(OCEAN GROVE, NJ) -- What do you get when you combine clean family comedy, amazing ventriloquism with a company of lovable characters, fun music, and savvy, entertaining smarts in a remarkable one-man show? The answer is Taylor Mason, a multi-talented entertainer who has been delighting audiences in comedy clubs as well as corporate and church events for the past 27 years. And he’s coming to Ocean Grove for the first – and highly anticipated – time on Saturday, July 8th. He’ll have the rafters of the Great Auditorium shaking with laughter, starting at 7:00pm.
The son of a radio farm broadcaster and a homemaker mother, Taylor Mason was raised in suburban Chicago. Born in 1956, Mason had a Father Knows Best-style childhood filled with piano lessons, little league, and church suppers at the Congregational Church in which his father was a deacon and the family attended regularly on Sundays. Mason graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a double-major in agriculture and communications, and having had a successful varsity football career.
But showbiz was in Mason’s blood, given his natural comedic and other entertainment talents. He discovered ventriloquism at the age of 10 and after college created a puppet/stand-up comedy/music act – a virtual one-man variety show. During the 1980s, Mason’s star shone as a musical director for the famous Second City Touring Company, a stint as ventriloquist at the Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago, an emcee at Catch a Rising Star in New York, numerous performances on college campuses from coast to coast, and frequent appearances on TV comedy shows.
Taylor Mason had been a working pro for years when he truly came to prominence in 1990 as a grand prize winner on Ed McMahon’s Star Search, which brought him $100,000 and the attention of the cable network Showtime, which featured him on several comedy shows and specials.
Taylor has been going strong ever since. He, his wife Marisa and their two children put down roots in southern New Jersey in 1995, and from that base Taylor Mason has built a successful career with regular appearances in top venues from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, as well as countless corporate events for such companies as Disney, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, IBM, Sony, and American Express, among many others.
And since his comedy, ventriloquism and music are both appealing and appropriate for folks of all ages – and his faith still defines both his work and his personal life – Taylor Mason still greatly enjoys the church gigs that were his foundation. He has lots of DVDs on the market and is always performing somewhere. But this summer, fans and newcomers alike need look no further than Ocean Grove – where faith and family entertainment go hand-in-hand every year!
The Great Auditorium is located at Pilgrim and Ocean Pathways in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Single tickets are $15.00 and $10 each for groups of four or more (plus applicable fees). All facilities are handicapped accessible. For reservations: phone 800-590-4064 or go online to www.oceangrove.org .
