Terry Fator
Terry Fator |
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Terry Fator, aka "The Human Jukebox" (born June 10, 1965), is a ventriloquist and impressionist from Mesquite, Texas. Fator is capable of doing over 100 ventriloquial impersonations,[1] and uses 16 different puppets in his act. He was the winner of Season 2 of America's Got Talent, and received the million dollar prize.[2]
Biography
Life before America's Got Talent
Terry Fator was born June 10, 1965 in Mesquite, Texas. His mother is Marie Sligh, a real estate agent. Marie Sligh's husband, David Sligh, is the uncle of Chris Sligh, an American Idol season 6 finalist.[1]
The beginning of Fator's ventriloquism career dates back to when he was in fifth grade. While searching for a book for an assignment on Valentine's Day, he came across a book about ventriloquism. Later, he purchased a Willie Talk dummy from Sears. Throughout his childhood, Fator entertained family and friends with his ventriloquism and did impersonations of singers and actors. When he was in sixth grade, he appeared on a popular children's show in Dallas called Peppermint Place. Peppermint Place starred "Mr. Peppermint" Jerry Haynes.
Fator got his start touring as the lead singer of a band called "Freedom Jam" in 1987-88, produced by Young American Showcase [1],([2]). They performed at over 200 high schools and middle schools across the United States, averaging three performances per school day. [3]
![[3]](http://youngamericanshowcase.com/files/freedom%20jam.jpg){kind=link}
In mid 1988, he was the lead singer of a show band called 'Texas the Band'[3] when he was 20, and incorporated his puppet Walter T. Airedale into his shows. Per the suggestion of his manager, Fator decided to join his two talents, ventriloquism and impersonations.[1]
America's Got Talent
On June 19, 2007, Fator made his first national appearance on America's Got Talent.
Appearances on America's Got Talent:
- Chicago auditions: His puppet Emma Taylor sang "At Last" impersonating Etta James.[4]
- Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not televised.
- Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Passed through.[5]
- Semifinals (Part 2): Performed "What a Wonderful World" with his turtle puppet Winston impersonating Kermit the Frog, and doing Louis Armstrong himself.[6][7]
- Top Ten episode: Performed "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole as a duet between himself and his puppet Emma Taylor.[8][9] On this episode, he expressed a desire to bring ventriloquism back to the mainstream and said he had in 2006 performed a show at a 1,000-seat theater, at which only one person (a 12-year-old boy) showed up, prompting him to almost quit.[8]
- The Final Eight: His puppet Johnny Vegas sang "That's Amore" impersonating Dean Martin and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" impersonating Tony Bennett.[10][11]
- The Final Four - Judge's Choice: His puppet Walter T Airdale sang "Friends in Low Places" impersonating Garth Brooks.[12][13]
- The Final Four - Contestant's Choice: His turtle puppet Winston sang "Crying" impersonating Roy Orbison.[12][14]
- Season Finale - Celebrity Duet: With guest Kermit the Frog, his puppet Johnny Vegas sang "You've Got a Friend", impersonating James Taylor.[2] Terry learned to do his James Taylor impression in only four days.[citation needed]
Life after America's Got Talent
It was announced on the show that in conjunction with winning, he was to appear at the Jubilee Theatre at Bally's. However, the spots were only going to be 15 minutes long, and in complete mutual cooperation with his management team and Bally's, the plan was dropped.[citation needed] Fator performed at Christian rock legend Larry Norman's 60th birthday party in April 2007.[15]
In May 2007, before appearing on America's Got Talent, Fator was performing at a fair near Houston, Texas and only one 12 year old boy was in the audience. Discouraged, Fator contemplated pursuing another career, but his family encouraged him to hang in there. Terry entered the America's Got Talent competition with the hope that the exposure if he made it to the Top 20 might help his career and cause people to want to attend his shows.
On September 3, 2007, Fator made a special appearance in the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, thanking the crowd for the support. His acts were a repeat of the acts he made on America's Got Talent. He brought back Emma Taylor to sing "At Last" and Winston the Turtle to sing "What a Wonderful World" again.
On October 14 and 15 2007, after winning America's Got Talent, Fator took the stage of the Las Vegas Hilton (formerly the International, the same stage that Elvis Presley performed on for many years. Both shows were sold out to standing room only. Another show was added for December 3 to satisfy the demand for tickets.
In early December 2007, Fator signed a contract for $1.5 million with the Las Vegas Hilton to do 3 shows a month from January 2008 to May 2008. Fator also performed a 6 p.m. early "family" "New Years Eve" show on December 31, 2007. Some Barry Manilow walk-ons are in the talking stage for early 2008.[citation needed]
On March 17, 2008, Fator appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show along with American Idol Judge Simon Cowell. To the amazement of Oprah, Cowell referred to Terry as one of the "two most talented people on the planet." Fator performed with three of his "dummies"; country singer Walter T. Airedale performed a Garth Brooks song and Winston, the impersonating Turtle sang a BeeGees song. But it was the performance of Fator's new sidekick, Julius, who wowed Oprah with a spot-on rendition of Marvin Gaye.
In 2007, Terry became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.[16]
Puppets
This is an incomplete list of the character names for the puppets that Terry Fator uses in his act.
- Walter T. Airedale
- Winston Turtle
- Julius
- Emma Taylor
- Johnny Vegas
References
- ^ a b c http://www.cedarcreekpilot.com/features/local_story_186120320.html Cedar Creek Pilot article
- ^ a b "Results". America's Got Talent. Season 2. Episode 12. 2007-08-21.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ Chase, Marilyn Johnson (October 15, 1989). "Texas lights fans' fire: Admirers flock from afar to hear `uncommon' band". Retrieved 2007-10-10.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Chicago auditions". America's Got Talent. Season 2. Episode 3. 2007-06-19.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Las Vegas Callbacks part 2". America's Got Talent. Season 2. Episode 6. 2007-07-11.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Semifinals, Part 2". America's Got Talent. Season 2. Episode 8. 2007-07-24.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/video/#mea=133032 Terry Fator in the semifinals
- ^ a b "Top Ten episode". America's Got Talent. Season 2. Episode 9. 2007-07-31.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/video/#mea=136548 Terry Fator in the Top Ten episode
- ^ "The Final Eight". America's Got Talent. Season 2. Episode 10. 2007-08-07.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/video/#mea=141006 Terry Fator in the Final Eight episode
- ^ a b "Finals". America's Got Talent. Season 2. Episode 11. 2007-08-14.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|episodelink=(help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/video/#mea=143856 Terry Fator's Judge's Choice performance in the Finals
- ^ http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/video/#mea=143857 Terry Fator's Contestant's Choice performance in the Finals
- ^ Terry's own MySpace blog from April 23rd 2007
- ^ "Celebrity Friends of RMHC". McDonald's Corporation.