Dumbstruck

It all started with a toast at my wedding. My mother-in-law, who is extraordinarily shy, shocked our 200 friends and family when she held up her white-gloved hand, and it began to speak. Her lips didn't move, so it really looked like the white-gloved hand was delivering a toast. And it did so with humor, charm and grace. I know how hard it is for her to address a crowd in public. So for her to stand in front of all our friends and family, and move us to tears with essentially a sock puppet, well, this began my adventure into the world of ventriloquism.

It turns out ventriloquism is rising in popularity across America. It's hard to miss ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, whose YouTube channel views are in the hundreds of millions, and his "A Very Special Christmas Special" became Comedy Central's highest-rated comedy special ever. Jay Johnson, who starred as a ventriloquist in the '70's hit TV series Soap, recently won a Tony award for his autobiographical Broadway show, The Two and Only. Miss Arkansas and Miss America runner-up Elyse Eady's yodeling 'vent' act earned her an appearance on Letterman.

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