Kem Poyner`s interest in Ventriloquism started in the late sixties when he was nine years old. Kem and his identical twin brother, Kern received a couple of toy Ventriloquist figures for Christmas. Within a year’s time, The Poyner Twins were performing regularly at parties and church functions. Soon the need for larger, professional dummies became apparent. When Rufus and Randy figures arrived from Maher Studios one day, the act swung into high gear. The twins were booking shows from Nashville to Las Vegas. They even were sent to Washington D.C. to represent their home state of Iowa for the Bicentennial. First place ribbons were the norm as talent contests were a favorite place to showcase the act. One year while the twins were attending the Ventriloquist Convention in Fort Mitchell Kentucky (where they placed first in the junior divisional contest), Kem sat in on a workshop about Ventriloquist figure making taught by Master artist Ray Guyll. Based on the knowledge gained by that workshop, Kem built a couple fiberglass figures that resembled the twins themselves. The crowds loved them! In fact, they had turned out so well requests started coming in from aspiring fans. Soon Kem was designing and building figures in his spare time. Over the years he has honed his skills into creating the wonderful masterpieces you see on this website.
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Today Kem lives in Phoenix Arizona and runs a successful Hair Salon with his wife Lynn. He has been a stylist for nearly twenty years, but has never stopped making his little friends. “I find it very rewarding to think my handiwork makes people laugh and forget about their problems” says Kem. He hopes one day to give up the hair business and make Ventriloquist figures full time. The world could use more laughing.
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