No matter what I do he comes back with a joke. “It looks like he is looking at you his tongue sticks out he can wiggle his ears, and his head spins around. “He is a state of the art character with glass eyes, real artificial eyes but too big to fit in a person,” Gandelman says. “I hate when food repeats on me,” Gandelman deadpans.Ī talking pizzas, a big bear with a surprisingly squeaky voice, an elephant, and others are what might be described as supporting actors in shows in which John Raven stars. Instead, they serve up a diet of puns and jokes in fast-moving dialogue that both children and adults can enjoy.Īt a show for a Jewish school, for example, John Raven says he’s just heard about a kosher hamburger at McDonald’s.Ī “kosher hamburger at McDonald’s?” Gandelman repeats, somewhat incredulously.Īt another point the Talking Pizza may surface. He, John Raven, and other dummies stay away from political and religious controversies. Their humor is intended for family consumption. His main character, John Raven, is a “typical cheeky boy,” who constantly seems to best Gandelman in conversation. Gandelman’s own self-deprecatory brand of humor plays off his short stature – he stands 5’1 – and his seeming naiveté. He’d never admit to being older than 39, and he could squeeze a dollar so hard he could make its portrait of George Washington gasp. On stage, Benny would pretend to be vain and cheap. Fellow comedians have suggested that as a boy Gandelman might have been imprinted by Jack Benny, who used to gently make fun of himself. They don’t talk much to him, unless he prompts them, but once they’re on stage together, they will have plenty to say. Whenever he travels, Gandelman brings along his companions – dummies, puppets, a genie’s head in a box, even a talking pizza. He remembers wondering what makes a full moon over Iowa seem so much bigger than anywhere else. If he’d rather take a mental break from work, Gandelman says, he can scan the passing scenery. Then, if he’s incorporating new material into the act, he may practice his routine as he drives along. Occasionally, he will hear a joke on a Sirius comedy channel that can be reworked into some new shtick for his own show. He writes most of his own material, or purchases jokes from other professionals, and never knowingly uses material that any other ventriloquist uses. Now in his mid-60’s but looking far younger, Gandelman recognizes the dangers of a life style that is too sedentary. Like most ventriloquists, Gandelman typically sits during a stage performance, so you can understand why the man craves exercise. All that driving means a lot of time sitting behind the wheel. An inveterate user of the Internet-both as an author and a reader-he scours listings for restaurants that serve healthy food he looks for motels that will offer him a good ‘frequent traveler’ rate and he tries to find health clubs with swimming pools in which he can keep in shape by doing laps. Gandelman carefully maps his trips in advance. On one national tour that stretched over eight months, he and his dummy friends performed at 260 schools. SAN DIEGO – It would be difficult to say whether ventriloquist Joe Gandelman spends more time in his San Diego condominium or in his car driving to gigs at schools, fairs, senior homes, and private parties across the United States.
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