by J.C. Johnson / Comedy Profiles Editor T a l k i n g C o m e d y . c o m

Ronn Lucas' day starts off much like the days of many other men across America … a shower, shave and a quick breakfast. The morning drive to the office listening to the stereo radio on his dashboard as he weaves through the morning traffic. Then three or four hours of typical business activities … checking his schedule, returning important phone calls, reading and answering emails. When 1 PM rolls around he's out the door … but unlike the rest of America he isn't headed for a lunch spot to grab a sandwich and a cool drink he's headed for a Vegas showroom. And along with him are his business partners … a teenage dragon named Scorch and a wide mouthed felt cowboy named Bronco Billy. Because … his partners are, of course, puppets or to be more exact ventriloquist figures. And they're not just any puppets they're the stars of the most popular afternoon show in Las Vegas these days.

“We do what I like to call an adult comedy show for ages five and up,” says Lucas. It's a delightful mixture of stand-up comedy, puppetry, audience participation and Lucas' astonishing voice manipulations … and his audiences love it. “I think the biggest honor I get is kids and some times even seniors saying this is my very first Vegas show. And I’m just so touched by that,” adds Lucas. “The art of what I do is between me and the audience. And I love my audiences and I try to show them every day how much I care about them,” continues Lucas. “I take advantage of their imagination …I perform for them not at them. I grab that screen in their head and make something of it. It’s sort of like radio … radio with props.”

That's what ventriloquism is to Ronn Lucas a prop, a tool to bring the world of ones imagination to life. And he's been doing it and loving every minute of it since he was seven or eight years old. “The most powerful influence on me as a youngster was my grandfather. He was a farmer but he used to make socks and other things appear to talk. He was more of a puppeteer than a ventriloquist but he got my interest going,” recalls Lucas of a Christmas visit with his grandfather that began his life's passion with puppets. His grandfather was a Texan with a pioneer ethic … “I wouldn’t say he was shy,” Lucas recalls of his grandfather, “ … I would say he was Texan. That pioneer ethic where you just didn’t talk much. But when you’ve got your grandkids next to you … I never thought about it till just now. It was probably just a vehicle for him to open up a little … which is what he wanted to do.” The vehicle, which allowed his grandfather to open up more, also opened up a whole world of possibilities for young Ronn. “The end of my show each day is a tribute to my granddad. I actually take a sock off my foot … and build a puppet out of it.”

“Several months later on television I saw ventriloquist Edgar Bergen appeare to make a baby talk.” Bergen then brought his wooden companion Charlie McCarthy to life and provided Charlie with an acerbic personality. The audience loved Edgar and Charlie and so did young Ronn watching along at home on his family's television set. “A wonderful revelation came to me for a seven year old … I can combine this puppet with whatever Bergen’s doing and have a show.”

So young Ronn got a copy of ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson's instructional LP 'Instant Ventriloquism' and locked himself in his room till he was eleven … all the while diligently working on mastering the art of talking without moving his lips. “Instant Ventriloquism … God Bless him. I have thanked him so many times for that record and he’s said … Ronn, I don’t need your thanks I would just love to have residuals,” Lucas relates with a warm hearty laugh.

And while Ronn was teaching himself ventriloquism with Jimmy Nelson's record he was also busy building puppets. “I built them out of cardboard … I built them out of bleach bottles. I was doing puppet shows … marionette shows and hand puppet shows. But ventriloquism was the fun part. The more I could get my voice to do what I wanted the bigger chances I would have to fool my friends.” By the time Lucas was in high school, he discovered a use for ventriloquism that he found very handy … Whenever he wanted he could call himself out of class by making his voice sound like an announcement on the school’s P.A. system, “Mr. Lucas, come to the principal’s office, now!” The teachers never knew. Ronn Lucas says you really can't call him the class clown, though … “I was the closet class clown … I did not want to get caught.”

But as he began looking towards college and his future he started getting more of an interest in drama and theater and acting and began leaving ventriloquism behind even though he still enjoyed it a lot. “I had come to the conclusion that ventriloquism was a dying art. And that for all of the fun that it was giving me there was nothing that hadn’t already been done.” But then one fateful day, at the El Paso Sun Carnival, a very big event in Texas, Lucas was scheduled to go on with his traditional ventriloquism figure as opening act. He was disheartened to find out that the main act of the evening was refusing to have an opening act because her contract stated she would be the only entertainer. Ronn Lucas had to save his big chance at a big show and he had to think fast. “Basically I said well what is your logo? And the Sun Carnival said … It’s this king named Sonny the Sun King. So in a frantic rush I glued some foam together and built a large mouthed puppet … because I was thinking this is a big audience, people need to see my ventriloquism. And I performed with Sonny the Sun King. So he wasn’t an opening act, at all, he was a visiting dignitary,” recalls Lucas who found a quick solution to his dilemma and also found a new direction to take his act. His new ventriloquism figure had much of the look of a muppet which were all the rage at the time.

