Terry Fator

Terry Wayne Fator is an American ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer.

Born in Dallas, Texas, he developed an interest in ventriloquism from a young age, developing both this and a talent for singing.

After initially performing with two bands, Fator eventually conducted solo performances, combining ventriloquism and singing with comedy.

He gained national recognition for his talent when he won the second season of America's Got Talent, which helped to boost his career.

His success led to him receiving a five-year multi-million dollar contract to headline shows in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fator got his start touring as the lead singer of the band "Freedom Jam" in 1987–88, produced by Young American Showcase, taking part in performances at over 200 high schools and middle schools across the United States and Canada, and averaging around three performances per school day.

In mid-1988, he became the lead singer for the showband 'Texas the Band', incorporating his puppet Walter T. Airedale into his shows.

The band dropped plans to sign to a major record label, when a representative from the brand asked Fator to sing in his own voice, upon noticing he sang songs by impersonating their original vocalists.

After leaving the band, Fator began doing solo acts that combined comedy and ventriloquism but struggled for several years to achieve success.

Alongside having to conduct events at fairs, sometimes suffering heat stroke when assigned to performing routines during hot afternoons, he suffered a setback in one performance when his show in a 1,000-seat theater was attended by only a single person.

Discouraged, Fator contemplated pursuing another career but was encouraged by his family not to give up.

This led to him expanding his routines to combine singing, ventriloquism and comedy, and sometimes conducting impersonation of notable singers such as Garth Brooks, Etta James, James Taylor, and Dean Martin.

Despite this, he remained less than optimistic to maintain a career as a ventriloquist, let alone achieve success:

"'It wasn't easy trying to keep going all these years, and by the time I was in my late 30s, I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen.'"

In 2005, he eventually included impersonations into his routines, when performing on "Friends in Low Places".

This decision ultimately proved effective, winning him critical reception from the audience and raising his hopes, with Fator revamping and rewriting his routines to accommodate the elements that made his performance a hit and continued to prove a success in future.

His success eventually landed him opportunities to perform at corporate functions for General Motors and AT&T, and serve as an opening act for Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Neal McCoy, and Styx.

On June 19, 2007, Fator made his first national appearance on America's Got Talent.

Speaking on the experience, he said, "Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would win that show ... Essentially I auditioned because the guy that was the ventriloquist the first season got on Late Show with David Letterman... So I figured I'd do three episodes like he did and end up on 'David Letterman'."

After winning the show, Fator actually had to turn the Letterman gig down fourteen times before his schedule was clear so he could appear.

"My schedule got so packed, and it broke my heart every time I had to turn him down," Fator said.

When Fator first came onstage, judge David Hasselhoff said, "Oh, no, a ventriloquist."

"I was thinking, there's no way I would win," Fator says.

"I gave myself zero percent [chance]."

From 2009 to 2020, he was the headliner at Mirage Las Vegas.

Since 2021, he performs regularly at New York-New York Hotel and Casino.

He has used his performances and talent to help contribute to charitable causes.

Fator is consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid comedians.

Terry Fator was born in Dallas, Texas.

Terry Fator says in his audio commentary of Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas (2009) that he went to college at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The beginning of Fator's ventriloquism career dates back to when he was in fifth grade.

While searching for a book for an assignment on Valentine's Day, he came across a book about ventriloquism titled, Ventriloquism for Fun and Profit, by Paul Winchell.

Fator checked out the book and started learning about ventriloquism.

A few weeks later, Fator purchased a Willie Talk dummy from Sears and soon won a $25 prize for a performance at a church picnic.

Fator got his first ventriloquism dummy when he was ten years old.

Throughout his childhood, Fator entertained family and friends with his ventriloquism and did impersonations of singers and actors.

Fator's mother saved up her money for three years and bought him his first puppet when he was 18 years old.

Fator says he found he had the ability to impersonate singers by practicing ventriloquism while driving his car.

"One of the reasons I learned how to sing as a ventriloquist was because I like singing in the car," Fator says.

"I’d see other people singing in the car, and they looked goofy, so I’d do it without moving my lips."