Timothy Selberg (born in Waterford, Michigan) is a sculptor of three-dimensional carved mechanized figures, most of which are specifically used in the performance of ventriloquism.
[9] Influenced by American entertainers such as Edgar Bergen, Jimmy Nelson, and Paul Winchell, Selberg is a self-taught mechanical figure maker with a background in commercial art and design.
His mother bought him the Jimmy Nelson record: "Instant Ventriloquism" and a plastic "Danny O’Day" puppet from a Sears, Roebuck & Company catalogue when Tim was six years old.
Other sources of early influences for Selberg's creativity inspiration were cartoon animations, animatronics, robotics, and magic and Vaudeville acts.
By the time he was twelve years old, Selberg was making mechanical puppets and performing at local schools, malls and churches.
Paul Winchell's "Jerry Mahoney", Jimmy Nelson's Nestlé television commercials highlighting his "Farfal the Dog” figure, and Edgar Bergen's "Charlie McCarthy" had a significant impact on Selberg, and he states that without these influences he would have followed a distinctly different career path.
His international clientele includes customers from Sweden, Argentina, Brazil, Panama, Chile, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Netherlands, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Turkey, the Middle East.
The "Talking Bar Stool" is a unique creation consisting of an intricately carved bar-height chair that comes to life via hidden foot controls used by the practitioner to reveal movable eyes and mouth.
The "Officer von Pork" puppet, that adopts a Jack Nicholson persona, was created for the CBS series Broken Badges and was used by the actor and ventriloquist Jay Johnson.