HAHIRA —
Cole Tucker is a young man of many voices — and he doesn’t have to move his lips to speak any of them.
The 10-year-old rising Hahira Elementary School fifth-grader is a self-taught ventriloquist who has caught the attention of one of the most famous ventriloquists in the nation.
Cole and his parents, Mickey and Amy Tucker, will meet ventriloquists from across the United States and from around the world later this month during the Vent Haven ventriloquist convention in Kentucky.
The trip is part of Cole’s winning a nationwide ventriloquism scholarship sponsored by Terry Fator. Rising to national prominence during his championship season on television’s “America’s Got Talent,” Fator has become a multi-millionaire with his subsequent Las Vegas act that includes several colorful puppet characters, songs and comedy.
Fator also inspired Cole to try his hand at ventriloquism. About three years ago, Cole saw a Fator DVD and was transfixed. He received a copy of the DVD and studied it. He practiced speaking without moving his lips, singing without moving his lips, throwing his voice and all of the skills to be a
successful ventriloquist.
For a subsequent birthday, Cole received a puppet and then more puppets. Cole has four puppets. One is a replica of the top-hatted Charlie McCarthy made famous by the late Edgar Bergen.
Another is a sunglass-wearing dog Snoopy. Sonny is a country puppet in bib-overalls. Sally is a yellow snail.
Cole has created personalities for each puppet. Snoopy is a soulful pup. Sonny is country-bred, singing Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” Sally is sassy, singing Etta James’ “At Last.” Cole’s lips never move as he hits all the right notes for each song while simultaneously adopting a different singing style for each character.
Recently, he’s performed live in some local venues, such as a recent appearance at Boggs Music Hall as well as the YouTube recording his family posted for the Terry Fator scholarship contest. Cole competed with about 40 children and adults. The two scholarship winners were determined by the number of votes and Fator’s choice.
As a winner of the competition, Cole receives a $2,000 scholarship, a trip for two to the ventriloquist convention, $350 toward the creation of an original puppet by famed puppet maker Steve Axtell.
And Cole may get the opportunity to meet the man who inspired his love for ventriloquism — Terry Fator, though such a meeting is not part of the scholarship package. But if they do meet one another, Cole Tucker will likely have much to say to Fator ... without ever having to move his lips.
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