Darci Lynne is only 12 years old and has already made her national TV debut with a bang. This reminds me of four notable legends of puppetry & ventriloquism in children's media history who began their long careers as children or teenagers.
Shari Lewis (1933 - 1998) studied acrobatics, baton twirling and ventriloquism at a young age. She was 19 when she won first prize on the CBS television series Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. A year later she was hosting her first television series. She is still fondly remembered for her puppets Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy.
Paul Winchell (1922 - 2005) was a 13 year old boy stricken with polio when he sent off for a ventriloquism kit. He made his first and most famous dummy, Jerry Mahoney for a school project. Winchell was also the original and long time voice of Tigger from the Disney Winnie The Pooh classics.
Jimmy Nelson (1928 - ) was 10 when his aunt gave him a ventriloquist dummy she had won in a Bingo game. By the time he was a teenager, Nelson began performing for church groups and amateur contest. Today he is best remembered for his puppets Danny O'Day and Farfel the dog with the snapping mouth for Nestle ads.
Shirley Dinsdale (1926 - 1999) was the very first performer to earn an Emmy award. She was an Los Angeles area ventriloquist who starred on radio and television with her puppet Judy Splinters. Dinsdale got her first dummy at the age of 5 from her father as a gift to help her recover from injuries sustained during a fire. She began performing on radio around the age of 15.
