Juro Novelty Ventriloquist Dolls and Dummies 1953+ USA

1975 Juro Danny O’Day ventriloquist doll

The Juro Novelty Company, Inc. became incorporated in 1953 and  produced celebrity and personality dolls along with ventriloquist dummies or puppets. 

Vivian Kaplan associated with Juro, was instrumental in negotiating the sale of Juro to the Eegee – Goldberger Company in 1977.  Vivian passed away on 7 July, 2000 at the young age of 48 and will be missed by her many friends, co-workers and family.

Juro Ventriloquist Dolls Identified

1950s-1968 Juro Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 30″ tall, of Edgar Bergen, dressed in black tuxedo with white shirt and black top hat with one monocle eyeglass, has a cloth body with vinyl head and hands.

1950s Juro Danny O’Day ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 30″ tall, of Jimmy Nelson, came dressed in plaid jacket, blue slacks, white shirt, has a white tag that identifies the character on the upper pocket, Danny O’Day’s dog Farfel was also produced by Juro.  Farfel has a soft brown rubber head, with brown cloth ears and neck sleeve, with red ribbon around neck . . . RARE.  Danny O’Day’s girlfriend is Hayley O’ Hara, 30″ tall, she has light red hair, wore a print jumper dress with matching bloomers, dark tights and shoes . . . RARE.

The Eegee – Goldberg Doll Company also produced a Danny O’Day vent wearing a black and white checked suit.  Wards sold a Danny O’Day vent who came in a beige suit with plaid bowtie and a plaid sports jacket, Danny vent was the choice of Sears.

1950s Juro Jerry Mahoney ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 22-30″ tall, of Paul Winchell, stuffed cloth body, vinyl head and hands, dressed in a green suit with wide lapels, has molded red hair, cloth body, vinyl head and hands. 

Juro also made Jerry Mahoney’s vent friend Knucklehead Smiff.

1950s Juro Velvel a ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 24″ tall, has a Yiddish accent, of Rickie Layne, came dressed in a blue suit with red trim on upper pocket, vent is a cloth body with vinyl head and hands. This a rare and hard to find vent figure.

ca. 1958 Juro Dick Clark Autograph doll, 27 or 45″ tall, teenage idol celebrity Dick Clark (1929-2012) host of the TV show American Bandstand 1956-1960.  Doll has a vinyl head with painted facial features, big open smiling mouth with teeth, cloth stuffed body and limbs, vinyl hands, dressed in a tan poplin sport jacket with name embroidered on front, red plaid tie, vest with attached long sleeve white shirt with cuffs and cuff links, brown cuffed slacks, white and black spectator shoes, doll marked Juro. 

1968 Juro Emmett Kelly ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 30″ tall, famous clown personality, dressed in red white and blue plaid jacket, blue slacks, white shirt and red polka dot tie and red hat, has a clown face with red ball nose, black beard, cloth body with vinyl head and hands.  Emmett Kelly Sr. passed away on March 28, 1979.

1969 Juro Mortimer Snerd ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 30″ tall, pal of Charlie McCarthy, another of Edgar Bergen’s vents, funny one tooth showing in a crooked mouth, red molded hair, wore a black and white striped suit with red vest and bowtie, has a cloth body, vinyl head and hands.

1972 Juro Danny O’Day ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 24″ tall, wore a red sports jacket, white shirt front, plaid tie and solid color pants. A variation came in a special ventriloquist package that included a red and white striped Little Leaguer baseball suit and cap, as well as Jimmy Nelson’s Instant Ventriloquism record.

We are assuming the above Danny O’Day, Lester and Otis ventriloquist dummies were all made by Juro, as they are shown in a 1975 Montgomery Ward catalog.

1975 Juro Lester ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure,
 26″ tall, Whenever you discuss things with Lester, he’s right on!  he poses quizzically from behind his spectacles.  Lester has a cloth body, vinyl head and hands, dressed casually in a golden rod turtle neck long sleeve shirt, tan pants and black shoes.

1975 Juro Otis O’Brien ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 30″ tall, this carrot top is a real cut up!  with his wide grin and sprinkling of freckles captivate everyone in the audience.  Otis bright plaid fabric body is a real eye opener, he wears blue pants, white collar.

1972 Uneeda Otis O’Brien vent doll, 28″ tall, has a striped fabric body.

Juro Ventriloquist, Dolls, Dummies or Figures not shown

1967-1972 Juro Howdy Doody ventriloquist puppet doll or vent figure, 30″ tall, character from the 1950s children’s TV show of the same name, several other companies also made Howdy Doody puppets.

15 April 2007 Additional Juro Ventriloquist information from V. Spetalnick;

Charlie McCarthy semi-professional vent, 33″ tall, that was dressed in white shirt front, crushed velvet black pants with maroon crushed velvet jacket with black collar (or the reverse jacket and pants), and solid color tie. It was worked in same way as the larger Danny.  Wore high hat and monocle . . . RARE.

Danny O’Day, 33″ tall, is asemi-professional vent with the head on a stick, that was worked from the rear of the dummy. It was dressed in brown pants with a yellow jacket with brown collar and solid color bowtie . .  RARE

Emmett Kelly, 30″ tall, head and hat of the clown was the most expensive head Juro made, because it required many stages to paint it. The combination head/hat served two purposes. It saved on cost of a separate hat that would be easily lost or torn, but even more important, it protected the head.  It was dressed in a colorful patchwork jacket, vest, pants, tie, and shoes

Ventriloquist Figure 598 was a 24″ smaller figure dressed in red sports jacket with beige pants and bowtie. It became Rickey Little in its later life, wearing checked pants, plastic belt and red sweater.

Give credit to Juro Novelty for another accomplishment; the component heads, bodies, clothing and records were all made and assembled in the USA.

Thank you so much for sharing!