Stanley Burns was considered to be one of the leading professional ventriloquists and magicians. He was the first to develop a radio controlled, remotely operated ventriloquial puppet. His Dr. Lichi, a wizened fellow name after the nut, was the very first one, made in the late 1950's. While providing the ventriloquial voice live, Stanley operated it, moving the mouth and having it turn all by himself in full view of the audience, without assistants, and no one realized he did it solo.

The combination of his experiences, impressive collection and dedicated research, formed the basis for his college lectures and served as the foundation for his comprehensive, entertaining, story of ventriloquism which he shares in Other Voices-Ventriloquism from B.C. to T.V. This book shows how ventriloquism went from "antique art to antic art."