Gotta say, though, 103 years old is one hell of a run.
Well, I used to love Sr. Wences when he was on Ed Sullivan, but I was about 12 at the time. I didn’t care for “Johnny” much, but the surrealness of the head in the box was absolutely fascinating.
Thank you Otto! On my last calling card I called myself a Slinky Repairman and I have been wanting to update my profession.
I remember as a kid seeing Senor Wences on the Ed Sullivan Show and my parents thinking I would find it funny. I didn’t. Just like all kids are supposed to find clowns funny, I never liked them either. Too stupid for me, even as a kid and I always thought Senor W. was lame. I guess I was a prissy queen even as a 5 year old.
You have to remember, Mr. Blue Sky, it was a simpler time when Senor Wences and friends WERE a big deal on TV. He was on so often, that if you didn’t get him at first, and most people did, you eventually succumbed to the whip-pan style of humor. These were unusual “puppets”: head in a box, fist with wig and makeup, etc. Quite different from the other dummies [that all looked strangely similar] used by other ventriloquists. Something even more outre, Edgar Bergen was an even more phenomenally popular ventriloquist, and he was on RADIO!!! Home audiences were primed to enjoy guys talking to wooden parts, SW just took them a few steps further.