Ronn Lucas (born 1954) is an American

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...

and

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

Career

Lucas grew up in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

; retrieved 2013-05-28. and graduated from Eastwood High School in 1972.; retrieved 2013-05-28. By the time he was 10, Lucas could speak without moving his mouth.; retrieved 2013-05-28. He began his career performing at Saint Timothy's Lutheran church located in El Paso, Texas. At 21, he began touring the country. “I was hired by the Billy the Kid Clothing Company, which was big in El Paso at the time,” Lucas said. “They hired me to tour the country with a Billy the Kid puppet. Though that contract was only for a year, it reinforced Lucas’ dream of being in show business, an arena where he has excelled. In September 2004, he received a standing ovation on the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon and host Jerry Lewis said, “It doesn’t get any better than that.” In 2005, the Smothers Brothers presented Lucas with the Askins Achievement Award at the ninth annual Vegas Ventriloquist Festival. He has received many accolades for his work, including several titles as the best entertainer in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

. He has performed in numerous live shows and television performances. He first made the national scene by winning the Showtime cable network's national "Laff-Off" competition Lucas has headlined six separate stints in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

at five different hotels, most recently at

Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (formerly the Aladdin) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The property was previously the site of an earlier resort known as the Aladdin, w ...

, where his show was signed to a five-year deal in December 2006, but closed midway through 2007 for unknown reasons. His headlining stint prior to that was at the Rio Hotel. His show there ran from some time prior to 2003 until Fall 2006. He was the first ventriloquist in the history of Las Vegas to have a long-running show. Lucas has been a performer on CBS specials at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

for President Ronald Reagan, at

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...

for President Bill Clinton, and again at

for President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. He also performed at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

for

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Elizabeth. Some of his most frequently used puppets include Buffalo Billy, Chuck Roast, and Scorch, the latter who starred in his own sitcom '' Scorch''. He also has a routine in which he uses an audience member as a dummy.

Television

Lucas had his own U.K.

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

series for

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

entitled ''The Ronn Lucas Show'' (1990-1995) which lasted for five years. He was also a semi-regular on the 1990 revival of ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...

'' and the 1988 revival of ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sche ...

''. Lucas has also been a regular on sitcoms and variety shows, including '' Super Dave'', ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portra ...

'', ''

Silk Stalkings ''Silk Stalkings'' is an American crime drama television series that premiered on CBS on November 7, 1991, as part of the network's late-night ''Crimetime After Primetime'' programming package. Broadcast for two seasons until CBS ended the ''Crim ...

'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'', ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', along with appearances on ''

The Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, 1 ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ' ...

'', ''

America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on the Japanese variety show '' Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan''. The show feat ...

'', ''

Xuxa Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel ( ; ; born Maria da Graça Meneghel, 27 March 1963) is a Brazilian television host, film actress, singer, model, and businesswoman. Known as "Queen of Little Ones", Xuxa built the largest Latin American children's e ...

'', and ''

Circus of the Stars ''Circus of the Stars'' was an annual television special, broadcast by the CBS network in the United States, in which celebrities performed circus-type acts. With 19 shows in total, the first was broadcast in 1977 and the last was in 1994. Ove ...

''. Lucas released a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

of the Disney Channel special ''Who's In Charge Here?''

Works

Lucas co-authored the book "''Better Living Through Ventriloquism": How to Say What You Shouldn't And Get What You Want''.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Ronn 1954 births American male comedians 21st-century American comedians Living people Ventriloquists

Career

Television

Works

References

Further reading

External links