Otto Sol Petersen

Otto Sol Petersen (July 29, 1960 – April 13, 2014) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, and actor known for his act Otto and George, which he performed with his dummy George Dudley. Petersen began to perform as a ventriloquist when he was seven. He bought his first dummy at a magic shop in Times Square in 1974 for $350. initially in the New York City area, the college circuit, and at gigs in the Catskills. The stolen George was the third puppet named George that Petersen had used. The first was stabbed by an audience member after the dummy called him ugly; the second was sold for use in a production of Annie. In 1980, the 20-year-old Petersen was named Best Novelty Act at the inaugural New York Nightclub Showcase Awards held at Good Times, a club in New York City. By this time, his dummy was renamed George, and Petersen had starred in a pilot episode for a proposed television series, No Holds Barred.

Petersen described George as "a homophobic, angry, sexist, racist doll". Also in 2009, Petersen starred in the independent documentary film I'm No Dummy, directed by Bryan W. Simon.

One of the team's last ventures was their Internet variety show The Pig Roast with Otto & George.

Otto & George performed all over the U.S. and Canada. The duo performed several times at the annual Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Canada.

Illness and death In June 2013, Petersen fell ill with bacterial meningitis and was placed in a coma for nearly a week. After he had recovered in the following month, comedian Reverend Bob Levy organised a stand-up show for Petersen to help with his medical bills and loss of income.

Petersen died in his sleep at his home in Keyport, New Jersey on April 13, 2014, aged 53.

Filmography

Feature films Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen (1988) The Force Within (1993) Roswell and Alistair (1998) White Chicks Incorporated (1998) American Dummy (2002) Christmas UFO The Aristocrats (2005) I'm No Dummy (2009) Archie Black: The Worst (2014)

Television The Morton Downey Jr. Show (1988) Playboy Channel's 'The Club (1990) The Joe Franklin Show (1990) Full Frontal Comedy (1996) Late Show with David Letterman (2007) Penn & Teller's Bullshit! (2007)