Terry Brown
Ron Blaskett has toured all over the world with Gerry Gee since teaming up with the dummy in 1956.
AFTER a dummy run of 76 years, Aussie TV's first and foremost ventriloquist, Ron Blaskett, is set to slam the lid on his showbiz career and on his 56-year-old wooden-headed sidekick, Gerry Gee (a Frank Marshall figure).
"I had to give up because Gerry Gee is starting to think I'm real," Blaskett, 90, joked yesterday.
"While I'm at the peak of performing, it is time to rule the line." A show in Knox next month will be the last of who-knows-how-many thousands for Ron and Gerry, who teamed up in 1956,
While Ron called it stumps in 1999, he was talked easily into a comeback by fond fans, and has ridden the nostalgia wave since then, working clubs and nursing homes. "At some of the homes, people who haven't spoken for years through dementia are suddenly talking to the doll," Ron says, smiling.
Ron now has almost as many artificial parts as Gerry and is thought to be the world's oldest working ventriloquist. "I'm nearly 91 and I've just had 10 solid years of darn hard work. I think I can retire now."
Wow, That is Really cool, Amazing and He is surly a beacon for other Vents to follow, Do you know wher I could get any D.V.D. s of his act. Bil
ReplyDeleteThere aren't any DVDs of Ron's work and sadly very little film is available online accept for some scant footage on YouTube. Ron did publish a very interesting book titled "You, Me and Gerry Gee" Ron has always been a bright soul and his personality will be surely missed.
ReplyDeleteI did find a couple on U tube, But not much, I liked what I saw, I'm comfused Because I found an Article where Ron sold Gerry Gee at Auction for $17,000 but the Article was a few years old, Did he have two Vents the same name?
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