Kevin Johnson (ventriloquist)

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Kevin Johnson and his feathered friends: Clyde and Matilda.
Kevin Johnson and his feathered friends: Clyde and Matilda.

Kevin Johnson (born June 7, 1970) is a ventriloquist, comedian and magician who, along with his "fine feathered friends" Clyde and Matilda, has entertained millions of people.[citation needed] Johnson currently performs at the Legoland California Playtown Theater daily and every Wednesday at the Lawrence Welk Resort at Escondido, California. Johnson is married and lives in nearby Vista with his wife Cherie and their two children.

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[edit] Biography

Born in Colorado, Johnson started the art of ventriloquism when he was nine years old. At first he started with a pull-string dummy he had gotten for Christmas. Having no experience with ventriloquism, Kevin taught himself the art over a four-year period. His second figure was given to him by his grandfather Harley Noles. The figure was named Raymond, however, Kevin has not used him since 1991 when an audience of children was frightened by the realism of the figure. After that, Kevin decided to go with "soft" and cartoonish figures instead.

[edit] Clyde and Matilda

In 1983, Johnson was introduced to Clyde the Buzzard in his native state of Colorado, and performed his first "real" show with his grandfather. Nearly 10 years later, in 1991, Kevin was introduced to Matilda the Cockatoo. After adding Matilda to Clyde to become a trio, he would astound audiences with unique and interesting gags.

[edit] Jobs

Johnson's daily schedule at Legoland California
Johnson's daily schedule at Legoland California

After graduating from college, Johnson started performing at the San Diego Zoo in 1994. Then, Johnson auditioned at Legoland California to pursue his art full time, and in February 1999, Johnson got the spot and is still performing three to four 20-minute shows each day at the Legoland Playtown Theater. In 2004 and 2006, Johnson was presented the "Best Male Performer" award from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).

Every Wednesday at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido, California, Johnson performs a 40 minute show alongside magician Anthony the Magic in the show entitled "The Comedy and Magic Show".

[edit] America's Got Talent

In June 2006, Johnson appeared on the NBC show America's Got Talent. He amazed the audience and the judges with his signature "Godzilla Theater" performance, during which his voice and the voices of his puppets are out of synchronization with their mouth movements. Although he developed an improved version of his performance specifically for the semi-finals, in which he also exchanges voices with his puppets and simulates echos, he didn't get enough audience votes to advance to the finals.

[edit] Ventriloquist Week

On February 12, 2007, Johnson performed on The Late Show with David Letterman's second Ventriloquist Week.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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