I woke up and half the mattress was gone

I was watching Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel (Gourd episode) and Mike Rowe was doing a ventriloquist impression with a gourd. It reminded me of my days with "Danny O'Day." Yes, I was a ventriloquist artist. (Sooner or later I'll do an entry on my unicycle riding.)

I think I got Danny for Christmas when I was about 8 years old. Somewhere in the Randle family photo albums there is a picture of me and Danny in our Northridge living room on Christmas morning -- in the red, holiday nightgown my mom made me. (Yes, a nightgown like out of some Charles Dickens novel.)

Danny came complete with a 33 RPM record with jokes to practice to help put your show together. The one I remember most is "I dreamed I was eating shredded wheat all night long... And when I woke up half the mattress was gone."

While searching for a photo I discovered they are still in production or sale.

I guess you could say I owe my entertainment career (and bad jokes) to Danny O'Day.