Frank Marshall (puppeteer)

Frank Marshall
Born
Frank Marzalkiewicz

9 March 1900
Chicago, Illinois
DiedOctober 10, 1969(1969-10-10) (aged 69) Toronto, Canada
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPuppet designer
Years active1927–1969
EraVaudeville era

Frank Marshall (born Frank Marzalkiewicz on March 9, 1900; died October 10, 1969) was a professional ventriloquist dummy, marionette and Punch and Judy maker who created many of the most famous ventriloquist dummies used during the United States's vaudeville entertainment era through the Golden Age of Television. He is colloquially known as America's Geppetto.[1] Among his creations were Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff for ventriloquist Paul Winchell[2] (both known in Marshall's catalogue as "noseys" or "nosey style", a smart-aleck type character)[3] and Danny O'Day and Farfel the Dog for ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson.[4][5]

Some members of the ventriloquial community maintain that Marshall carved Charlie McCarthy for the famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen while working in Theodore Mack & Sons wood shop, though that is a matter of dispute.[6][7] However, Marshall's own catalog from 1931 indicated that Bergen did use a Marshall figure.[8]

  1. ^ Asbury, Kelly (2003). Dummy Days; America's Favorite Ventriloquists from Radio and Early TV. Angel City Press. p. 100. ISBN 1-883318-28-9.
  2. ^ "Jerry Mahoney Ventriloquist Puppet". Smithsonian Museum. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  3. ^ Marshall, Frank (1931). Puppets Ventriloquial Punch and Judy and Marionettes Catalog. Frank Marshall. p. 6.
  4. ^ Sandomir, Richard (27 September 2019). "Jimmy Nelson, Star of the Golden Age of Ventriloquism, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  5. ^ "The Untold Story of Nestlé's Farfel the Dog". Advertising Week. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Ventriloquist Howdy Reynolds and G-Man Joe on Kauai". The Garden Islan. The Garden Island, Kaua'is newspaper since 1901. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  7. ^ Asbury, Kelly (2003). Dummy Days; America's Favorite Ventriloquists from Radio and Early TV. Angel City Press. p. 100. ISBN 1-883318-28-9.
  8. ^ Marshall, Frank (1931). Puppets Ventriloquial Punch and Judy and Marionettes Catalog. Frank Marshall. p. 2.