Interview With David Pendleton - Part 7

Today, David shares the tale of how he came to own a McElroy figure. It is one of my favorite stories of a ventriloquist and a figure coming together!

Video Transcript:

Now you have a McElroy figure.

I do, yes. And it’s a pretty interesting story.

I’ve been a McElroy fan for years and years, like so many ventriloquists. The first time I saw a McElroy figure was when I went to the Vent Haven Museum. I was 11 or 12 years old at the time, and back then they were a little more relaxed about actually letting people handle the figures.

When I went to Vent Haven, I had no idea how to find someone to build a professional ventriloquist figure. I was still interested enough in ventriloquism to want to make the step from using a toy—one of those with the string in the back of the neck—to a real professional figure. One of my hopes was to find at least a list of who I could contact to have something like that made.

At the museum, of course, they had McElroys. And as an 11-year-old kid, I was totally captivated. I asked, “How do you get one of those?” And they said, “Well, the McElroys don’t make these anymore, and you—and dozens of other ventriloquists—would love to get your hands on one.”

So that was the backstory of my interest in McElroy figures.

Fast forward to 2001. I was doing a show at a church for a singles-again ministry. After the show, a woman came up to me and told me that her grandfather had been a ventriloquist, and she now had the figure he used in his act.

Of course, I wasn’t thinking this might possibly be an original McElroy. But I got to talking with her and asked, “Do you know anything about who made the figure?” She said, “I think my father said it was made by a couple of brothers in Ohio or something like that.”

I thought, “No way. There’s just no way.” So I asked her a few more questions: “Does it have lots of moving parts? Does the hair pop up, the tongue stick out, the ears wiggle?” She said, “Yeah, it has all that.”

At that point I thought, “Okay, this sounds like a McElroy.” And I said to her, “If that is a McElroy figure, I may very well wet my pants if I have the opportunity to see it. You also need to know these are incredibly rare and valuable.” I was very upfront about that.

I didn’t even know if she was interested in selling it. But it sounded like she might be, because she said, “It’s just sitting around my house, nobody’s doing anything with it, so if you’re interested…”

Naturally, I was very interested. But I also told her, “If it’s a McElroy, I probably can’t afford to pay you what it’s worth. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’d love to take a look at it, and if it is a McElroy, I’ll know right away.”

The next day I went to her house. She had it sitting out on the sofa. I walked in, saw it, and—this is a little embarrassing—but I actually started to cry. I was just so blown away that she had a McElroy and that I had the chance to perhaps acquire it.

We had a conversation about its value, and she said, “No, I think it would be really great for you to have him.” I told her, “I could probably get you in contact with David Copperfield. He’d be very interested and pay you top dollar.” But she said, “The reason I’d want you to have him is because I think it would be great to see him back in performance.”

I said, “Of course. That’s why these things were built. Not only would I perform with him, but you can be sure I’d treasure him.”

Then she told me, “As I was driving home last night after our conversation, I distinctly believe that God spoke to me and told me he’s been saving this guy for you.”

Well, then I was just a mess. Totally blown away by her kindness and those words.

Naturally, I wanted to pay her something. And I did—at least for me, it was a substantial amount of money. She was willing to accept what I could offer. And that’s how I acquired that McElroy figure.

(To see that figure on David’s website and in his videos, click here.)

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