Terry Fator Copyright © 2008 New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Te r r y Fa t o r Wh o ’s t h e Du m m y No w ?

Te r r y Fa t o r

First published in Australia in 2008 by Wh o ’s t h e Du m m y No w ? New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd Sydney • Auckland • London • Cape Town Unit 1/66 Gibbes Street Chatswood Australia • 218 Lake Road Northcoate Auckland New Zealand • New Edgeware Road London W2 2EA United Kingdom • 80 McKenzie Street Cape Town 8001 South Africa www.newholland.com.au www.youngreed.com.au

Lyrics to ‘I’m Still Here’ reproduced with kind permission of Vertical Horizon.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A record of this book is held at the National Library of Australia

ISBN 9781741107289

Publishers: Fiona Schultz and Linda Williams Publishing Manager: Lliane Clarke Project Editor: Christine Chua Cover Design: Hayley Norman Production Manager: Linda Bottari Printed in the United States of America d d

In memoriam I wish to acknowledge all my friends— Darrell and Sissy Johnson, and Our cat, Lamu, who was our joy Wayne and Sally Kirkham especially— for seventeen years before finally leaving us and family for kitty heaven. —Debi, Jep, Pam, Alyssa and Shirley chiefly— who believed in me over the years, and above all, my wife Melinda. Contents

Chapter 1: The Million-Dollar Voice 9

Chapter 2: Beginnings 19

Chapter 3: A Boy and His Doll 37

Chapter 4: I was a Teenage Ventriloquist 57

Chapter 5: Growing Up 83

Chapter 6: Band Aid 101

Chapter 7: Flying Solo 133

Chapter 8: Turbulence Ahead 153

Chapter 9: Yes, Virginia, America Does Have Talent 161

Chapter 10: Who’s the Dummy Now? 203 Chapter 1 The Million-Dollar Voice

I stood in front of the cameras on live television, palms sweating, intensely uncomfortable under the hot lights, waiting to hear the results. So far I had survived two anxious rounds, somehow keeping myself from passing out as the tension mounted more each time, wondering along with all of America what the end result would be.

The evening had been truly historic from my perspective. I had fulfilled a dream of mine since I was very young; that of performing live with Kermit the Frog, but it had been so much more than just singing with Kermit. The producers of America’s Got Talent had pulled out all the stops for my final performance on the show, and had literally rebuilt the entire stage to accommodate not only Kermit (for whom they had created an entire forest on the stage), but had also taken out the judges’ chairs and substituted them with seating for the replacement Muppet judges: Animal, the Swedish Chef and Beaker, all of whom any Muppet fan will recognize instantly. The performance with Kermit had been surreal at best. I kept thinking how it simply must be a dream. I can’t be actually standing next to Kermit, singing a duet with him

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through my puppet, Johnny Vegas, who was doing a very Over The Rainbow I had ever heard, the act culminating with good (if I do say so myself) impression of James Taylor’s her floating down to the stage on a crescent moon, leaving version of Carole King’s classic You’ve Got A Friend. I was the audience awestruck. so overwhelmed I even stepped on one of Kermit’s lines! Butterscotch, a beautiful woman who can beat box (Thankfully the mistake was left in the show, reminding (create the sounds of percussion through the use of her voice me forever of how completely blown away I was by that and lips), sing and play piano at the same time, had also moment.) wowed the studio audience and America with a stunning Once we finished the song, Animal began chanting ‘Terry! performance. Terry! Terry!’ Surely none of this can really be happening. Cas had done his usual magic by singing a Stevie Wonder Soon I will find myself in my bed at home, waking up to a song with his band, leaving me with goose bumps galore as normal day, happy to have had such a pleasant vision. always. But it was happening, and I was living through it all. The I had spent the week before agonizing about how I would Muppet judges gave me high marks in their own unusual top the performances that had taken me into this spot in ways, and then another surprise: I had a special message from the first place. Week after week I had been under the gun to someone sending me her love all the way from London via make each performance better than the last, and had gone satellite. It was Miss Piggy, offering me a personal message, to the well of routines I had perfected during the years of actually saying my name on national television. OK, now I entertaining live all over the country, but I had no idea what know this isn’t real. There is no way Miss Piggy knows who I would do for my finale. the heck I am. Luckily three important people in my life—my wife, But once again I didn’t wake up. It really happened just my sister, and my mother-in-law—knew exactly what I as I described it, and I was here now, in the final moments of should do, and I am so glad I listened to them. They had the television show America’s Got Talent Season 2, waiting been pressuring me during the entire run of the show to do to find out if I would take second place—or the whole my Roy Orbison impression, something that I had done for enchilada. years. The only trouble was that I had never done the voice We had spent the entire week rehearsing a group number without moving my lips, and I had no idea which puppet with the top ten contestants. The number went perfectly, would be right to sing it. and the other top contestants had been called up twice Well, a professional shines when the pressure is on, so I already, leaving only myself and Cas Haley, a fantastic singer submitted the song Crying by Roy Orbison to the producers who sang with such feeling and soul I got chills every time I of America’s Got Talent and waited to hear back from them. heard him. Their response? ‘Can you actually do an impression of Roy My competition in this final show had been formidable: Orbison? Why didn’t you tell us before?’ Julienne Irwin, a lovely young lady who had never sung in ‘Yeah, sure!’ I exclaimed, not mentioning that I had no public, had performed one of the nicest versions of Somewhere idea if I could do it ventriloquially. The producer let me

