Published: 
Jay Johnson has been a ventriloquist for most of his life and even had a local television show while he was still in high school. He’s appeared on dozens of TV shows including CSI, Empty Nest, That ’70s Show, and The Facts of Life.
In 2007, he won a Tony Award for his one man (and many characters) show, The Two and Only, following a successful run on Broadway. Still, Johnson will likely always be best known for his role on the landmark 1977 sitcom, Soap.
Soap follows the lives and families of two sisters, Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon). Jessica and Mary are quite close while their families can’t stand each other — the Tates are wealthy while the Campbells are not.
One of the most unique characters on the series is ventriloquist Chuck Campbell (Johnson), the biological son of Burt Campbell (Richard Mulligan), Mary’s husband. Chuck’s a nice quiet guy but he believes that Bob, his rude wooden puppet, is real and the two insist that he be treated that way. Though they all know better, just about every member of the family gets sucked into the fantasy at one time or another. Chuck and Bob have some of the funniest moments in the series and are two of the show’s most popular characters.
This is the first part of an interview with the talented Johnson. We discuss his early career, how he landed the role on Soap, the controversy surrounding the show, and a lot of great anecdotes about working with the rest of the extraordinary cast.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Part two of the Jay Johnson interview is available here.
To receive future podcasts automatically, be sure to subscribe using this RSS feed or click here to subscribe via iTunes.
To learn more about Johnson and to see videos of his one man/many character show, visit his website. If you haven’t seen Soap (rent or buy it now!) or would just like to refresh your memory, here are a couple of fun videos.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
ALL NEW!!! Watch today’s Mr. Media Interviews by Bob Andelman for something you won’t see anywhere else as comedian and ventriloquist Jay Johnson throws his voice 3,000 miles! Somebody call Guinness World Records! This is amazing! One of my favorite shows of the year. Don’t know Jay? Do you remember the ABC-TV sitcom “Soap” that starred Billy Crystal as TV’s first “out” gay character? Jay played Billy’s ventriloquist brother, Chuck Campbell, who never appeared without his dummy, Bob. (No relation.) http://mrmedia.com/2014/09/watch-ventriloquist-jay-johnson-dummy-wins-video/#.VBs9ruffHAQ
I watched As the World Turns since I was 12 years old–I saw the first episode and rushed home to see it everyday. I geel like I have lost a part of my family. My mother who passed some time ago and I discussed it every day. Now I cannot even find a place to buy the old shows on DVD. I know i am not the only one and I really want to see those old show –even in black and white–and I would pay to have them available for me. Can you please help get these shows for… Read more »
[…] Jay Johnson – The former Soap star and ventriloquist talked with TV Series Finale and you can listen to part one of the interview via streaming audio or you can download it as well. […]
No infringement of previously copyrighted material is intended on this site. DMCA.
Copyright © TV Series Finale. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.
Soap: Jay Johnson (Chuck & Bob), Part 1, TV Series Finale Podcast #42 – TV Series Finale
Posted by