Ventriloquism is an act of stagecraft in which a person speaks in such a way that it looks like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to "throw" one's voice.
Sadler's Wells Theatre in the early 19th century, at a time when ventriloquist acts were becoming increasingly popular
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his best-known sidekick, Charlie McCarthy, in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943)
A ventriloquist entertaining children at the Pueblo, Colorado, Buell Children's Museum
Edgar John Bergen was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen pioneered modern-day ventriloquism and has been described by puppetry organization UNIMA as the “quintessential ventriloquist of the 20th century”. He was the father of actress Candice Bergen.
Bergen and Charlie in 1926
Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy with W.C. Fields on The Chase and Sanborn Hour
Bergen and Charlie with an NBC-produced comic book On the Air, 1947