"Throwing the voice" dates back to antiquity, when it was often used by mystics to simulate the supernatural or to convince people they were speaking to the dead. The more familiar puppet-based ventriloquism is recorded as originating with the Austrian performer Baron von Mengen in the mid- 18th century. It was popularized, though, by Fred Russell in the late 19th and early 20th century. He was also responsible for many of the conventions of the form, including the childlike puppet, and the sarcastic repartee with the ventriloquist as straight man.