| Señor Wences | |
|---|---|
Wences in 1935 with an early version of Johnny. |
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| Born | Wenceslao Moreno April 17, 1896 Peñaranda de Bracamonte, Salamanca, Spain |
| Died | April 20, 1999 (aged 103) New York City, New York |
| Cause of death | Natural causes |
| Known for | Ventriloquism |
| Spouse | Esperanza Martin (1902–83), Natalie Cover (1917–2005) |
Wenceslao Moreno (April 17, 1896 – April 20, 1999),[1] better known as Señor Wences, was a Spanish ventriloquist. His popularity grew with his frequent appearances on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950s and 1960s.[2]
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Wences was born in Peñaranda de Bracamonte, Salamanca, Spain.[3] His father was Antonio Moreno Ross, artist, and his mother was Josefa Centeno Lavera, both from Salamanca. His name Wenceslao is of Czech origin (Václav) meaning "victorious". As a newborn, his family was so destitute that his birth certificate was three days late being filed.[4] (This has led to some confusion regarding Moreno's age at death.)
Wences was known for his speed, skill, and grace as a ventriloquist. His stable of characters included Johnny, a childlike face drawn on Wences' hand, which he would place atop an otherwise headless doll and with whom Wences conversed while switching his voices between Johnny's falsetto and his own voice at amazing speed. Wences would create Johnny's face on stage to open his act, placing his thumb next to, and in front of, his bent first finger; the first finger would be the upper lip, and the thumb the lower lip. He used lipstick to draw the lips onto the respective fingers and then drew eyes onto the upper part of the first finger, finishing the effect with a tiny long-haired wig on top of his hand. Flexing the thumb would move the "lips".
Another popular Wences character was the gruff-voiced Pedro, a disembodied head in a box. Wences was forced to suddenly invent the character when his regular, full-sized dummy was destroyed[2] during a 1936 train accident en route to Chicago.[3][5] Pedro would either "speak" from within the closed box, or speak with moving lips – simply growling, "s'awright" ("it's all right") – when Wences opened the box's front panel with his free hand. A large part of Wences' comedy lay in the well-timed, high-speed exchange of words between himself and his creations, and in the difference in their voice pitches.
Part of Wences's act involved the ventriloquist throwing his voice while his mouth was otherwise engaged (smoking or drinking). Another favorite prop was a telephone, with Wences playing both sides of a telephone conversation. For the "caller" he simulated a "filtered" voice as it would sound over a telephone wire. This voice always began a conversation with a shouted "Moreno?" (Wences's true surname), with Wences in person patiently explaining, "No, Moreno is not here."
Wences usually built to a big finish that combined ventriloquism with juggling and plate-spinning. As Wences performed his routines, Pedro and Johnny mercilessly heckled him with flawless comedic timing.
Although he was an international favorite for decades, his main career was made in the United States, where he arrived in 1934[2][3] or 1935.[5] In addition to live performances at nightclubs, he appeared regularly on TV variety shows, especially his 48 frequent appearances on CBS's Ed Sullivan Show;[5] on Broadway; in Las Vegas casino theatres; and in feature films.[3] Much later in his career he was introduced to a new generation of fans on The Muppet Show. His last TV appearance was on The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show, #2, a retrospective in which nonagenarian Wences talked about "Suliban" and performed a brief spot of ventriloquism.
Wences pronounced his name the traditional Castilian way, which in English sounds like "WEN-thess". After Sullivan would announce him saying his name as "Señor Wen-sess", the ventriloquist would subtly correct Sullivan's pronunciation by announcing himself to the audience: "Hello, I am Señor Wen-thess".
In the early 1980s, a Tri-State Honda dealer's commercial featured Señor Wences with Johnny. Pedro's "s'awright" was a voice from the tricked out glovebox. Señor Wences would point out all of the car's features to which Johnny would reply, "Nice!" This may have been Señor Wences final commercial appearance. It was shot in Puerto Rico because its star declined to travel to New York.
One of Wences's trademark bits of shtick (referenced several times below) involves his dialogue with a low voice emanating from inside a box. At the opening of the dialogue he would shout, "Hello in the box!" At the conclusion of the dialogue, he would open the lid of the box and ask "S'awright?" ("It's all right?") and the box voice would answer "S'awriiight!"
Another involved explaining to his hand puppet Johnny that something was easy (or difficult) to do, to which the puppet would reply the contrary, such as, "Easy for you, for me ees very deefeecult!" in his Spanish accent.[5][3]
These catchphrases were incorporated into a record Wences released in 1959 by Joy Records, featuring the songs "S-All Right? S-All Right" and "Deefeecult For You – Easy For Me".
Wences received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the US National Comedy Hall of Fame in 1996.[5]
Despite his retirement by age 100, Wences' famous puppets Johnny and Pedro "continued working". Ventriloquist Michele LaFong performed at Wences' 100th birthday celebration at New York's Friars Club (where he was made a lifetime member[4]), and he was so impressed that he befriended LaFong.[6] Not only did he give her his puppets,[3] but also taught her how to perform his classic routines.[7] Las Vegas headliner LaFong is the only ventriloquist authorized by the Wences Estate to perform Johnny and Pedro, plus Wences' routines.
Wences died just after his 103rd birthday.[1] He had been residing in New York City's Upper West Side[4] on 54th Street, just around the corner from the Ed Sullivan Theater. That section of 54th Street has been named Señor Wences Way.[5] His portrait can be seen at the Players Club in New York.
Wences married Esperanza Martin (1902–1983); for her he named Johnny as "Johnny Martin". His second and last wife, Natalie Cover, née Eisler (1917–2005) was also his manager. His first wife was born in North Africa, and the second was born in Russia. His nephew José Luis Moreno and brother Felipe Moreno were also ventriloquists. Wences has a a son in Chile and a granddaughter Marcela Moreno in the US.