The Simultaneous Talker

[GNC]

You know how magician Paul Daniels would have a speciality act on halfway through his TV show (asking Brits of a certain age, here)? There would be Tom Noddy with his bubble magic, or Hans Moretti catching a bullet in his teeth, etc? Does anyone remember the guy who would get a couple of audience members on stage and ask them questions, then say their replies along with them, speaking their words simultaneously as they said them? Anyone further afield recognise this? He was American, I think (maybe Canadian). Not much to go on, sorry, but I thought it might jog a memory somewhere.

I'd like to see (or hear) him again to work out how he did it (I have a theory).

 

[Ladyloafer]

i remember the tv show but i don't remember that act. however there seems to be a vast amount of clips and episodes of paul daniels magic show on the youtube if you can be bothered to sit through them.

but i've met people who do that simultaneous talking thing in conversations. not whole sentences but words and phrases. its very annoying.

i found this..

is that the sort of thing you mean? i didn't watch musch, maybe he explains it?

 

[Mythopoeika]

Dunno how he does it.

 

[Newt]

Husband used to do this to me.

Then I threatened to beat him to death.

 

[skinny]

i remember the tv show but i don't remember that act. however there seems to be a vast amount of clips and episodes of paul daniels magic show on the youtube if you can be bothered to sit through them.

but i've met people who do that simultaneous talking thing in conversations. not whole sentences but words and phrases. its very annoying.

i found this..

is that the sort of thing you mean? i didn't watch musch, maybe he explains it?

Neil Armstrong's mum and dad went on that show.

 

[GNC]

i remember the tv show but i don't remember that act. however there seems to be a vast amount of clips and episodes of paul daniels magic show on the youtube if you can be bothered to sit through them.

but i've met people who do that simultaneous talking thing in conversations. not whole sentences but words and phrases. its very annoying.

i found this..

is that the sort of thing you mean? i didn't watch musch, maybe he explains it?

Yes, thanks, in fact that might be the same guy! He even does it in German! I wonder how many of his shows ended with him getting a slap?!

Anyway, my theory was that they hear the sound of the speech a split second before they say the other person's words, so it's not a question of knowing what people will say, more saying it incredibly quickly after they do. Sound reasonable?

 

[EnolaGaia]

That's Frank Rains Sr. - aka The Simultaneous Talker or Mr. Echo.

I remember seeing him on I've Got a Secret (the 1961 show in the video), where he amazed everyone. The Mr. Echo label was quite appropriate, because there's a discernible delay between the other person's vocal sound and Rains'.

I've never found an explanation for his weird talent. It obviously involved an incredible ability to transduce what he heard into what he spoke. I wouldn't be surprised to learn there was some atypical neural wiring involved.

There are other videos of a few other appearances online.

He appeared on various TV shows from 1961 to 1985.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2111703/

 

[Swifty]

i remember the tv show but i don't remember that act. however there seems to be a vast amount of clips and episodes of paul daniels magic show on the youtube if you can be bothered to sit through them.

but i've met people who do that simultaneous talking thing in conversations. not whole sentences but words and phrases. its very annoying.

i found this..

is that the sort of thing you mean? i didn't watch musch, maybe he explains it?

Mat Damon is a time traveller .. 2:08 onwards in Ladyloafer's link

 

[JamesWhitehead]

We had a neighbour who did simultaneous talking, though she had no talent for it. As people spoke, she would croon, "yerrrrrrrrrrs . . . . nowwwwwwwwwwwwww. . . .. ye, ye, ye, nowwwwwwwwwwww . . . yerrrrrrrrrrs" She would punctuate this accompaniment with the name of the person she addressed.

She was, I suppose, a very nervous woman, anxious to stay in agreement with everyone and changing yes to no according to the way she thought the sentence was heading. Add the dramatic gesture of a slow sliding downward face-palm for emphasis and you know why we hid from Mrs R.

In retrospect, it is easy to connect her nervousness with her rumoured treatment by her drunk husband. It would be unkind to suspect, even for a moment, that her manner might have driven him to drink.

 

[ChasFink]

Mat Damon is a time traveller .. 2:08 onwards in Ladyloafer's link

I never noticed the resemblance between Damon and Bill Cullen before. (Cullen was a well-known game show host/panelist in his day.) Good eye, Swifty!

Anyway, I am reminded of a continuing bit done by Bob and Ray. They would often improvise it, with Bob (who also played the interviewer) always just a bit behind Ray: