Jerry Mahoney Ventriloquist Puppet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Ventriloquist dummy Jerry Mahoney, created by Paul Winchell around 1938. This is the first of many "Jerrys" which the puppeteer used over the course of his decades-long career as a performer on stage and screen. This original Jerry is made of wood and was sculpted by Frank Marshall; he has a detachable carved wooden head and is dressed in a red sport coat and a bow tie.

Ventriloquist Dr. Paul Winchell and his puppets, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff, were popular acts from 1938 through the 1980s, appearing on stage in variety acts, in their own television show, "The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show," and in guest appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and other variety programs. Jerry’s wise-cracking, outspoken persona would exasperate straight man partner Winchell in comical songs, skits, and quiz segments on these programs.

In addition to his ventriloquist skills, Winchell was an inventor and holds a patent on an early version of the artificial heart. He was also a well known voiceover actor for children's movies and television shows. One of his most memorable characters included acting as the voice of Tigger in the Disney movie, "Winnie the Pooh" for which he received a Grammy award.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1938
• user: Winchell, Paul
• maker: Marshall, Frank
• maker: Winchell, Dr. Paul
• Object Name: puppet
• Physical Description: gesso (overall material)
• Physical Description: paint (overall material)
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Physical Description: hair (overall material)
• Physical Description: fabric (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 43 in x 20 in x 6 1/2 in; 109.22 cm x 50.8 cm x 16.51 cm
• place made: United States: Illinois, Chicago
• general subject association: Puppetry
• Subject: Television broadcasts
• Subject: Radio and television broadcasting
• Subject: Children's television programs
• general subject association: Television
• ID Number: 1981.0395.01
• catalog number: 1981.0395.01
• accession number: 1981.0395
• Credit Line: Dr. Paul Winchell
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.