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know the next day that the song had been cleared. I could The night finally arrived, and Winston and I performed do it. Now down to the hard work, learning to sing it through the song before the live studio audience, the judges, and all a puppet. But first I had to decidewhich puppet! of America through their television sets. I was lying in bed late that night when an idea struck The judges were absolutely blown away, and English me like a lightning bolt. Winston would sing it! Of course it journalist Piers Morgan, the ‘mean’ Simon Cowell-type of had to be Winston the Impersonating Turtle. Winston had the group actually gave me a standing ovation, saying that come out and done his impression of Kermit the Frog while I would be ‘Crying all the way to the bank, because I think I did my impression of Louis Armstrong and we had sung you’ve just won a million dollars’. I was delirious! But the What A Wonderful World, and together had struck a chord question loomed: Would America agree with Piers? How with America. I was getting emails daily from people all would America vote? The only thing left was to wait out the over the country about how much they loved Winston and long week. how they would YouTube our version of What A Wonderful The finale was live, so the pressure was on. We did pre- World, and that it would make them feel good even on a tape some of the more difficult stuff, like my duet with bad day. Kermit and the Muppet judges’ responses. Performing with But I think the next idea was the clincher: not only would the Muppets was the most fun I’ve ever had. The Muppet Winston sing the song, but I would dress him in a little black performers were always improvising and never did a take the wig and sunglasses for the performance. In spite of the late same way, but it was always funny. They are simply geniuses hour I immediately called my wife, Melinda, and told her, and I was so honored to have the opportunity to work with ‘Honey, I think I just came up with a million-dollar idea!’ I them. I have never laughed as much as I did that night, and explained my inspiration, and she said, ‘I think you may be it is something I will never forget. right.’ Some of the other duets with the top four were also pre- The next day I told my producer Elyse Foley what I had taped, but the bulk of the show would be broadcast live for shared with Melinda the night before (each of us had been all of America to see. It opened with the song Celebration assigned a producer to help us throughout the show). Elyse’s performed by the last ten contestants, ending with the response? Exactly the same as Melinda’s! Hopefully I was remaining four of us center stage. on to something, but now came the arduous task of teaching Slowly the night crept toward the ending. One routine Winston how to sing like Roy Orbison. after another finished, then they called all four of us to the I began to work ten hours a day, listening to Crying a stage to nervously await our fate. hundred times daily, learning every nuance of Roy Orbison’s Julienne was the first to go, and she handled it like a real voice, and working out how to recreate the sounds through pro in spite of the fact that she was so new to all of this. barely opened lips. I also had to choreograph Winston’s every As we left the stage I hugged her tightly and told her that movement, making each one count, eliciting the proper she would have a fabulous career no matter what happened emotion every second we were on stage. tonight.

