A man of many voices coming to the fair

Ventriloquist, singer and comedian Terry Fator was a struggling entertainer until he won the second season of “America’s Got Talent.”

Now he headlines his own show at The Mirage in Las Vegas. On Friday (Sept. 18), he’s bringing his roadshow to the Washington State Fair.

The newspaper caught up with Fator from his Vegas digs.

Q: You signed a five-year, $100 million deal to headline at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Why bother coming to the Washington State Fair?

A: Because I love what I do so much. Some fans can’t always get to Las Vegas. It gives me a chance on the weekends when I’m not performing to come out and bring my show to the people who made it happen for me.

Q: How does your roadshow differ from the Vegas show?

A: It’s completely different. My roadshow is the story of how I got to Las Vegas. My Vegas show is my Vegas show. The roadshow tells how I started out as a janitor in a small town in Texas and how I worked my way up to be a headliner in Vegas. Not only is it fun and funny with a lot of impressions and great music that people are going to recognize, but it’s also an inspiring show.

Q: How so?

A: I hope it inspires people to pick up that guitar or start writing songs or stories. I was 42 years old when I won “America’s Got Talent.” Like a lot before me, I could have given up. This is just too hard, or it’s not going to happen. I just kept plugging away. I did it because I love it. Then my whole life changed.

Q: Speaking of “America’s Got Talent” — they come here every few years. Hundreds of people audition, but only a handful advance to the next round. How can you tell if you really have talent?

A: If you think that you have something that could be fun on “America’s Got Talent,” go for it. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but if you get on television just once it’s a blast. You can have a ball. If you’re making a living at it, then you must have talent. But even if you’re not sure, the experience can’t hurt you.

Q: How did you approach “America’s Got Talent?”

A: I absolutely did not think I was going to win the show. I thought I was going to get on a few episodes and then get kicked off just like anybody else. I loved every single minute of it thinking it was going to end that week.

Q: Did all your years of experience help you handle the stresses of headlining in Vegas?

A: Absolutely. When I started in Vegas I had the wonderful dilemma of having too much material. I’d been doing it professionally since I was 18 years old. I had more than three hours of material. I had to cut an hour (for Vegas.) And I’m always coming up with new material. I’m telling jokes that you are hearing in the news today.

Q: I’ve been following your Tweets. You make political jokes but at the same time they are apolitical.

A: I’m totally nonpartisan. My job is to entertain 100 percent of the people. When you start doing political stuff you’re going to entertain half of your audience. My Donald Trump is joke is about his hair, not his political leanings.

Q: Your show here is billed as family friendly. Is that the case with all your shows?

A: Yes. That’s important to me. It’s not a stodgy show. I do like to tap dance on that line. If I do tell an adult joke, it has to go over the kid’s head, and it has to have a clean explanation for the children. That makes it harder for me, but good for the audience. It’s not a children’s show, but I don’t swear, and I don’t do dirty material.

Q: What’s harder: Impressions or ventriloquism?

A: They’re both very difficult. It’s way easier to do impressions with my lips moving. It’s much more difficult to do a singing impression of Roy Orbison, Etta James or Elvis Presley when I’m not moving my lips. That’s where the rehearsal and practice and hard work comes in.

Q: How long have you been doing impressions, ventriloquism and then adding in singing?

A: I’ve been singing since I was 3, I’ve been doing impressions since I was 6 and been doing ventriloquism since I was 10. Some of the first things I did was singing impressions when I was 11 years old.

Q: I understand you just got engaged to Angie Fiore. But your former wife, Taylor Makakoa, is still your on-stage assistant. How does that work?

A: A lot of people are amazed by that. Things just didn’t work out. We had different life goals and paths. I don’t regret our marriage. We’re still friends, (Makakoa) works in the show, and she’s still the president of my company. Life is too short to have bitterness and resentment. I’m just not going to go that way.

Q: And you proposed to Angie on stage.

A: On my birthday this year, Angie, who is not a singer, got up in front of all these people and sang, “This Guy’s In Love (With You)”, but she sang it “this girl’s in love.” And it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I cried. I made the decision then that I was going to sing that when I proposed to her.

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "A man of many voices coming to the fair."