Tom Ladshaw, Gentle Giant
- david malmberg
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
The Vent world lost a giant. Most people were simply in awe of Tom Ladshaw when it came to his in-exhaustible knowledge of our craft. Musician, magician, ventriloquist, researcher. He was a walking, talking Vent Haven all by himself.
Tom and I started corresponding in about 1990. It was the usual back and forth holiday greetings, that sort of thing.
He always used to refer to me in print as "Long time Pro David Malmberg." Nice. Always ready with a compliment.
“I called Tom our google search engine and our database for all things ventriloquism. We will never have the likes of him again.”
Al Getler
In 2013, things really kicked in when we began discussing the Ken Spencer Rubeville Five. Being a Spencer user for years myself, both Tom and I were quite excited when the act resurfaced after 50 years of being 'Lost.' The figures did find their way to the museum courtesy of the Mahoney family from Minnesota. (No relation to Jerry Mahoney, but isn't that a coincidence?)
After about 50 years of it being out of sight, the dummies resurfaced and Tom was given the job of putting the five dummies, the barrel and all the foot controls back together again. Said Tom, "Hey David, there were 100 years of vaudeville grunge on those controls!"
I don't believe that there was any other person on the planet that could have reconstructed Spencers' act, but Tom.
“Tom was always a wealth of ideas and a constant voice of reason. A rare combination. He was my friend. His passing leaves a void that will not soon be filled.”
Brook Brooking
Vent Haven Museum President
Tom told me years ago that he used to really enjoy going through the correspondence between WS Berger and Ken Spencer. They are some of the largest files of correspondence that the museum has in its possession.
He also considered my Spencer, made in 1964 a "masterpiece."
“Tom was a huge influence. He wasn’t a maker, but he was just as excited about the historical makers as I am. We unlocked a lot of mysteries together. “
Austin Phillips
Tom and I had an intense interest in vent ephemera especially in the area of stone lithos and books. We both took delight in 'finds' which we would share with each other. Of course, he had everything so it was really me taking delight in my finds!
"Tom's loss is devastating. We all depended on him so much. In many ways. I don't ever remember being with him when he didn't make me laugh."
Dale Brown
One time I was selling a lobby card on Ebay of one of the Fields/McCarthy movies. (Song of the Open Road) Tom had figured out my 'handle' on Ebay and wrote me that he had bid on the card but lost out. He confessed to me that he didn't think the card was going to go for as much as it did. But then added: "Congratulations David!" True Ladshaw. And that's the thing, Tom Ladshaw was as fair as the day is long. If I wanted the best price on a piece of ephemera, I knew where to go to get it. Tom Ladshaw.
“One time while volunteering for the Museum, I observed Tom reading WS Berger correspondence. For several days in a row, all day long, and he absorbed all of it. It was an honor to call him a friend.”
Mark Hellerstein
One time I bought some books from him. Included in the purchase was Frederic Maccabe's , The Art of Ventriloquism. (1880) Tom told me he would have to do a little searching for the book and would send it under separate cover with a separate invoice.
A few weeks later it showed up in my mailbox, with no invoice and a note that said: "Sorry this took so long. My gift to you." Tom.
And, that is the way he was. I have never come across anyone that was so fair in doing business.
Tom was a good friend of mine for nearly 25 years. We worked together on many ventriloquism related projects - brainstorming on videos, books, shows, workshops and more. He was instrumental with his creativity, care and direction on all of them. He was so fun to be around. I seldom laughed so much as when I was talking or texting Tom. His contributions to vent and magic will never be equalled. You will be missed, Mr. T."
Lee Cornell
One time, I had misplaced my book 'Winch" by Paul Winchell. I wrote Tom to see if I could get one to replace it.
Here is what he said: "I don't have any, sorry. Over the past four or five years, I sold three cases of them. I sold the softbacks for $75 and the hardbacks for $95. That's a lot, but they were out of print and anytime you'd see them online they were $150 to $200 and up. I thought my prices were fair, considering the demand.... I didn't try to pay my mortgage each time I sold one. LOL"
And that was Tom Ladshaw. If you bought something from him, you ALWAYS paid a fair price.
Some of my requests, were herculean requests. For instance, I once asked him for a complete set of Vent-o-gram newsletters during the Walt and Gregory Berlin years. It took him a few months but he came up with the set, which are treasures in my library today. He would send me little notes. "Got 29 out of 35 issues, 32 out of 35 etc." Baiting me! And, then the day came when he had the complete set and informed me they were ready for pickup at the convention that year.
My most recent acquisition was a complete set of the 'Grapevine News' published back in the 40's. Once again, it took him some time, but he delivered the goods. Tom would often tell me that he would crack open a Vent-o-gram or Oracle or Grapevine News or Vent Guild Journal and just scour those issues for interesting little "gems" as he called them.
“Tom was my go-to guy for anything vent. Anytime I asked him for something, he always came up with the answer and it was always solid and good. I knew Tom for 25 years. We always tried to get together with our wives before the convention started. He was more than just a research guy, he was my friend.”
Mark Wade
Tom and I had a macabre sense of humor. We could talk for hours about the eccentric Finis Robinson. Tom and Finis were good friends, but Tom also could see the 'surreal' dimensions he found himself in when interacting with Finis.
I was interested in acquiring a copy of Finis Robinson's 'The Modern Encyclopedia of Lessons in Ventriloquism.' Tom was the first to say that the volume was quite good, and it is. It is also rare. Well, this launched into a discussion of the distant voice and Tom sent me an email which said, "Go to page 50 and read the Finis definition of acquiring the distant voice."
