Check out this article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch!

8/23/09

LAS VEGAS For a guy whose life is devoted to puppets, it makes sense that their presence is always felt.

On one shelf sits a gorgeously crafted Gonzo doll. From another wall, a framed portrait of Ellen DeGeneres' American Express ad -- the one featuring her dressed in vaudeville clothes with a dummy on her knee -- keeps an eye on the room.

Along with the plush leather recliners, giant flat screen TV and Wii, it's all a comfortable backstage den for Terry Fator to hang out in before and after his shows at The Mirage Hotel and Casino.

You remember Fator, right? The guy who won the second season of "America's Got Talent" with Winston the Impersonating Turtle doing a rather unbelievable rendition of "What a Wonderful World"?

Right, him. The genial fellow from Texas with the well-groomed hair whose talents as a ventriloquist and impressionist not only scored him the million-dollar TV prize, but a five-year contract at The Mirage reportedly worth $100 million -- with another five-year, $100 million option on which the ink is all but dry.

Yes, you read that correctly. And no, you can't hate him for it.

That's because Fator is one of those 30-years-in-the-making success stories.

"When I was 10, my teacher caught me signing my name hundreds of times in columns on a piece of paper. She asked me what I was doing, and I said, practicing, because one day people are going to want my signature," Fator said, eyes creasing with a smile. "I still have the same signature."

For decades, Fator, 44, traveled the country, playing county fairs and elementary schools, his hand giving life to one of his many puppet creations and his voice providing the personality. An eternal optimist, Fator believed that he was destined for fame. But as age tiptoed behind him, so did reality.

"When I was almost 40 I thought, you know what? I don't think this is gonna happen. Who is gonna care about a 40-year-old ventriloquist?" he said. "I gave up my dream when I was 38, but I didn't stop working toward it. If you stop working toward it, then yeah, the dream is over. But every time you at least keep trying, you're getting better and better and in 10 years, you might get surprised."

It took Fator only a couple more age cycles before his life changed and he fulfilled a goal he set for himself when he was 15 -- to headline a Las Vegas show.

As of this past Valentine's Day, mission accomplished.

Five nights a week in his self-named theater, Fator bounds through a 90-minute show backed by a slick band and with the aid of his arsenal of characters -- Walter T. Airedale, a country-singing womanizer; Maynard Thomkins, the Elvis impersonator who doesn't know any Elvis songs; Dougie Scott Walker, the heavy metal-loving stoner who also busts out a rollicking "Sweet Home Alabama"; and Fator's new best friend, Winston the turtle, who closes the show with an impersonation of Kermit the Frog singing "What a Wonderful World" as a duet with Louis Armstrong.

Winston was a happy accident, created specifically for "America's Got Talent" after producers couldn't get permission from Jim Henson's company for Fator to bring his Kermit puppet on TV.

"They said I could do the [Kermit] voice, but only one person can do the puppet, and that's Steve Whitmire," said Fator. "So my wife and I started brainstorming and thought, let's look at other amphibians! We found this little turtle online and he was just the cutest thing you ever saw. We ordered [the puppet], overnighted it to L.A. and I used it the next weekend."

Fator said that as with all of his creations -- he refuses to call them "puppets" or "dummies," and instead calls them by name -- he couldn't give Winston a name or voice until he took him out of the box and held him.

"I literally picked him up, put my hand in him, and the voice and character came out. As soon as I opened that box, I looked at him and he said," -- adopting Winston's sweetly nasal warble -- "Hello, my name is Winston the Impersonating Turtle."

It was, perhaps, the defining moment of his career.

But, interestingly, even though the advertised prize on "America's Got Talent" is a Vegas gig, Fator's Mirage residency -- and his stint at the Las Vegas Hilton last year -- weren't orchestrated by the show.

"They worked out a thing with Bally's and were going to put me in a five-minute slot during 'The Price Is Right' show or [old-school showgirl extravaganza] 'Jubilee.' But the problem was that two weeks before I won ['America's Got Talent'], my manager booked me for one show at the Hilton. It sold out 2,500 seats in less than a day, which was stunning to them, so they asked for another date, which also sold out. I had two sold-out shows before I ever won," Fator said. "So they announce this Bally's thing and the casino got barraged with phone calls. They didn't really have a place for me in any of their shows and we figured people were going to be furious if they came to see me and I was only there for five minutes."

A mutual parting on the Bally's deal ensued and Fator performed three days a month at the Hilton, spending the rest of his time playing theaters nationwide and corporate gigs.

"All of the Vegas stuff had nothing to do with 'America's Got Talent,' except for the exposure," he said.

But Fator is unfailingly grateful to the TV show for changing his life.

"I never would have been discovered without the show because I had been knocking on doors and begging and doing everything I could and I couldn't get anyone to look at me."

Now, even though he's the $100 million man who is learning that with hefty paychecks and massive marquees on the Vegas Strip comes an unavoidable level of fame, Fator insists that he hasn't changed.

"I'm making a lot more money," he said with a laugh. "But I haven't done anything crazy like buy a Ferrari. I paid all my bills off. I live in a nice condo. I'm driving a Lexus now and I was driving a Dodge Neon before. Other than that, I still eat at El Pollo Loco. I don't have real fancy taste. I'll take Taco Bell, just like I always did."

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