- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRichard Israel Cohen
- Rickie Layne was born on October 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The North Avenue Irregulars (1979), The Thin Man (1957) and Manhunt (1959). He was married to LaRue Layne. He died on February 11, 2006 in Tarzana, California, USA.
- SpouseLaRue Layne(February 1946 - September 2002) (her death, 3 children)
- Ventriloquist; his dummy was Velvel, who spoke with a Yiddish accent.
- Nat 'King' Cole was so impressed with Layne and his dummy Velvel that he urged Ed Sullivan to put the act on his popular Sunday night variety show and if Layne bombed, Cole said he would appear on the show himself at no charge. Layne went on to appear in dozens of Sullivan's shows.
- In 2002 received the Askins Award for lifetime achievement from the International Ventriloquist Association.
- He began entertaining at age 9 doing impersonations of Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, and other stars but his act took on a new twist after an uncle gave him a ventriloquist's dummy.
- The son of Russian immigrants, the name of his dummy, Willie Galdstone, was later change to Velvel while performing in the Catskills in the 1940s.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
