🎭 Oldest ventriloquist dummy still in use (based on available evidence)
The strongest documented candidate: “George” — approx. 128 years old
A ventriloquist dummy named George, made in the 1890s, is one of the oldest known dummies still being actively used and maintained today. He appeared on The Repair Shop in 2023, where his owner described performing with him since childhood.
Age: ~128 years old
Origin: London music halls, 1890s
Status: Still owned, maintained, and used by his performer
Evidence: Featured on BBC’s The Repair Shop after restoration
This is the oldest clearly documented dummy still in active use that appears in current media.
...the current building at number 47 is: The Old Bakery
(The google maps view suggests a suitably villa-ish plot of land to me ... perhaps the villa was the building you get to by going through the Old Bakery, which is clearly some kind of rebuilt gatehouse)
I'd like to believe I was clever enough to figure this all out for myself. But I might've had help from an AI research assistant. 😉
Thanks John. That was my guess as most of the other buildings on that side of the street are old enough but not villas by any stretch. And this seems the likeliest option! and yes that other building could be the bakery!
As a fellow Vonnegut fan you reminded me of his quote (from Mother Night) "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be". I don't know how that relates to ironic comedy personae or ventriloquism though. Seems to be the death knell for any stage actor too.
Been getting into Stanislaw Lem recently. He wrote Solaris and loads of other cool shit. New to me anyway. And something of a touchstone for KVJnr and Douglas Adams I reckon so thats aok with me.
Belatedly catching up on this post. I found the Todd family on the 1901 census, which lists them living at 45 Old Park Road in Hitchin. On the 1891, they're living at 48 Old Park Road and on the 1881, their abode is listed as Alma Villa without a number mentioned. Some census takers were sometimes too lazy to include accurate information. I've seen loads of examples of it!
I haven't got stupider, i just appear it. Thanks to fibromyalgia I have random brain fog, especially when tired. i forget names, place and information received minutes before. I get desperate to find a word to replace the one i cant remember that i add rubbish.
I wanted to tell my wife about an incident that happened near the nearby llama farm. until the word llama came back to me I had to call them hairy cows. luckily she's learning how my brain now works
Regarding the unusual resolution, three stars that I haphazardly follow are wise men and they're all modest: Richard Ayoade, Richard Osman OBE, and Richard Herring who is wise even though he just wrote that there has to be a God (he was doing a joke - the "highest form of art and intelligence," he modestly joked).
🎭 Oldest ventriloquist dummy still in use (based on available evidence)
The strongest documented candidate: “George” — approx. 128 years old
A ventriloquist dummy named George, made in the 1890s, is one of the oldest known dummies still being actively used and maintained today. He appeared on The Repair Shop in 2023, where his owner described performing with him since childhood.
Age: ~128 years old
Origin: London music halls, 1890s
Status: Still owned, maintained, and used by his performer
Evidence: Featured on BBC’s The Repair Shop after restoration
This is the oldest clearly documented dummy still in active use that appears in current media.
Not as old as Ally who is 134 years old this month!
Though ally’s age assumed by date of newspapers stuffing his legs.
It was very probably on the site of the current number 47 -- The Old Bakery that you saw. (Yes, that gravestone just influenced _my_ life too!).
Reasoning: A membership list of the institute of mechanical engineers shows a Thomas Ekins Daintree living at Alma Villa. (https://archive.org/stream/p3p4proceedin1898inst/p3p4proceedin1898inst_djvu.txt)
...and a later document shows the Daintrees living at number 47 Old Park Road https://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p16445coll4/id/48272/download
...the current building at number 47 is: The Old Bakery
(The google maps view suggests a suitably villa-ish plot of land to me ... perhaps the villa was the building you get to by going through the Old Bakery, which is clearly some kind of rebuilt gatehouse)
I'd like to believe I was clever enough to figure this all out for myself. But I might've had help from an AI research assistant. 😉
Thanks John. That was my guess as most of the other buildings on that side of the street are old enough but not villas by any stretch. And this seems the likeliest option! and yes that other building could be the bakery!
As a fellow Vonnegut fan you reminded me of his quote (from Mother Night) "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be". I don't know how that relates to ironic comedy personae or ventriloquism though. Seems to be the death knell for any stage actor too.
Been getting into Stanislaw Lem recently. He wrote Solaris and loads of other cool shit. New to me anyway. And something of a touchstone for KVJnr and Douglas Adams I reckon so thats aok with me.
Yabadabadoo
Belatedly catching up on this post. I found the Todd family on the 1901 census, which lists them living at 45 Old Park Road in Hitchin. On the 1891, they're living at 48 Old Park Road and on the 1881, their abode is listed as Alma Villa without a number mentioned. Some census takers were sometimes too lazy to include accurate information. I've seen loads of examples of it!
I haven't got stupider, i just appear it. Thanks to fibromyalgia I have random brain fog, especially when tired. i forget names, place and information received minutes before. I get desperate to find a word to replace the one i cant remember that i add rubbish.
I wanted to tell my wife about an incident that happened near the nearby llama farm. until the word llama came back to me I had to call them hairy cows. luckily she's learning how my brain now works
Regarding the unusual resolution, three stars that I haphazardly follow are wise men and they're all modest: Richard Ayoade, Richard Osman OBE, and Richard Herring who is wise even though he just wrote that there has to be a God (he was doing a joke - the "highest form of art and intelligence," he modestly joked).
The three Richards of the Apocalypse
That works, with Pryor as the fourth Richard, although I was alluding to three wise men (Clever Dicks) - but biblical either way.
Fairly sure I’m related to those Todds! It’s a small world even when people are dead, it seems.
Alma Villa should be yours (if only it still existed!)