_{Gary Koepke was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 9, 1957. Some of his earliest memories are of Jimmy Nelson with "Danny O'Day" and "Farfel" performing commercials for Nestle's Quick. His parents resisted purchasing a Jerry Mahoney figure that he wanted for Christmas at the age of 4 saying that it wasn't something he was ready for and maybe when he got older.}

_{At the age of 8, Gary saw Edgar Bergen give some tips on becoming a ventriloquist on a local TV show while he was performing in Detroit and he began practicing using a homemade hand puppet. At that time he also discovered Paul Winchell's book "Ventriloquism For Fun And Profit" in the local library and faithfully watched the "Ed Sullivan Show" looking for more vents. On the Sullivan Show he saw Senor Wences, Jay Marshall, Russ Lewis, and many more top notch vents. For Christmas that year Gary finally received a stuffed-bodied "Danny O'Day" figure which was purchased from Sears.}

_{In 1969 at the age of 11, realizing the inadequacy of the stuffed-bodied figure, Gary began inquiring about used professional vent figures. He found a hand-carved figure made by the late Jack Coats in a local magic shop, put a deposit down, and borrowed the money from his parents to pay off the balance.}

_{In 1970, Gary met other ventriloquists for the first time when he attended the Vent-O-Rama in Colon, Michigan which was held in conjunction with the Abbott's Magic Get-Together. Paul Stadleman, Howie Olson, Bill Boley, and Jack Coats all gave him valuable advice and encouragement. Gary won the junior ventriloquist contests in 1971, 1972, and in 1973 as well as the originality award in 1971.}

_{Gary was relocated to Lawrenceville, Georgia in 1974 when his father was transferred with his company. He began performing in his new high school and became friends with another student named Steve Whitmire, now of the "Muppets" fame. They performed together and learned from each other.}

_{The summer of 1975 found Gary performing at the 'Six Flags Over Georgia' amusement park, 8 shows a day, 6 days a week. He also attended the 1st Annual Ventriloquist Convention in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky and performed during the opening evening's festivities.}

_{In 1978 - 1979 Gary, along with Steve Whitmire, co-hosted a local children's TV show and were nominated for a state Emmy award.}

_{In 1982, Gary was laid off from his job as a draftsman and began performing full-time doing club work with invaluable advice from Johnny Main. He continued this pursuit until 1984 when it was discovered that he was going to be a "pa-pa." He returned to working full-time, but kept his interest in vent alive on the side.}

_{Gary has performed for the Amoco Oil Corporation, Exxon Corporation, Motown Records, Chevrolet, Burnam Van Lines Corporation, Pratt & Whitney, the US Dept. of Agriculture, and other major corporations too numerous to mention.}

_{His main characters are Pete Brooks - a 20 year old looking for fun carved by the late Jack Coats, Roscoe Clower - a young country boy from Snellville originally made by Steve Whitmire, but redesigned and built by Verna Finley, and Paco - a Mexican parrot which is an adult sized version of Axtell's 'Burds' puppets. Also included in the figure 'arsenal' are Paul Brooks - Gary's first Coats figure which is an 8 year old boy, Sheldon - a Mary Ann Taylor turtle, Grandpa Jake - a John Arvites figure which was a door prize at the 1982 conVENTion in KY and subsequently purchased from Captain Dick, Georgie - a 19" Coats figure used for fun, Karlton - a talking glove character, and an Axtell magic drawing board which is being used to develop a variety of characters.}

_{Gary's newest hard character is a Conrad Hartz character purchased in May of 1997 which is named R.K. Hill. R.K. is a street person, but one with a difference. He has a job to go along with his IQ of 47. He took to the streets when the premiums were raised on the benefits at his county job. However, R.K.'s always up and his philosophy of life is life's always great!}

_{The year 1996 saw a renewed interest in performing for Gary when his daughter Amber also began performing as a ventriloquist and they attended the conVENTion in Kentucky. He and his wife Vanessa attended the 1st Ventriloquists' Convention in Las Vegas and Gary is a member of the International Ventriloquists' Association and the North American Association of Ventriloquists. He also has 3 younger children waiting in the wings who also have expressed a desire to learn ventriloquism themselves, making this truly a family affair.}

_{Gary's other hobbies include tinkering with figure making and repair, playing guitar and writing music, magic, and administrating S.O.D. - acronym for Speaking of Dummies which is a local vent club in Georgia.}

_{Gary is an active member of the Ventriloquists List on the Internet, and you can talk to him there.}

Return to Koepke & Company

Return to Gary Koepke's Home Page