dreamt of having a ventriloquist figure of my very own. I begged my parents for one (not that they even knew where to get one) and finally for Christmas my grandma bought me one. It was a toy dummy from the Sears catalog, a Howdy Doody doll. It had a string on the back of the neck that made its mouth move. It was cool, but I knew this was not the kind of dummy the guy I saw one stage used. His was “ALIVE.”
After that I tried to do ventriloquism but I never really learned. I still loved puppets of all kinds. Loved watching the muppets when I could find it on TV. Was excited to watch DC Follies and anything else that had puppets in it but I never really saw much ventriloquism.
When I was eighteen, I went to college and while there, I started making marionette puppets for fun in my apartment (it was a great way to impress girls too… Okay, not really).
One day, I was walking in a local mall, and I saw the most amazing thing. A kiosk, but not just an ordinary kiosk, a…
a puppet kiosk. It sold nothing but puppets! Floppy marionettes, wrap around puppets, muppet type puppets and hand puppets. They even had some nice professional looking marionettes.I went up to the guy running the cart and starting talking to him about puppets. I told him I was making marionettes and he told me to bring them by sometime so he could see them. The next day I did just that. He thought my puppet was good and asked if I wanted to hang it in the cart on consignment and see if he could sell it. I was stoked. So I gave him the puppet and he hung I up.
I would come to the cart regularly to see it if sold and to see the puppets and talk with the cart owner. Eventually I was demonstrating the puppets and helping the guy sell them. He loved having me around because I worked for free and made sales. I loved talking with people and showing them how to make the puppets move and dance.
One day some kids came buy the cart and the cart owner pulled out a bird puppet from a hidden compartment. He proceeded to do ventriloquism for these kids. They were amazed, laughing and loving it. I was too. I was floored, mesmerized and hooked once again.
I told the guy how much I have always love ventriloquism and how much I wanted to learn to do it. I asked him if he would teach me. He said it was easy and that I should get a book from the library and learn it.
I was disappointed but I did what he said. I went straight to the bookstore and bought the only book they had in the catalog on ventriloquism. I had to order it and it took two weeks to come in. Once it did, I read it cover to cover and began practicing the lessons and signing in the car to the radio without moving my lips. With in a month I had learned it and I went back to the guy at the puppet cart and showed him what I could do. He was impressed and invited me to his house so he could show me his other puppets.
Turns out he used to be a professional ventriloquist and magician. He started showing me his puppets and magic stuff and told me all about the ventriloquist community, museum and conVENTion. Then he introduced me to his partner, a full blown professional vent dummy.
It was like what I saw on stage. It was ALIVE. His eyes moved and closed. He could wink at you, stick his tongue out, wiggle his ears and even shake your hand. I was blown away and once again knew I wanted my own professional puppet partner. From that day on, I became the Dummy Guy and my ventriloquism journey began.
Collector
My collection consists of magic books, props (modern and vintage), vintage magic and vent posters and Houdiniana as well as ventriloquism memorabilia, books and of course puppets and vent figures. Below you can see some of the puppets in the Dummy Guy Collection.
My taste in puppets is eclectic. I like unique, interesting and odd puppets. I love displaying my figures with historical or biographical information or photos of the figure, it's ventriloquist or maker.
My mini-museum is a tribute to the art and the amazing people and puppets that have graced it.
Rave Reviews
“You Were Great! Everyone loved you and we can’t thank you enough!”
Jimmy and Joe Cappuccino Were The Show Stopper We Were Looking For!
“The kids had a blast! It was hard to figure out what they liked most.”
“The enjoyment our community received is immeasurable and will be a long time before it is forgotten!”
MY RESUME
As part of the ventriloquism community, I wear many hats. Here's a few.
My Positions
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Florida Ventriloquist Association
Founder & President
I rebooted the defunct Orlando ventriloquist club and it's one of the most active vent clubs in the country.
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Vent Haven Museum
Board of Advisors
I sit of the board of advisors for Vent Haven Museum. The only museum in the world exclusively dedicated to the art of ventriloquism.
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International Vent Haven ConVENTion
Assistant Executive Director
I assist Mark Wade the executive director of the conVENTion.As his hand picked protege', I hope to do an equally amazing job in the future as he has done.
My Shows
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Kid Show Performer
Jungle Jimmy
My show, Jungle Jimmy and the Zoo Crew™ is a hit with children and families of all ages. I perform at birthday parties, events, libraries and more.
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Stand Up Comedian
The Stand-up Ventriloquist
As a Stand-up Ventriloquist , I've studied and performed improv comedy at the SAK Comedy Lab in Orlando, FL and have done stand up comedy on stage at the IMPROV and Bonkers Comedy Club using both magic and ventriloquism.
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Corporate & Trade Shows
The Business Ventriloquist®
As The Biz Dummy™, I offer EnterTraining for companies, sales teams and trade shows. It's a combination of training, entertainment—using comedy, magic and ventriloquism—to make the learning and mesaage significantly more fun and memorable.