The Best Kept Secret in Magic
  • The Ventriloquist - Limited Edition Book by Red Skelton
Found a few more in a box in my workshop...

          Here's a wonderfully poignant short novel by one of the most beloved "clowns" on  the 20th century.... Red Skelton.

         A vaudevillian named Charlie Kay comes to a small town in the Midwest four days before Christmas. He's nearing the end of his career, as according to the story, ventriloquism is nearing the end of its popularity (the horror!), and vaudeville's days are numbered. Plus, the theaters have gotten smaller and their managers cheaper. This was a world that Skelton himself knew all too well. Charlie has a good heart but the brain of a con man. He meets a young female acrobat, who has tired of theater life and rather quickly falls for him.  Charlie eventually manages to save a life and make himself reasonably affluent without actually harming anybody. It's a sweet story and Skelton manages to throw in the occasional comic line, delivered by his protagonist in a manner where it reads naturally.
        This would have made a great hour-long black-and-white Christmas special back in the day...assuming, of course, that Skelton himself starred in it!

        The book is new old stock.  Mint condition. 1984 first (only) edition hardcover. Limited edition of 5000 copies worldwide. Measures 6" x 9-1/4"; 57pp.

$12.95

PLEASE NOTE - If you are not ordering for U.S. delivery, you MUST contact me BEFORE ordering to determine shipping options and rates.  The flat rate postage fee DOES NOT APPLY to orders shipped OUTSIDE the United States.  Simply send me a list of the items you wish to order and I'll get back to you with the shipping options and rates.  Once you decide how you'd like the order shipped, I can send a PayPal invoice directly to you (or we can work out other payment arrangements, if necessary).  Thank you!

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The Ventriloquist - Limited Edition Book by Red Skelton

  • Product Code: TVbRS - 7
  • Availability: 8
  • $12.95

  • Ex Tax: $12.95

Tags: ventriloquist, comedy, ventriloquism, skelton, vaudeville