I was 10 years old when I saw my first magic show.  At that moment, I knew I wanted to be a magician.  Since I had no magic tricks, I begged Santa Clause to give me a "magic set" for Christmas.   I was a very good boy that year, so Santa Clause granted me my Christmas wish.  Immediately, I had to ask my Dad for some help because the instructions were extremely difficult to read.  Then, after ten minutes of practice, I was ready to perform.  Honestly, my success with magic was not immediate. 

While watching the TV sitcom "Soap", Chuck (Jay Johnson) and Bob inspired me to become a ventriloquist.  Unfortunately, I was on the wrong "list" that year, and unable to ask Santa Clause for a puppet.  Therefore, drastic measures were required to purchase a puppet.  I found myself shoveling a lot of snow off driveways that winter.  But, after a lot of back breaking work, I purchased my first ventriloquist puppet.

My first major performance was with my cousin Gary (a clown) in Cincinnati Ohio, on Thanksgiving Day 1977.  The sequestered audience was packed into Grandma's sitting room, waiting for the dinner bell to ring.  The show was so successful, Gary and I were booked for the next 2 years for the annual pre-dinner "Thanksgiving Day Show".  

I began performing professionally as a magician and ventriloquist when I was 15.  As a senior in high school, I was approached by Kelly Girl's Inc to perform at both Children's Hospitals in the St. Louis area for St. Patrick's Day. Since the local news stations were invited, this opened the door to perform for other corporate and civic events.