When it comes to talent shows, most of the acts are dominated by singers and dancers who are highly talented and can sweep the audience off their feet. Rarely do we see other acts become as famous as a moving rendition of a well-known song, or an electrifying dance routine that can get your feet tapping along to the music.
However, talent comes in many forms, and shows like “America’s Got Talent” bring out the very best of the best in other types of talent, such as magic, stand-up comedy, and sometimes even live art! One of these forms is ventriloquism, which has recently started becoming more well-known thanks to the reality talent shows that give it a national platform.
Incredibly, three people who have won past seasons of the highly acclaimed “America’s Got Talent” have been ventriloquists! For such a rare talent to be so entertaining is amazing to see. It isn’t very easy to constantly find new ways to keep audiences’ attention when doing a bit with a puppet, which Paul Zerdin knew so he went above and beyond and blew everyone away with his act.
Even today there isn’t a ventriloquist that could compete with Paul Zerdin’s act during the quarterfinals of America’s Got Talent in 2015. During the tenth season of the show, Paul quickly and effortlessly won over the hearts of every judge with his amazing performance. Once you see his incredible routine you will see why he had become a headliner on the famous Las Vegas Strip ever after the season ended!
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video 🙂
The video starts off as any ordinary ventriloquist act would: with Zerdin’s hand controlling his puppet for the act. Zerdin greets the audience members and tells them that unfortunately, he’s had an argument with his puppet. The puppet, whose name is Sam and whose character seems like that of a rude adolescent, responds fiercely with his body language, choosing to look away from Zerdin and refusing to talk. The two begin to then bicker about who started the argument, and Zerdin attempts to put a stop to the argument by telling Sam, “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t even talk!”
However, Sam doesn’t miss a beat and says, “Yeah, well, if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t eat!”
Zerdin then threatens Sam, telling him that any more quips from him will only lead Zerdin to get a new dummy. The cheeky Sam has a great retort, however; “Howie, you’re wanted!” he says in a sing-songy voice to Howie Mandel. He then scolds Sam that he will soon go back in the bag he came from if he doesn’t behave, which only fuels the fire for Sam.
In the middle of their continued argument, Sam sees that there are audience members in the balcony seats and bluntly tells them to “Jump!” By then, Zerdin, tired of the puppet’s impoliteness, thursts him away into the bag but they still continue to bicker. As a punishment, Zerdin tells Sam that the stage will be his if he thinks he can do better — his plan is to leave Sam alone without any control to make a fool of himself.
Before storming off the stage, Zerdin props Sam up on the wooden stool, seemingly sure that the puppet would never be able to do anything without him. On the stage, we only see the limp puppet hanging on the stool, wondering what will happen next. After a few seconds, the impossible happens — Sam comes back to life with no external control at all! “Is he gone?” he asks as his head pops up.
By this time, the audience and the judges are baffled and blown away by the act. How often is it that a puppet comes to life like this? Sam retains his rude personality through his own act, which is cheeky, brash, and worth a watch!
Soon after, Zerdin is back on stage, and Sam, seeing his return, flops back into a lifeless puppet once again.
“Ladies and gentle, please don’t get caught up in the world of make-believe. He is, after all, just a puppet,” Zerdin reminds everyone.
His act was met with really high approval ratings and brought him to the semi-final stage of season 10. In fact, Paul Zerdin ended up winning the entire season with his consistently innovative performances!
After his win, Zerdin had a headline show in Las Vegas, which was part of his winnings. He was to start his residency show at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in April 2016. Since then, he has also provided live shows across the world, where he has continued to capture hearts with his creative performances. His quarterfinal act remains a fan favorite among “America’s Got Talent” fans even today.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Zerdin revealed more about his love for performing. He says it started with one simple act during a high school talent show. “I entered a school talent competition when I was 15, and most people did something like poetry or tap dancing, but I levitated my sister,” Zerdin said. “I just blew them away, and from that moment on, I remember the next day in the dining hall when I was going to my lunch I could hear people saying, ‘That guy can do magic.'”
The trill of magic followed him as he became an adult, but his passion for ventriloquism was never far behind. The love for puppets didn’t come out of thin air, either. “I was 9 or 10 years old, and I had always been a massive fan of puppets, in particular, “Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show” and all those Muppet characters,” he told interviewers.
He decided to incorporate his love of both by including puppets in his already existing magic act, which he had taken on as a career soon after he left school. “I introduced the puppet character into my magic show and started doing magic with the puppets, and I eventually stopped doing magic and carried on with the puppets and the stand-up over the course of a few years,” he added. He spent years honing his ventriloquism skills as he performed to thousands around the country. But it wasn’t until he was a finalist in the 10th season of “America’s Got Talent” that he was given his big break! His performance is sure to blow you away:
