Frank Marshall

In the world of ventriloquism one person stands out. This was the guy you went to for a professionally made ventriloquist dummy. Without him we would have never seen the likes of Charlie McCarthy, Jerry Mahoney, or the canine spokesdog for NESTLES®, Farfel. This man was Frank Marshall. Born in Chicago, Illinois March 9, 1900, he grew up loving puppets and ventriloquism dummies. Due to polio that nearly crippled him, he took to wood carving as a hobby. As time went on Frank was carving dummy and puppet figures for his own entertainment. When he was around thirteen years of age his wood carving skills were good enough to land him a job at Theodore Mack and Son, a local furniture factory that also did wooden figures. Because the Macks knew of Franks skill at carving figures, when not working on furniture, Frank was given the job of carving figures whenever the task was needed. In 1922 Frank was given the job to make a dummy for a nineteen year old Mr. Berggren. This ventriloquist dummy would later become the famous Charlie McCarthy. Frank later bought the shop in 1927 when the original owner was retiring from the business. As television came into existence Frank had more jobs making ventriloquist dummies then furniture projects. Besides making the famed Charlie McCarthy dummy there were many other famous characters made by Frank Marshall. Paul Winchell's Jerry Mahoney. Jimmy Nelson's Danny O'Day and Farfel. Terry Bennett's Red Flannels, Rusty Hinges and Mr. Shoe. (shoes have tongues so they should talk). Once Frank appeared on the television show What's My Line? (1950) as a contestant. Jerry Lewis (1956) Occupation: "ventriloquist dummy maker". Paul Winchell was one of the panelists along with his Jerry Mahoney. This was the game show where the panel group were each blindfolded and had to figure out who the person is through a series of questions. Jerry Mahoney was even blindfolded too and figured out that it was Frank. The dummies that Frank made can still be seen. In the Smithsonian, you can view Jerry Mahoney. In the Chicago Museum of Broadcasting and Communications Charlie McCarthy is featured for public viewing. Danny O'Day, Farfel, Red Flannels, Rusty Hinges, and many many many more famed dummies can be seen at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Frank Marshall's wood carving skills created more that just wooden figures. He created ventriloquists. Frank past away in 1969.