Randall and the Sidekicks

Thanks to Randall Munson for adopting two iconic dummies at last year's convention: Mortimer Snerd and Knucklehead Smiff. Both of these dummies are nonworking replicas of the dummies used by Edgar Bergen and Paul Winchell, respectively.

Although Charlie McCarthy was Edgar Bergen's primary character, Mortimer Snerd's sweet bumpkin personality won him his own fan base. Snerd was in several of Bergen's films, including Stage Door Canteen and Fun and Fancy Free. One of the performances that shows the sweet simplicity and charm of Mortimer's character is from The Tonight Show in 1977, which you can see here.

In the same way that Snerd was primarily known as Bergen's second most popular character, Knucklehead Smiff was Paul Winchell's (Jerry Mahoney was Winchell's primary character). The parallels in personality between Mortimer Snerd and Knucklehead Smiff are easy to see. They are both sweet, incredibly charming, and have captivating personalities. Vent Haven's Knucklehead was made and donated by Jerry Layne. Paul Winchell's performance Knucklehead is at the Smithsonian Museum.

Visitors can see both of these replicas on display in the W.S. Berger Memorial Building.