New York City & Madame

Wayland hitchhiked to New York, dreaming of making it in musical theatre. He arrived penniless and soon discovered that the competition for even the smallest roles was intense. In order to support himself he turned to his first love - puppetry. Nicolas Coppola, director of Nicolo Marionettes, remembers Wayland making the rounds to the New York puppet companies. With his excellent crafting and manipulating abilities and his obvious love of puppetry, Wayland soon landed a job with Dorothy Zaconick's Suzari Marionettes.

In 1964 Wayland answered an ad for puppeteers to perform with Bil and Cora Baird in a marionette show at the World's Fair Chrysler Pavilion.

Wayland then began working for Aniforms, a company that specialized in industrial shows using a very clever television technique often seen on Captain Kangeroo. During his time with Aniforms he would occasionally play with the witch puppet.

He began carrying this puppet to bars find pubs. He would set her on the bar or cigarette machine and tell jokes and chat with the clientele for tips. The clubs didn't book him, per se, but allowed him to perform whenever he wished because he was lively and entertaining. The puppet was still, however, a primitive version of her later glamorous incarnation. Wayland discovered he was very adept at the improvisation these settings required, and more of the character developed through this on the spot practice.

Eventually he began to make a real name for himself working in small New York night spots, but it wasn't until the summer of 1974 that he had the opportunity to fine-tune his performance style and brand of humor. Ho was booked to do a 15-minute pre-show act in the lounge of a Provincetown, Massachusetts hotel. Within a week, the crowds for Wayland's show were so large the lounge couldn’t accommodate them.

Rise to Stardom

Two very important events occurred in the mid-seventies which were catalysis for Wayland's and Madame's rise to stardom. In 1974, Marlo Thomas commissioned Wayland to design a baby puppet for her television special Free To Be You And Me. Wayland received an Emmy from the National Academy of Arts and Sciences for his puppet design. Around this time he traveled Los Angeles to perform a show-stopping cameo appearance in Redd Foxx's film Norman, Is That You? The film gave him his first national exposure, More importantly, while in Los Angeles he made his cabaret debut at The Backlot, a popular nightclub. This exposure opened up The West coast market for him, and he was soon a popular fixture on the club circuit.

Regular appearances on The Andy Williams Show attracted the attention of Laugh-In’s producer, who booked Wayland in a revival of the television show. In her first special, Old is Somebody Else: Aging, Everybody’s Doing It, Madame made a humorous exploration of how women age. Wayland received his second Emmy Award for this special. However, their best known early television appearance was on Hollywood Squares, where he and Madame replaced Paul Lynde in the center box.

Wayland was a 'blue comic' and Madame's opening line – “Wayland is no ventriloquist and I'm no f—ing dummy" - set the tone for the raucous humor to follow. He always insisted that no one under 18 be allowed to attend his stage performances. He admitted in an interview, “Madame uses some dirty words. And there are complaints from time to time, but for the most part audiences aren't offended because Madame doesn't use the words for their actual meaning.”

Wayland developed other characters for his stage show because there were stories and situations he wanted to present that weren’t really suited to Madame. Crazy Mary came on stage in a straight jacket, with a siren on her head and a perpetually dazed expression. She was very familiar with the ins-and-outs of the mental wards. She was a speed freak. Jiffy was a sassy, Southern Black woman who emigrated North to a lower class section of an unnamed urban area. She was a sometime nightclub singer and would often allude to her experiences as a 'lady of the night'. Baby Smedley (named after Wayland's grandfather) presented his unique high chair view of the world. He was the least developed character and was only used in two or three performances. Of all the characters, however, Wayland was especially attached to Madame, and she was the focal point of the show.

By 1979 Wayland was busy with a hectic touring schedule. He was honored for his work that year by The American Guild of Variety Artists with the "Specialty Act of the Year" award. He and Madame made another television special for Showtime entitled Madame in Manhattan. They also began a four-year stint on the television series Solod Gold, first with Andy Gibb and Marilyn McCoo, and later with Dione Warwick.

While working on Solid Gold, Wayland was signed by Paramount for his own syndicated series Madame's Place. This unusual comedy sitcom had Madame living with an eccentric suburban family. As with all his television work, Wayland cleaned up Madame's language for the show.

Their popularity was soaring. In Las Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City he was playing to capacity crowds In Hotel lounges, but he still hadn't headlined in any of the big showrooms. The hotel owners felt that a small puppet like Madame would be lost on stage. Finally the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas took a chance. With Wayland they created Madame Goes to Harlem, which stared Madame. The show proved to be a huge success and ran for two years. A year later, the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas and Atlantic City revived their famous dance ensemble as a showcase for Madame. His work in these shows won him the 1981 Atlantic City Magazine’s Entertainer of the Year Award Las Vegas’ 1981 “Jimmy” Award for best specialty act.

His touring schedule was not just limited to nightclubs and showrooms. During the early 1980's he performed at Radio City in New York, the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, and the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C, Perhaps his most important engagement was at Symphony Hall in Atlanta. His mother attended the show and saw him perform with Madame for the first time.

In 1982 he was honored for his creation of Madame with the Sebastian International Fabulous Imagery Award, which was presented to them both by Bette Davis. To round out Madame’s persona, Wayland co-wrote the book Madame, My Misbegotten Memoirs, a totally fictitious retelling of her rise Showtime gave Madame her own television special titled Madame in Manhattan, which was released on video, copies of which have since become a collector’s item on Ebay. Madame also performed for years in Las Vegas, most notably starring in Madame Goes to Harlem in the main room at The Sands Hotel.

Flowers since has passed away and a devastated Madame has been in a self imposed exile for the past several years. “I stayed in my box for what seemed like an eternity to my many fans, only coming out for the occasional dry martini and foot massage…well a girl can’t allow herself go to pot!”

Madame is back now and better than ever, ready to face the glare of the spotlight again. “I’ve been through tough times but I’m a survivor. I always tell people all it takes is your own valet, a wardrobe staff and masseuse. There’s nothing like healing with the help of a national TV audience.”