Shirley Dinsdale facts for kids

Shirley Dinsdale Layburn (October 31, 1926 – May 9, 1999), known by her maiden name Shirley Dinsdale, was an American ventriloquist. She was also a popular television and radio personality in the 1940s and early 1950s.

She is best remembered for her famous dummy, "Judy Splinters." Shirley also had an early children's TV show named after her dummy. In 1949, she won the first Emmy award ever given for Outstanding Television Personality. She was a student at UCLA at the time. After her TV career, she became very successful in a new job as a cardiopulmonary therapist.

Shirley Dinsdale's Early Life

Shirley Dinsdale was born in San Francisco, California, in 1926. When she was 5 years old, she had a bad accident at home and was burned. To help her recover, her father gave her a ventriloquist's dummy. Her father made dummies for department stores.

Shirley named her dummy Judy Splinters. This dummy inspired her to start a career in radio. A ventriloquist named Lawrence Johnson helped Shirley get better at "throwing her voice." This means making it sound like someone else is talking.

Shirley was a top student at Drew School in San Francisco. By the time she was 16, the U.S. government honored her. She received a special award for helping to sell war bonds. During World War II, she led the "Schools at War" program for Southern California students.

Shirley Dinsdale's Career

Her Radio Work

Shirley Dinsdale began her radio career in 1941. She had a show called Judy in Wonderland on KGO in San Francisco. Later, the program moved to KPO, also in San Francisco.

In 1942, Shirley and her family moved to Los Angeles. She got a spot on Eddie Cantor's radio show. People called her "radio's most refreshing discovery in years." In 1945, she had a successful season on Nelson Eddy's Electric Hour show on CBS.

This led to a long tour that lasted almost 11 months. During this time, she visited military hospitals. She performed in over 500 shows for the United Service Organizations (USO).

Her Television Work

During World War II, Shirley was active in the Hollywood Victory Committee. After the war, she started working in the new television industry. She worked at KTLA in Los Angeles. She did show announcements, birthday greetings, and small segments.

These small appearances earned her great praise and her Emmy award. She and her puppet, Judy Splinters, shared the award.

After winning the Emmy, Shirley got her own weekly children's show. It was simply called Judy Splinters. The show ran from June 13, 1949, to June 30, 1950, on NBC. It was filmed at KNBH in Los Angeles. It was also shown in the Midwest and East using a special recording method called Kinescope. In the years that followed, she had shows in both Chicago and New York City.

After Ventriloquism

In 1953, Shirley Dinsdale started a new chapter in her life. She retired from show business. She got married and had two children. She stayed married until she passed away.

In 1958, she appeared as a guest on the TV game show "To Tell the Truth."

In 1970, Shirley went back to school. She studied respiratory and cardiopulmonary therapy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She graduated in 1972. From 1973 until her second retirement in 1986, Shirley led the Respiratory Therapy Department. This was at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York.

Shirley Dinsdale's Family

On July 14, 1953, Shirley Dinsdale married Frank Layburn. He was a field engineer. They got married in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Her Passing

Shirley Dinsdale passed away from cancer on May 9, 1999. She was at her home in Stony Brook, New York. She was survived by her husband, a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren.