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All the United States Kentucky Fort Mitchell Vent Haven Museum

Vent Haven Museum

A museum that houses the world's largest collection of ventriloquism dummies.

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky

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glitterbee
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Vent Haven Museum   5chw4r7z / CC BY-SA 2.0
Vent Haven Museum   5chw4r7z / CC BY-SA 2.0
The Vent Haven Museum.   5chW4r7z
A placard introduces each figure.   5chW4r7z
Famous ventriloquists.   5chW4r7z
Antique dummy heads.   5chW4r7z
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About

On December 12, 1937, Mae West described ventriloquism pioneer Edgar Bergen's famous dummy Charlie McCarthy, as being "all wood and a yard long" and complained that she had gotten splinters from him the night before. She was banned from NBC radio for 12 years. 

A replica of that racy dummy–in a top hat, tux, and monocle–is one of hundreds at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. It is perhaps the only place in the world where you can walk into a room and see rows and rows of ventriloquist figures sitting in chairs, all with their signature trigger-operated mouths and heavy lidded rolling eyes. 

Vent Haven was born from the collection of William Shakespeare Berger (1878 - 1972), a Cincinnati area businessman, as well as the former president of the International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists ("vent" is slang for the profession). Berger spent six decades collecting ventriloquism ephemera, some of it incredibly rare. The collection now numbers over 900. The museum's mission is twofold: to catalogue the history of this art form and to keep it alive. Every July, the museum hosts a "ConVENTion" attended by over 600 ventriloquists to hone their craft, see performances, and of course, laugh.

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Puppets Museums Collections Dolls

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Vent Haven Museum is currently only open by appointment. Check the website for information about scheduling a visit.

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Added By

glitterbee

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson, Michelle Cassidy

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

May 15, 2010

Updated

September 13, 2023

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Sources
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/arts/design/22private.html
  • https://www.flickr.com/photos/prblog/albums/72157631603585998
Vent Haven Museum
33 West Maple Avenue
Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, 41011
United States
39.053017, -84.55194
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

Covington, Kentucky

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Kentucky

Kentucky

United States

Places 84
Stories 11

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Covington, Kentucky

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Photo of Kentucky

Kentucky

United States

Places 84
Stories 11

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