A Newsweek article Lucas had read around that time had claimed that 75% of Sesame Streets audience is adults not children so he knew that the muppet style puppets had appeal beyond childhood audiences. And spurred on by the success he had had with the El Paso audience Lucas spent more time working on big mouth puppets he could use in his act. Armed with ventriloquist dummies that didn't look like all the other ventriloquist acts at the time and voice throwing skill that he had polished to perfection his interest in ventriloquism was re-ignited. He was inspired to work hard at making his act the best ventriloquist act there was. But to do that he felt he had to work on one more thing ... his comedy.

Lucas decided to enter the San Francisco Standup Comedy Competition. “I not only wanted to have a skill that was unique … I also wanted my comedy to be as good or as fresh as anybody who was out there working,” relates Lucas. And he didn't want to just compete in the San Francisco Comedy Competition he wanted to win it. Not because he was the best ventriloquist … but because he was the best comic. So Lucas set out to improve his comedy skills by taking a standup comedy course from San Francisco comedy coach Jim Richardson.

Richardson, a Northern Californian professor taught a most innovative course working with performers in a precise near-surgical manner. He would even go so far as to employ a stopwatch in assessing the timing of a punchline. Lucas' more tightened and disciplined approach helped him win the 1981 San Francisco Comedy Competition and the National LAFF-OFF Championships for SHOWTIME. Since applying the precision techniques he learned from Richardson, Lucas finds that ironically his act now appears "looser" to his audiences.

Soon Ronn Lucas would be asked to bring his skills to Broadway and originate the roll of the ventriloquist in 'Sugar Babies' which featured Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller. He had a two year run on the Great White Way and hopes to someday return. “I’ve wanted to go back … I had a long, long talk with Jay Johnson about doing a two-man show. And then when I got the job at the Rio he decided to put together a one man show.” Fellow ventriloquist Jay Johnson, best known for playing Chuck (and Bob) on TV's 'Soap,' also from Texas, couldn't wait on his Broadway plans for a two ventriloquist vehicle so he started fashioning a one man show for himself. Johnson's 'The Two and Only' ran for over 100 performances at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2004.

“And I’m not only envious,” says Lucas of his good friend and fellow vent, “I’m very supportive of the fact that he did a very good job. So maybe I will go back and do a one man show after his attention wanes a bit. Or maybe we’ll go back and do a two-man show together.” Because one thing Lucas loves more than anything about what he does for a living is performing his craft for live audiences. “It’s immediate feedback and you have a rapport with an audience. And every audience is kind of like an individual, every day you meet somebody different.”

Ronn Lucas has performed live for presidents and royalty including Presidents Carter, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, both Bushes and Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. His performances for the Queen would lead to Television guest spots in England which in turn led to hosting his own national top-rated comedy/variety series in London called 'The Ronn Lucas Show.' This hit show ran for four years. Lucas' and his partner Scorch the teenage dragon's enormous success in England led to an offer from CBS to star in his own sitcom. The only twist in the offer ... “CBS said well we want the puppet … we don’t want Ronn,” relates Lucas. “So I just became the puppeteer … which thank God I had the training for that. And it was kind of fun. You know what it’s like to go to work and not to have to worry about if you have a zit or your hair is messed. I could go to work and skip shaving that day and no one would ever know.”

When the show on CBS was over Lucas made sure he went home with a souvenir … well actually three souvenirs. “I have three Scorches made by CBS and CBS spent something like $ 300,000 on them. It’s funny to think I have puppets that are worth more than my home,” laughs Lucas as he explains how his passion for a new ventriloquism figure is like most people's passion for a new car. “I don’t know a brand new car or a puppet I can’t decide.” continues Lucas. “Probably in my collection I have about 70 puppets/dummies ... sixteen of them are my own performing characters, the others are vintage museum quality stuff.”

These days … Ronn Lucas is enjoying being able to perform for people from all over the country and yet never having to travel far from home to do it. After spending years in the business traveling from city to city performing … now his audiences come from all over the country and gather together to enjoy him and an afternoon of laughter, fun and letting their imaginations run wild. “It’s nice to be in a house and have all my stuff laid out. You know, all my life home for me was wherever I plugged in my waterpick. It’s nice to actually have some stability.”

When Ronn Lucas' Vegas show at the Rio is over and he walks off stage Scorch and Bronco Billy don't return with him to his office because their work isn't over … it's only half over. “I’m so pumped up on my own adrenaline that if I go home I’m bouncing off the walls,” says Lucas of the time immediately following taking his bows and leaving the stage. So instead Lucas does an autograph session after each show. “If I can use this energy just to make friends with people,” continues Lucas, who feels word of mouth is the best advertising, anyway. “I will spend almost as much time signing as I do performing. I’m on stage about an hour and forty-five minutes and I’ll spend almost an hour and a half signing and talking to people. They line up patiently and diligently and just chat. I get to meet and greet everybody and I really enjoy that. It helps me wind down.”

Fans can find more information on Ronn Lucas by visiting RonnLucas.org
Corporations, Agents, Producers, Press& Media … for bio, presskit and more visit RonnLucas.com

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