Taylor Mason

Early Life and Education

Franklin Taylor Mason grew up on a farm outside Chicago, where his father worked as a radio and television farm news broadcaster. He was introduced to puppets by his parents at age nine, though his path into performance ran through college athletics rather than a childhood vent act.

At the University of Illinois, a knee injury sustained playing football sidelined him and pushed him toward performing. He worked as a disc jockey and stand-up comedian at his fraternity during recovery, and began layering piano, music, and ventriloquism into the material. He graduated from Illinois in 1979 with a major in agriculture and communication, then went on to earn a master's degree in advertising from Northwestern University in 1983, working comedy clubs throughout his studies.

Career

Mason has said that when he started out, he was the only ventriloquist working the Chicago comedy circuit. In 1981 he became musical director of The Second City Touring Company, where he worked alongside comedians including Dan Castellaneta and met his future wife, Marisa. By the time he finished his Northwestern degree, he was performing full time at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago.

From 1986 to 1989 he performed at Catch a Rising Star in New York City, and by 1990 he was appearing regularly on television comedy programs. That year he auditioned for Star Search, and he won the competition in 1991. Starting in 1989, over a span of eleven years, Mason performed more than 1,500 college shows nationally, building a durable touring career on top of his club and TV work.

Writing and Later Work

Mason wrote his first instructional book on the craft, A Complete Idiot's Guide to Ventriloquism, while still working at Second City. His second book, Irreversible, was published in 2019. He has continued performing into the streaming era, working on material for the Dry Bar Comedy Series.

Figures

needs research: figure names, makers, years

Timeline

• 1979 — Graduated from the University of Illinois with a major in agriculture and communication
• 1981 — Hired as musical director of The Second City Touring Company
• 1983 — Earned a master's degree in advertising from Northwestern University; began performing full time at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago
• 1986 — Began a multi-year run performing at Catch a Rising Star in New York City, continuing through 1989
• 1989 — Began an eleven-year run of college touring that totaled more than 1,500 shows
• 1991 — Won Star Search after auditioning the previous year
• 2019 — Published his second book, Irreversible

Watch

• Taylor Mason Live at Grace Church
• Taylor Mason Performs at Far Hills Community Church in Dayton, Ohio on August 28, 2010

On video

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