Featured Figure:
Kenny Talk

Date Created: 1940

Created by: Glenn and George McElroy

Used by: Lee Allen Estes / W.S. Berger

Trivia: 
1. Kenny was originally owned by W.S Berger, founder of Vent Haven Museum, who called him Yahoodie. He was intended to be a replacement for Skinny Hamilton, Berger's main figure.
2. Kenny (Yahoodie) was ordered new from the McElroy Brothers in April of 1940. The brothers delivered the figure to Berger on Christmas Eve of that same year.
3. In addition to the set of hands now on Kenny, he came with a second set of hands which could have gloves put on them.
4. Kenny's head is noticeably larger than any other McElroy head. This was because his head was built to fit a particular hat that Berger planned for him to wear during performances.
5. Berger sold the figure in August of 1942 to Kentucky State Policeman Lieutenant Lee Allen Estes.
6. Estes used the figure, and several others as well, in educational shows he performed as part of his duties as a state trooper. Estes renamed the figure Kenny Talk.
7. Kenny was sold back to Berger by the family of Estes in 1967.
8. Like most McElroy figures, Kenny has a long list of special features. Kenny has free floating eyes and hinged eyebrows, a fright wig, a stick out tongue, flapping ears, and upper and lower lip movement.
9. Kenny is the most complex figure the McElroy Brothers ever created. In addition to all of the special features in item 8 above, Kenny also is a smoker, and he can blow smoke out of his ears. He also has a removable tooth, and he can "spit."
10. Kenny is on display in Building Three of the museum. He can be seen clearly in the third Quicktime Virtual Pan. He is visible as soon as the page loads, the right-most figure in the second row (Note that two of Estes' other figures, Ditty Talk and Willie Talk, are sitting just to Kenny's right).

Do you have additional information about this figure? Do you have a suggestion for a future Figure of the Month? Is there a figure maker whose work you would like to see featured? Let us know by emailing the Vent Haven staff.