Casino Connection Nevada

Living the dream

It’s been a rapid rise to the top for comedic ventriloquist Terry Fator.

by Greg Jones

You won America’s Got Talent in 2007 and now you’re playing in Las Vegas at the Hilton with an upcoming move to the Mirage in 2009. That’s a pretty big leap to go from an aspiring star to a Las Vegas headliner. What has the trip been like?

To put it in more perspective, last year at this time right now I was playing elementary schools and free stages at festivals around the country. I was making minimal money doing that.

This is the fulfillment of a dream. My dream has always been to headline Las Vegas. To play the Hilton, even if it was only three days a month, was great. I hoped to get something long-term, but I never dreamed it would be something as massive and international as the Mirage, which has put out some of the most legendary entertainers in the world.

I used to come into town and see these billboards for Penn and Teller and Danny Gans and say that’s for people like that. My lot in life is to play free stages at festivals and elementary schools. But I never gave up the dream and I continued to work. Even if I was performing for elementary kids, I said I was going to put on a show worthy of Las Vegas so they can say they saw the best ventriloquist they’ve ever seen.

I just feel like I am the poster boy for the American dream. It’s weird to be that because I have so many people come up to me and say that I’ve been such an inspiration and you read about people who do that, and you hear about that, and you never think you’ll be one of the people who will be doing that. It just makes me feel so incredibly good.

At the press conference held at the Mirage to announce your new contract, there were several people from the Las Vegas Hilton in attendance. How have they taken the news that you would be taking your show to another property?

One of my things about life and my career is that I truly live by the statement do unto others as you would have others do unto you. I don’t burn bridges. I do everything I can to make sure that I keep relationships. Life is about relationships; it’s about people you meet and friends you make along the way.

To me the hardest part about something like this is when I get an offer like this from the Mirage yet I’ve had the great relationship with the Hilton. When we got this offer we went in and told them about it right away. Their attitude was that this is a chance of a lifetime and they wanted to see me succeed with this.

I will never forget that the Las Vegas Hilton gave me my start in Vegas. I’m writing my autobiography and I have a section where I give credit to them for believing in me and getting me started here. I’m so excited to be able to keep that relationship and keep those friendships.

So at your press conference you introduced Winston and Emma. Who are the other co-stars in your show?

Don’t have names for a lot of them yet. I can tell you I will have Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley as special guests, but there will be a lot of different ones.

I can promise one thing: The show at the Mirage is going to be one of the most spectacular shows Las Vegas has ever seen. We’re working on it right now and it’s going to be a blast. There is not going to be a show on the Strip that people will have more fun at. I can make that statement confidently based on the writing sessions we’re having now. We’re working on the impressions and the comedy and it’s really going to be fun. It’s going to be something well worth people’s time and money.

It’s a big transition to go from playing three shows a month to playing five shows a week in the same venue. How much more work goes into keeping your show fresh considering the increased exposure you’ll receive?

It will be a completely different show at the Mirage. We have put together one of the most spectacular shows in Las Vegas. It is so much fun.

But this really is my element. Some people like to party, some people like to go on vacations, I like writing new material. For me, it’s Disneyland.

The thing about my show is I love what I do so I’m constantly working to write new things, to come up with new characters, to keep the show fresh. You can see the show this year at the Hilton then next year at the Mirage and see it a year after that and you’re going to see a lot of different stuff each time.

I’m going to be doing some of the stuff that helped me win America’s Got Talent. That will be my “Stairway to Heaven.” That’s what people want to see. They saw me on TV doing Etta James so they’re going to see me doing Etta James at my show. It will be a standard for probably the rest of my career.

But I’m also looking to come up with fresh ideas to keep the show exciting for myself, the band and for the audience.