[citation needed] In 1950, while working a late show in a Wichita, Kansas nightclub with his human dummy Danny O'Day, ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson picked up a stuffed dog left by a patron on the piano, and improvised a low-pitched voice to make it talk.
This gave him the idea for a new character which he commissioned from Chicago dummy maker Frank Marshall.
Nelson named it Farfel, after the Jewish pasta dish he had seen on the menu of resorts in the Borscht Belt on his tour route.
Farfel was an instant hit, and contributed to the rise in Nelson's popularity as he began to transition from live performance touring to television.
[4] In the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode “The Terrorist Attack”, Larry David sings the Nestle's jingle whilst apologizing and ends his song with the distinctive clap.