Keith Harris, Orville ventriloquist, dies aged 67
Ventriloquist Keith Harris, famous for his act with his puppet duck Orville, has died aged 67.
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His agent Robert C Kelly said Harris, whom he described as a “thoroughly decent man”, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and became ill again in January.
He said: “I spoke to Keith most days, whether we had business to do or not. I think I laughed every single time we spoke. Keith was not only a technically great ventriloquist, he was also a gifted mimic and an extraordinarily funny man both on stage and off.
“Perhaps even rarer than that in showbiz, he was a thoroughly decent man, a great friend and a wonderful father and husband.”
Generations of children
With his sidekicks Orville and Cuddles, Harris entertained generations of British children. At his height between 1982 and 1990 he had his own BBC 1 Saturday night programme, The Keith Harris Show, followed between 1990 and 1993 by The Quack Chat Show.
He appeared on a total of five Royal and Children’s Royal Variety Performances.
In 1982 Keith recorded the single I Wish I Could Fly. Despite only reaching number four in the charts, the song was a huge success, selling over 400,000 copies and becoming ingrained in the nation’s psyche.
Harris holds the record for the longest pantomime run ever of 22 weeks in Aladdin at Theatre Royal Nottingham and the all-time record for seats sold for his early nineties summer season at The Grand Theatre Blackpool.
In the West-End of London, as top-of-the-bill, Keith played two seasons at The London Palladium and a season of pantomime at The Dominion Theatre.