Ronn Lucas

Early Life and Break Into Show Business

Ronn Lucas grew up in El Paso, Texas, and graduated from Eastwood High School in 1972. He developed the core ventriloquist skill of speaking without visible mouth movement by age 10, honing his act at Saint Timothy's Lutheran Church in El Paso.

At 21 he took his first professional touring job, hired by the Billy the Kid Clothing Company to travel the country performing with a puppet built around the brand. The contract lasted only a year, but it convinced Lucas that a career in entertainment was possible, and he pursued it in earnest afterward. His national breakthrough came when he won Showtime's "Laff-Off" competition, a win that helped establish him outside the regional club circuit.

Las Vegas and Television Work

Lucas became the first ventriloquist in Las Vegas history to hold a long-running headline show, ultimately performing six separate engagements across five hotels. His run at the Rio Hotel lasted for several years before closing in the fall of 2006, and he moved to Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on a five-year contract signed in December 2006, though that show closed only partway through 2007 for reasons the record does not specify. He was named best entertainer in Las Vegas on multiple occasions.

On television, Lucas fronted his own U.K. series, The Ronn Lucas Show, produced by Thames Television and running from 1990 to 1995. He was a semi-regular presence on the 1990 revival of Match Game and the 1988 revival of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and he made appearances across a wide range of American shows including Night Court, L.A. Law, Silk Stalkings, and Nip/Tuck, as well as late-night staples like The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman. One of his puppets, Scorch, briefly headlined a short-lived sitcom of the same name.

His career also included prestigious one-off bookings: a CBS special at the Kennedy Center for President Reagan, performances at Ford's Theatre for both President Clinton and President George W. Bush, and an appearance at the London Palladium for Queen Elizabeth. In September 2004 he received a standing ovation on the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, prompting host Jerry Lewis to remark that it did not get any better than that.

Figures

• Buffalo Billy—
• Chuck Roast—
• Scorch—

Timeline

• 1972 — Graduated from Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas.
• 1975 — Began touring nationally at age 21 with a Billy the Kid Clothing Company puppet.
• 1988 — Semi-regular on the revival of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
• 1990 — Semi-regular on the revival of Match Game; The Ronn Lucas Show premiered on Thames Television in the U.K., running through 1995.
• 2004 — Received a standing ovation on the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, praised on air by Jerry Lewis.
• 2005 — Received the Askins Achievement Award from the Smothers Brothers at the ninth annual Vegas Ventriloquist Festival.
• 2006 — Signed a five-year headlining deal at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
• 2007 — Planet Hollywood show closed midway through the year for undisclosed reasons.

On video

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