Though the sporty images taken by photographer Marshall Meadows were intended to be published in the newspaper, both Dave and Jim enjoyed a break from their responsibilites at the Hamner Barber Theater to throw a few lines in the water.

The article is entitled: “Fast Chat with the creators of the best variety show in Branson, Dave Hamner and Jim Barber.”

Editor and publisher John Sacoulas asked the performing duo several questions related to their career and personal lives as well.

An excerpt of the article is shown below.

Do you guys really like to fish?

Dave: Yes, I really enjoy fishing… used to be out on the lake quite a bit… since managing the theater, I have only been out about three times… bummer… Jim and I have never had the opportunity to fish together… also, another bummer… so busy…

Jim: I love to fish. I prefer fly fishing, but in this photo Dave and I were faux fishing! What I love best is the quiet solitude and cool air coming off the water. Listening to the sounds of nature and water slapping the shoreline is very tranquil and relaxing to me. If I catch a fish, I’d rather release it than keep and clean it. I don’t find enough time in my schedule to go fishing very often, which seems silly when we live in the midst of some of the best fishing lakes in the country.

The article continues with the following questions:

• “Where did you first meet?”
• What personality traits makes your professional partnership work so well?
• How does your Christian faith come into play for your success?
• How did you get your wives to agree to be such a big part of what you guys do?
• With the level of talent you guys perform at, you can entertain anywhere in the world. What makes Branson so special to you?
• What has been the strangest gig you have ever done?
• Jim, how did David Letterman’s people know about you for the special appearance on his show?
• If you couldn’t be in the entertainment industry what would you be doing?

To read the answers to the above questions, please read the full article by downloading a PDF version of the Branson Christian News - June 2009 Edition.

Related Websites: Branson Christian News, Meadows Images

The real truth, is that the two met in the mid-90′s in Branson. The Hamners were guests in the audience of the Glen Campbell Goodtime Show and saw Jim perform as the featured comedian. At the time, the Hamners were performing with the Osmond Brothers, Hot Country on Ice show. A few days later, Jim and Dave bumped into each other at a local shopping center and personally got to know each other. Dave was impressed with Jim’s unique performance and thought he was the greatest ventriloquist he had ever seen. Jim then went to see the Hamners perform their famous Pirate Parrot Act at the Osmond Theater and was equally impressed with their originality and dynamic stage presence.

Over the years to follow, Dave and Jim kept in contact and discussed the possibility of one day having their own show together. In 2002, Jimmy Osmond hired both Jim Barber and The Hamners to be featured variety acts in his new American Jukebox Show. Sharing a tiny dressing room backstage, the performers became quite close and their friendship grew stronger.

Shortly after the American Jukebox Show closed in 2003, The Hamners and Jim Barber were offered the evening slot at the (then named) Sons of the Pioneers Theater on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. This was their opportunity to finally perform together in their own show as they had dreamed about 10 years before. The owners of the theater renamed the venue, The Victorian Theater and the Hamner Barber Variety Show took flight for it’s first season in Branson.

That first year was full of tremendous challenges as the theater owners were going through some financial difficulties. Both Dave and Jim were determined to keep the show running and offered to take financial responsibility for running the venue by leasing the theater from the owner with the goal of purchasing the property. In 2005, The Hamners and The Barbers took ownership of the theater and the land around it and changed the name once again to The Hamner Barber Theater, a name they feel confident will remain on the venue as long as they desire to perform the show.

“We are excited to interview Bucky and AJ Heard as our first guests on the webcast,” stated Dave Hamner. “Bucky is currently featured in a new production called “The Entertainers” at the Andy Williams theater and has been an outstanding Branson entertainer whose talents go far beyond his incredible singing abilities.” Bucky’s wife AJ also discusses her career over the years as a dancer, singer and choreographer in some of Branson’s finest productions. “AJ has an exciting announcement for folks who may not have seen her in awhile… actually, two exciting announcements,” added Jim Barber.

The show hosts look forward to many new additions to the webcast in the coming weeks, and will be scheduling interviews after the holidays subside. Interested parties who would like to appear as guests are invited to contact the producers by visiting the BransonWebcast.com site. “This has been an extremely busy year for us all,” stated Barber, “but we are very enthusiastic about adding this project to our schedule. It’s a refreshing way to promote Branson artists to a global audience in a way that print ads, tv spots or radio commercials just can’t do.

As each new episode is uploaded to their server, it will be archived in an easy to search database so that visitors far into the future have an opportunity to enjoy their favorite Branson celebrities, and meet many new undiscovered personalities in the Branson area. The site will also feature occasional news articles and stories of interest to Branson visitors. Visitors may subscribe to the webcasts by e-mail or via an RSS reader. A commenting and rating system has also been implemented to give visitors a fun way to interact and share their thoughts about the interviews online.