From Finis, Page 50. "Just imagine you are having trouble at the stool trying for elimination. You strain and there is a sound deep down in your body as you force these muscles to do their work. Of course it is the air being forced from the body up against the vocal cords even if your mouth is closed. Open it slightly and this hollow sound of "UHHH" followed by a quick gasp is heard. You can easily change this to the AH sound and make it into the ventriloquial drone like the hum of a bee. Don't strain too much as there is a chance to cause hemorrhoids! (Exclamation point added) As you strain, just change this to the words 'ohhh nooo.'
We laughed ourselves silly.
It has got to be the only explanation of the distant voice as it relates to a bowel movement in the universe! But here is the thing, Tom always looked for the positive in the goofy world of ventriloquism.
"No one loved ventriloquism more. No one. Tom actually got on a plane one time and flew to Branson to see me perform at a fundraiser. I teared up when I received the news of his passing. What a loss. "
Jim Barber
A lot of people are unaware of Tom having another life before magic and vent. He was a musician, and a good one. In addition to the credentials (Berklee College) he was active for many years as a drummer in the LA studio scene. I asked him about this once, and here is what he said:
"I was a performance guy....played drums and percussion. The minute I graduated, I was off to L.A. to become a "real live professional musician!" I was actually luckier than most....I was working pretty soon after arriving and getting settled, due to contacts I'd made at Berklee I ended up in Vegas for a short time (like a lot of musicians do, I guess) and worked regularly there, but really sort of hated the monotony of working a show.
My Vegas tenure was less than a year (followed by several months in Reno). Then back to L.A. and more "fame and fortune". LOL I did end up doing a LOT of soundtrack work, mostly for TV . Also did a lot of ad stuff. If you remember the old Honda Express (moped) ads, I did most of those in the early 80's. I lasted in L.A. for about 8 years....saw the world touring with several artists and also saw the interior of just about every studio in L.A. But the studios were closing one by one as the digital revolution happened and as the "names" put together their own home studios. I saw the handwriting on the wall. I'd also grown to absolutely loathe the business. Loved music...hated the music business. Something had to give...so my career did. That's the extremely condensed nutshell version."
We had quite a long discussion about the music business and believe me, Tom was the real deal.
"It is as if I’ve known Tom all my life, but that wasn’t the case. We met when he lived in New Orleans. I believe he was doing music then. He and magician Harry Anderson were friends. But then again, he was friends with everyone. It seemed anyone I met in the business knew Tom. In the world of music he was known, Harry knew him as a magician, and we did as a ventriloquist. His knowledge base was astounding."
Jay Johnson
Jeff Dunham and Tom were close. I had mentioned to Tom a few years ago that I had really enjoyed Jeff's autobiography, 'All By My Selves.' Here is a great antidote from Tom regarding the publishing of Jeff's book.
"Funny story.... Jeff asked if I'd proof the book for him. I said, "Sure" So he sends me this thick manuscript...and he's put a watermark on every page ("My attorney told me I HAD to.") Ok....so the watermark is MY name. Bold type (although grayed out) on each page in the entire manuscript: "Tom Ladshaw". So a week or two goes by and I'm talking to someone and Jeff comes up in the conversation. I happen to mention that I'm reading his autobiography. The person then asks, "Are you mentioned in the book?" And it dawned on me... "Are you kidding? My name is on EVERY SINGLE PAGE!!!"
Tom Ladshaw was also an integral part of the Vent-O-Gram articles. I would often need a picture or resource for an article and he was my go-to guy. I lost count of the many historical pictures he has provided for these articles. He not only was a willing participant, but would be on task the moment I sent him a request.
“I met Tom at my first convention in 91’. Here’s the thing, it wasn’t just me. If you met Tom, he was YOUR friend from the very first meeting. He never had to take time to get to know you. He just liked you from the beginning. “
Dan Horn
A year or so ago, I had the opportunity to present a powerpoint lecture in England on the ancient history of ventriloquism. I wanted to 'mine' every available resource for this presentation. I talked to Tom. He pointed me in the direction to out of print sources and then steered me to Lisa at the museum to provide me with those resources. That lecture is now in the archives of Vent Haven.
"I cannot express the loss in words. I've never known anyone like Tom and I will miss him for the rest of my life."
Lisa Sweasy
Director/Curator Vent Haven Museum
And then, there are the regrets. We all have them. I should have followed up on that phone call. Or why didn't I have that lunch with him? For me? Tom and I talked for months and months about doing a Vent-O-Gram feature on him. He was amiable to it. But, he was such a veritable source of information it was like 'where does one begin?' And so, it never got past the talking stages.
Now, here I am doing a Vent-O-Gram article that has been long overdue. It certainly is NOT under circumstances I would have wanted.
There are times, in the course of life, when you run across people who are just...good.
These individuals go about their daily activities just touching the lives of others with that goodness. And when they leave us, there is a void that is created.
There is an old adage that the universe does not like a 'void' and will work rapidly to fill it. I am afraid the emptiness left by Tom Ladshaw will be one that the universe will not fill so easily. We are all the worse for it.
Every time there is a question asked about our craft we will instinctively say to ourselves, "I should ask Tom about that." And we will be reminded time and time again of the influence the man had in our lives and the lives of countless others.
Tom's favorite songwriter was Brian Wilson. And I am reminded of one of Wilson's great songs.
'God only knows what I'd be without you.'
Be well Tom Ladshaw. Until we meet again.
Finis
David Malmberg
Vent-O-Gram
August 2025