Hands up if you love puppets
Vegas ventriloquist Terry Fator is coming to Lincoln City
Photo by Tory Kooyman
By Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
It was, to my recollection, my first time interviewing a turtle. Winston the Impersonating Turtle is just one of the many alter egos through which Terry Fator speaks, jokes and sings; his lips unmoving and face frozen into a slightly bemused grin.
One of the nation’s best known and beloved ventriloquists, Fator and his retinue of personality-packed puppets will bring the “Pure Imagination: Once Upon a Voice” tour to Chinook Winds Casino Resort this Saturday, March 7.
“Pure Imagination is a totally different concept than my road shows in the past,” Fator said. “I found that, throughout my life, my imagination had spawned countless characters, song parodies and comedy skits and I compiled them all together to give my audience a fun look into my creative psyche.”
The show features the classic characters Fator has created throughout the years: along with Winston will appear Country Star Walter T. Airdale; Apollo Theater legend Julius; perpetual slacker and stoner Duggie; Vikki the Cougar and the world’s greatest Elvis impersonator, Maynard Tompkins.
“I have ADD but I honestly believe that’s why I can do about 10 things at the same time,” Fator said. “It drives my poor wife crazy, but it's one of my superpowers on stage.”
A struggling comedian for years, even once performing in front of a single person in a space with seats for 1,000, Fator got his big break when he appeared on “America’s Got Talent” and wowed the crowd and judges with his act.
“To my knowledge, I’m the only one that can do this the way I do,” Fator said. “It's a surprise for people to see this chubby white guy singing songs made famous by amazing Black artists.”
Though he ended up winning that evening's competition, prior to his act, the cameras caught celebrity judge David Hasselhoff rolling his eyes and saying, “Oh no, another ventriloquist,”
“It was actually a set up by the other judges,” Fator said. “They knew going in that I was really good, but there are a lot of ventriloquists out there that, bless their hearts, are just not very good, and they put about five of them on before me. It was a pretty fun set up and now David and I are friends.”
The success of his two appearances on the show led to a headlining gig in Las Vegas for roughly five years.
“At the Vegas residency I performed hundreds of nights every year,” Fator said. “When I stopped last year, I finally finished a novel I had in my head for 20 years. And it has given me the time to go on the road and experience all these great cities, which both my wife and I love. I’m still going to be performing in Vegas, but just not as often.”
His success has given Fator confidence, but Winston has another word for it.
“He’s got a big ego,” the talkative turtle said. “He thinks he’s the one doing this. He doesn’t realize his entire career lives on the back of a turtle.”
Winston is one of Fator’s first characters and came to him early in his life.
“From the time I was a kid I started doing impressions,” he said. “I really got started because my family had a cleaning business, and we would have to help clean places like bank buildings. I hated it so much. I don’t like physical labor; I like mental labor. So, I would distract myself by writing jokes and practicing my ventriloquism. A ventriloquist is never lonely.”
Fator’s ADD also helps him find the bandwidth to run a charitable organization, the Terry Fator Foundation.
“I sell merchandise to support first responders and military, the children of fallen heroes and kids with cancer,” he said. “One hundred percent of the money I raise from sales on tour and online goes to the foundation.”
Though the Lincoln City stop is close to the end of the tour, Fator is still just as excited for this stop as he was for the first.
“This new show is the best rendition of a show I’ve ever put together and I think it’s from the break I took,” he said. “My creativity is at its peak now. I so look forward to the energy and excitement of the shows. I actually go out into the audience. Even if people that come have seen me before, they’re going to see something totally new.”
Saturday’s show begins at 7 pm at Chinook Winds Casino Resort, located 1777 NW 44th Street in Lincoln City. Ticket prices range from $40 to $60. For more information, go to chinookwindscasino.com or call 888-244-6665.