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More performances and more waiting, then the top three there as she had been for the past seventeen years, believing were called to the stage to continue the eliminations. in me, encouraging me to dream, and knowing that one day After several more panic-inducing moments, Butterscotch those dreams would come true. was announced as the next to leave. I had made it to the top I had no idea the camera was on me as I mouthed the two! Only one elimination round left! words ‘I love you’ to Melinda. I didn’t care one way or the The show continued to roll with more time-filling other. All I cared about at that moment was her. She had entertainment, but I don’t remember much of it. I was meant so much to me for the better part of my life, and overwhelmed by the idea that only one elimination round without her none of this could have been possible, and I just was left and I was to be a part of it! wanted her to know that right then. Finally the moment I had worked my whole life for But once again reality came rushing back like a burst dam, arrived. Cas Haley and I were called to the stage to find out and I realized that the moment of truth was very near. our fate. After much more stalling, Jerry Springer finally said As I stood in front of America, my heart began to pound the words all of us had been waiting to hear: ‘America has in a way I had never thought possible. I could feel it pulsing, decided,’ he said. ‘The winner of America’s Got Talent, the pounding on my rib cage relentlessly, threatening to break winner of the title ‘Best New Act in America’, and the winner through my chest at any moment. I felt a little dizzy and of ONE MILLION DOLLARS is…’ Can fifteen seconds feel swept up in the moment. I was really here, in front of like ten minutes? Jerry Springer paused after those words millions of people, waiting with all of them to find out if I for fifteen seconds, during which my mind raced with the had done what I had never dreamed possible, being named thoughts and feelings I had been through over these past the best new act in America, and walking away with a million few months. Countless hopes and dreams were riding on the dollars! next two words. Would Jerry say ‘Cas Haley’ or my name? As the tension built I wondered how much longer my Finally, he said it: ‘Terry Fator!’ heart could stand this. Host Jerry Springer was stalling, I have been asked how I felt at that moment. I think making each moment last as long as he could, building the the words of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in the original tension masterfully. I found out later that the teleprompter ’70s version of the film say it perfectly: ‘You know what had gone out and he had to ad lib. Had he not told me happened to the little boy who suddenly got everything he afterward what had happened I would have never known, always wanted? He lived happily ever after!’ since he handled the situation like a pro. I was instantly swept into a dream. I know that Winston Suddenly I looked out at the crowd. I saw my family, sang ‘Crying’ again, but I don’t remember much of it. hands clenched tightly, looking almost as nervous as I felt. Afterward the stage was flooded with people; some of the Then I saw my wonderful wife, Melinda. Our eyes locked, other contestants of the show came out and hugged me, and I was instantly filled with a strange calm. Yes this was congratulating me, but the only ones I wanted to see were my dream, but whatever the outcome, she would still be my family.

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The first was Melinda. She came on stage in tears and and we would burst into fits of giggling until I would say, said, ‘You did it! Oh, Baby, you did it!’ ‘Quiet, I have to get up at three and do The Today Show!’ I grabbed her and kissed her, saying, ‘This is really Then I would add ecstatically, ‘I’m doing The Today Show!’ happening, isn’t it?’ and we would burst into more fits of laughter. This went She laughed and kissed me again. on for hours until we finally settled into silence, and since I held her tightly and said to her, ‘Now I can give you the I couldn’t sleep, my mind swirled with the experiences of life you have always dreamed of.’ my life that had led me here, as a new millionaire about She said back, ‘You’ve already given me the life I’ve always to embark on a whole new chapter of my life and career, a dreamed of.’ chapter that I had dreamed of and worked for since I was a To which I replied, ‘Ok then, I can give you the life I’ve very small child. always dreamed of giving you!’ I had finally crossed the chasm that had seemed so As all this was happening, Jerry Springer was helping impossible to bridge, but my persistence and tenacity, along my sister onto the stage. Debi had been diagnosed with with the encouragement of my friends and family, wouldn’t rheumatoid arthritis when she was eighteen and had suffered allow me to give up. for many years and could barely walk, so she needed help My alert brain drifted to my childhood as I relived the getting to me through the crowd. defining moments of my life, as clearly as though they had Throughout the process of the show I had always told Debi just happened, although some of these memories were that if I won I would pay to get a very expensive treatment almost forty years old. I was delirious with the thought that for her disease that none of us had been able to afford. It those moments had led me here, now, to this room, calm had seemed like a pipedream every time I had promised it, after the culmination of every dream I had dreamt since I but as she came onstage and hugged me, I whispered to her, was ten had come true on this very night. ‘Call your doctor and arrange to get the treatment. We’re I’ll have to warn you now that I have ADD (attention going to get you feeling better.’ She burst into a new wave of deficit disorder), and tend to jump from one topic to another. tears, overwhelmed by happiness, as we all were. My goal for this book is to let you inside my head, and if you Quickly, I was whisked away to a sea of cameras, doing think you can handle it, read on, my friend. I just thought interview after interview with the top entertainment shows I’d warn you. in the world: Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Now, let’s see, where to begin... Inside Edition, TV Guide Channel, and many more. It all seems like a blur now, but after dinner with my friends and family, Melinda and I finally found ourselves in our hotel room, away from the sights and sounds of the world, lying quietly in the darkness, and for the next hour or so one of us would say, ‘We just won a million dollars!’

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