Kevin Johnson (ventriloquist)
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Kevin Johnson (born June 7, 1970) is a ventriloquist, comedian, and magician who, along with his "fine feathered friends" Clyde and Matilda, has entertained many people. Johnson currently performs every Wednesday at the Welk Resorts Theater in Escondido, California. Johnson is married and lives in nearby Temecula with his wife Cherie and their three children.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Colorado, Kevin has been a ventriloquist nearly all his life. It all started when he was 9 years old, after his parents gave him his first pull-string dummy for Christmas. Having no formal training, he taught himself the art of ventriloquism over a 4 year period. He developed his technique from a parrot. It intrigued him that parrots could speak so clearly without the use of lips. So he re-learned how to speak all together with the use of his tongue and his throat.
Kevin was introduced to the stage by his grandfather Harley Noles, who performed magic shows throughout Colorado. He told Kevin, “If you get good enough, you can open for my show.” At the age of 13, he opened for his grandfather with a 5 minute act with a wooden puppet (Raymond), that his grandfather made for him.
A new character has recently been added to Kevin’s show as a tribute to his grandfather, right down to his name, Harley.
Kevin is mostly recognized from his 2006 appearance on NBC’s primetime show America's Got Talent. More than 18 million viewers were amazed by his “Godzilla Theater” and Simon Cowell told Kevin, “America loves you.”
In February 2007, Kevin achieved one of his lifelong goals when he appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.
He recently finished a nine year run at San Diego’s Legoland California Theme Park where he performed 8,824 shows. He is currently performing during the Summer Nights at Busch Gardens Tampa.
Legoland California nominated him for the Big E Awards through IAAPA and won the honor of “Best Male Performer” in 2004 and 2006. Kevin is the only performer to be recognized twice. IAAPA is the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, and includes attractions from over 90 countries.
From corporate events to cruise ships, Kevin has always been known for his “clean comedy” and is loved and appreciated by audiences of all ages.
[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
During his college days, Johnson taught and entertained youth at a local church where he found a receptive audience for his humor. Upon graduation from college in El Cajon, California, 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 was 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 Tuesday 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. He had developed a different version of his performance specifically for the semi-finals, in which he also exchanges voices with his puppets and simulates echos, but 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] Aboard the Disney Magic
Starting in 2008, Johnson has started doing shows on board the Disney Cruise Line ship, "The Disney Magic." These shows last about 45 minutes and feature Clyde and Matilda, along with another puppet that is much more human like, whose name is Harley, and still very cartoonish.
