Shirley Dinsdale Layburn (October 31, 1926 â€" May 9, 1999), better
known by her maiden name of Shirley Dinsdale, was an American
ventriloquist and television and radio personality of the 1940s and
early 1950s.She is best remembered for her dummy "Judy Splinters" and
for the early 15-minute children's television show that bears that
name. In 1949, she received the first Emmy award (first award in the
first presentation) for Outstanding Television Personality when she
was a student at UCLA. After her television career, she also achieved
success in a second career as a cardiopulmonary therapist.Dinsdale was
born in San Francisco, California in 1926. After being badly burned in
a household accident when she was 5 years old, she was given a
ventriloquist's dummy by her father, who manufactured dummies for
department stores, as part of her recovery. That dummy, which she
named Judy Splinters, inspired her to make her break into radio.
Lawrence Johnson, a ventriloquist, helped Dinsdale improve her natural
talent for throwing her voice.Dinsdale was an A student at Drew School
in San Francisco. By the time she was 16, she had received a
Distinguished Honor Citation from the United States government for her
promotion of war bonds. During the war, she was student chairman for
Southern California Schools at War. Shirley Dinsdale Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter