If you think puppets are weird, you’ve obviously never seen a ventriloquist show before. Ventriloquism is not like magic, it is magic. Don’t believe me? Well, then, you haven’t seen Paul Zerdin’s performance on America’s Got Talent semifinals show.
Paul started his magic career back when he was 15 after he decided to perform a magic act for his school’s talent show. While everyone else was reciting poetry and air-guitaring to Smash Mouth, Paul decided that he wasn’t to give the audience something they wouldn’t expect…something they wouldn’t fully believe. He decided to levitate his sister.
“I entered a school talent competition when I was 15, and most people did something like poetry or tap dancing, but I levitated my sister,” Paul told PEOPLE. “I just blew them away, and from that moment on, I remember the next day in the dining hall when I was going to my lunch I could hear people saying, ‘That guy can do magic.'”
As the years went on, however, Paul didn’t go the typical route of a talented magician–he decided to keep the unexpected coming and became a ventriloquist.
“I introduced the puppet character into my magic show and started doing magic with the puppets, and I eventually stopped doing magic and carried on with the puppets and the stand-up over the course of a few years.”
Paul spent the following years honing his talent for ventriloquism, performing all over the country to the delight of many. Ventriloquism didn’t just offer him a chance to show off his magic skills, but it also let him put his wit and humor to work, making his act the Trifecta of magic shows.
After years of performing off the circuit, Paul decided to try out for America’s Got Talent’s 10th season. Paul wowed the judges with his original audition and continued to wow them all throughout the season, straight up to the final episode. When it came down to just him and one other contestant, he knew he had to pull out all the stops, and that is just what he did.
Paul stepped on stage joined by his trusty partner, Sam the Dummy. The two proceeded to get into an argument. While funny, the performance wasn’t enough to win. What cinched the prize, however, was when Paul stormed off stage and left Sam alone….STILL TALKING!
The audience and judges watched in awe as Sam seemed to speak and move without the assistance of Paul’s hand or voice. This was ventriloquism taken to the next level. It was magic.
Of course, Paul won the competition and even scored a sweet Vegas contract in the process.
Watch Paul’s winning act below, then share with all the other believers and non-believers out there!
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