Vent Haven Museum and the Stoogeum

Vent Haven Museum When you hear a voice somewhere, it means there is a head somewhere also.  Unless, of course, the owner of said head is a ventriloquist.  Ventriloquism, or the art of projecting your voice so that it appears to come from somewhere else, is an art form that goes all the way back to Greek religious ceremonies. It enjoyed a revival in the 1800s, boomed in the mid-1900s, and still is an active part today of many different kinds of entertainment entertainment from traveling carnival shows to the TV show “America’s Got Talent.”  Today on Special Collections, we’ll visit the Vent Haven Museum in Kentucky, the one and only museum dedicated to ventriloquism. Museum website: www.venthaven.org The Stoogeum If we say the words Curly, Larry, and Moe, you will instantly know who those characters are—at least if you’re over 50: The Three Stooges.  Major players for decades in American comedy, The Three Stooges were constantly on television during their peak and had our country’s kids laughing hysterically at their physical comedy hijinks— at the same time their parents cringed at every eye poke, head butt, deliberate trip, and falling brick to the head.  Polite they were not.  The Stoogeum is a museum outside of Philadelphia that deals with all things Three Stooges.  We talk with the owner about his vast collection of Stoogeabilia and why the famous trio was so funny. Museum website: www.stoogeum.com