Featured Figure:
Major Johnny Jordan

Created by: Olga and Martin Stevens

Used by: Tommy Windsor

Unique Feature: Natural Legs

Trivia: 
1. Major Johnny Jordan is a plastic wood figure, created by Olga and Martin Stevens and used by Marietta, Ohio ventriloquist Tommy Windsor.
2. The Stevens' Studio was in Middlebury, Indiana.
3. Windsor gave detailed instructions on how Johnny was to be made and asked that the Stevens's break the mold after he was finished so that duplicates could not be created. The Stevens sent a letter to Windsor stating that this what done and that Windsor was the sole copyright owner of the figure.
4. When the Stevens and Windsor were corresponding about the construction of the figure, Martin Stevens described how he planned to build the body of Johnny. He wrote: "One of the things I don't like about dummies is that they haven't any bodies under their clothes, and they look it. Mostly they look like they were suffering from infantile paralysis or the rickets or something...What I should like to do with Little Tommy is make him some legs that will look like something under his pants, and with controlled hip and knee joints that won't dangle like loosely stuffed stockings when they are moved about." Windsor allowed this unique construction.
5. Windsor sold the figure to La Wain's House of Magic, and in 1959 Vent Haven Museum founder W.S. Berger purchased the figure from the House of Magic.
6. In September of 1959 Berger sent Windsor a letter stating that he had purchased the figure from La Wain's House of Magic. Windsor wrote back, "The LaWains wrote me about you buying the 'Major'...There is no one in the world I would rather have own this figure."
7. Jane Jones, the December 2005 Figure of the Month, was used by Windsor's wife, Jeanne.
8. This figure is on display in Building Two of the museum, but it cannot be seen from any of the Quicktime Virtual Pans of the museum.

Do you have additional information about this figure? Do you have a suggestion for a future Figure of the Month? Is there a figure maker whose work you would like to see featured? Let us know by emailing the Vent Haven staff.