Real Name: Fido (as called by Hank Walton)

Identity/Class: Terrestrial animal (canine) (1950s era)

Occupation: Entertainer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Hank Walton, Ned Walton

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile (while on tour with Hank Walton)

First Appearance: Strange Tales I#66/3 (December, 1958)

Powers/Abilities: The loyal and courageous Fido was an unspecified breed of dog; he could apparently speak English fluently.

Ventriloquist Hank Walton (unaware of Fido's extraordinary ability) utilized the dog in his stage-act--during performances, Walton would "throw" his voice to make Fido appear to speak.

Height: 2' (by approximation)
Weight: 30 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown/black/white

History:
(Strange Tales I#66/3 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Fido is unrevealed, but at some point he was adopted by ventriloquist Hank Walton. Not wanting to leave his beloved dog alone while he was on tour, Hank decided to incorporate Fido into his comical stage-act--instead of using a dummy, Hank would "throw" his voice to make it appear that Fido was talking. For their act, Hank played the role of a hobo "straight-man," while Fido was the wise-cracking "talking" dog.

(Strange Tales I#66/3) - With Fido, Hank demonstrated his act to his father Ned (a retired ventriloquist, himself); Ned laughed and applauded through the whole presentation, then gave Hank a few tips to smooth out his act a bit.

   Before long, Hank and Fido hit the "big time," and they were booked for engagements in various theaters throughout the region.

   One night, while they were performing on stage, Hank was surprised when Fido "said" something that wasn't in the script! But when he looked out into the audience and saw his father sitting in the front row, Hank realized it was just his dad using his own ventriloquism to make Fido "talk".

   Hank and Fido continued with their performance, but then a fire suddenly broke out in the theater; before the audience could panic, Fido told the people to remain calm and walk to the nearest exit. As the audience quickly filed out, Ned Walton waited behind for his son to come down from the stage, but then he couldn't see anything because of the smoke that billowed around him. Fido leaped from the stage and came racing to Ned's rescue--although blinded by the smoke, Ned had the voice of Fido (which Ned assumed was actually his son "throwing" his voice) to guide him to the exit and safely outside, just as the fire department arrived. Then Fido dashed back into the blazing theater to save Hank; lost within the smoke-filled building, Hank was also guided out by Fido's voice (which Hank assumed was actually his father "throwing" his voice).

   The next day, Hank, Ned, and Fido were all together at Ned's home. Hank had gained much notoriety for saving lives during the theater fire--newspapers headlined Hank Walton's brave deed, and radio and TV commentators praised his calmness in the face of great danger. However, Hank thought they were giving credit to the wrong man, because it was his father who deserved all the glory. But Ned denied ever throwing his voice during the fire--he was too choked up from the smoke. Hank admitted that he had been too scared during the fire, and he wasn't even able to call out, let alone perform any ventriloquism.

   As they looked down at Fido--who was sitting on the floor and happily wagging his tail--the father and son were left wondering who was responsible for the voice of Fido...

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Werner Roth.

This 3-page story--The Voice of Fido!--left the mysterious ending unresolved, but for a possible explanation, see the profile for Rover.






Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Fido has no known connections to:

Hank and Ned Walton have no known connections to:

Hank Walton

The owner of Fido, Hank was the son of retired ventriloquist Ned Walton.

Hank wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a professional ventriloquist. But not wanting to go on tour without his beloved dog, Hank decided to incorporate Fido into his act--rather than using a dummy, Hank would "throw" his voice to make Fido appear to "talk"; for his comical act, Hank played the role of a hobo "straight-man," while Fido played the wise-cracking "talking" dog. Hank demonstrated his act to his father, and Ned coached him with a few tips to improve his performance.

Before long, Hank and Fido hit the "big time," and they began to put on performances at various theaters throughout the region. During one such performance, Fido "said" something that wasn't in the script--Hank looked out to the audience and saw his father sitting in the front row, then realized it was just his dad using his own ventriloquism. But when a fire suddenly broke out in the theater, Hank was so scared that he couldn't even call out, let alone use his ventriloquism; meanwhile, Fido told the audience members to remain calm and walk to the nearest exit--Hank figured it was actually his father "throwing" his voice.

Minutes later, Fido came back and guided Hank out of the smoke-filled theater with the sound of his voice--again, Hank assumed it was actually his father using ventriloquism.

The next day, Hank, Ned, and Fido were all together, and Hank had gained much notoriety for saving lives during the fire. But Hank thought they were giving credit to the wrong man, because it was his father who deserved the glory. However, Ned denied "throwing" his voice to make Fido speak, because he was too choked up from the smoke. Hank mentioned that he was too scared from the fire, so he also denied making Fido "talk".

While his dog sat on the floor, happily wagging his tail, Hank and his father were left wondering who was responsible for the voice of Fido...

--Strange Tales I#66/3

Ned Walton

The father of Hank Walton, Ned had made his living for thirty-seven years as a famous professional ventriloquist before he retired.

Hank wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a professional ventriloquist; but instead of using a dummy, Hank incorporated his dog Fido into his act--Hank would "throw" his voice to make Fido appear to "talk".

Ned watched while Hank and Fido performed their act for him, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Drawing upon his own years of experience in the business, Ned coached his son and gave him some tips to improve his performance.

Hank and Fido soon hit the "big time," and they put on shows at various theaters throughout the region. One night, Ned surprised his son by attending a performance--Ned "threw" his voice and made Fido "say" something that wasn't in the script. Hank saw his father sitting in the front row, then introduced him to the audience.

But as Hank and Fido continued with their performance, a fire suddenly broke out in the theater; before the audience panicked, Fido told the people to remain calm and walk to the nearest exit--Ned figured it was actually his son "throwing" his voice. While the audience filed out, Ned waited for Hank to come down off the stage, but then he couldn't see, for smoke was billowing around him. Fido leaped off the stage and guided Ned to the exit with the sound of his voice--again, Ned assumed it was actually his son using ventriloquism.

When Ned was safely outside, Fido dashed back into the blazing theater; seconds later, the dog led Hank out.

The next day, Hank, Ned, and Fido were all together, and Hank had gained much notoriety for saving lives during the fire. But Hank thought they were giving credit to the wrong man, because it was his father who deserved the glory. However, Ned denied "throwing" his voice to make Fido speak, because he was too choked up from the smoke. But Hank told his father that he was too scared from the fire to even speak, let alone use ventriloquism.

While Hank's dog sat on the floor, happily wagging his tail, Ned and his son were left wondering who was responsible for the voice of Fido...

--Strange Tales I#66/3

images: (without ads)
Strange Tales I#66/3, p1, pan1 (Main Image - Fido, held by Hank Walton)
Strange Tales I#66/3, p1, pan3 (Headshot - Fido "talking" via Hank Walton's ventriloquism; Ned Walton (background))
Strange Tales I#66/3, p3, pan1 (Fido leading Ned Walton (left) through fire to safety)
Strange Tales I#66/3, p3, pan7 (Fido sitting on floor; Ned Walton (foreground, left) and Hank Walton (foreground, right))
Strange Tales I#66/3, p1, pan1 (Hank Walton, holding Fido)
Strange Tales I#66/3, p2, pan5 (Hank Walton, dressed as hobo, performing on stage with Fido; Ned Walton in front row of audience)
Strange Tales I#66/3, p1, pan1 (Ned Walton)
Strange Tales I#66/3, p2, pan7 (Ned Walton, blinded by smoke, as Fido leaps to his rescue)

Appearances:
Strange Tales I#66/3 (December, 1958) - unidentified writer, Werner Roth (pencils and inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 08/26/2020
Last updated: 08/26/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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