Dirk Golden

Overview

Dirk Golden appears almost exclusively in short, informally shot performance clips rather than in traditional press coverage, most of them hosted on The Dummy Blog and cross-linked through Ventriloquist Central's network of sites. The bulk of this footage shows him working as a strolling ventriloquist, moving through crowds and engaging bystanders rather than performing a fixed stage act, which is a different discipline from scripted club or theater ventriloquism.

He is listed among the "friends of Ventriloquist Central," a loose network of working vents, puppet builders, and hobbyists that the site promotes, placing him alongside figures like Rey Ortega and Christopher Donahoe rather than in the ranks of nationally touring performers.

Figures and Working Style

Golden's material spans a wide range of figures rather than a single signature character. Recorded clips show him working with Aleck Smart, a Conrad Hartz figure; Charlie and Uncle Eugene, both built by Selberg; and other named figures including Stanley, Wendell Wigglesworth, Clarence, Reginald the Rat, Link the Chimp, and Rocko, a mob-boss bulldog character used for comic musical bits like a parody rendition of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head." This breadth suggests a performer who treats different figures as vehicles for different bits and audiences rather than building a career around one dummy.

His documented strolling work — moving among fairgoers or convention attendees with a puppet rather than working a stage — places him in the walk-around tradition of ventriloquism, a style that depends more on quick improvisation and audience interaction than on a written act.

He also visited Steve Axtell's puppet-building workshop on more than one occasion, filming the visit, which points to an ongoing working relationship with Axtell Puppets as a source for his figures.

Community Connections

Golden's recorded appearances put him in contact with a number of other vents and puppet makers, including Rey Ortega, Corey Coleman, Christopher Donahoe, and John Savale, the last shown working with Conrad Hartz figures alongside him. He was also filmed visiting fellow performer Jim Adams. Together these clips sketch a performer embedded in the amateur and semi-professional convention scene rather than one with a solo national touring history.

Figures

• Aleck SmartConrad Hartz
• CharlieSelberg
• Uncle EugeneSelberg
• Stanley—
• Rocko—
• Wendell Wigglesworth—
• Reginald the Rat—
• Link the Chimp—
• Clarence—
• Horace Jay Worthington Red Wolf—

Timeline

• 2011 — Documented performing and appearing at a ventriloquist convention.
• 2012 — Filmed in the dealer room at a ventriloquist convention.
• 2013 — Performed at an open mic night at a ventriloquist convention.
• 2015 — Video collaborations with fellow performers, including Stanley Livingston, begin appearing on The Dummy Blog.

Watch

• Dirk Golden Interviews Stanley & Rey Ortega
• Dirk Golden with Corey Coleman

On video

47 performances cataloged in our archive. needs research: curate + embed the best 5–8; the rest 301 here