Ventriloquist Keith Harris dies aged 67
Entertainer Keith Harris, best known for his ventriloquist performances with the puppet Orville, has died aged 67. He passed away at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
His agent, Robert C Kelly confirmed the news on Twitter, saying: "Sad to announce death from Cancer of my client, dear friend and great talent, Keith Harris."
Kelly says that Harris spent his last months "at his second home in Portugal, taking walks along the Blackpool seafront and sitting in the park eating ice cream and watching the world go by".
The entertainer was diagnosed with cancer of the spleen in 2013. Although he had his spleen removed and endured months of chemotherapy, he revealed to an audience in Great Yarmouth in July 2014 that the cancer had returned and he needed further treatment. The audience gave a standing ovation as he performed his final song of the evening.
Harris was one of Britain's most loved and successful ventriloquist stars, working with puppets including oversized green duck Orville and Cuddles the monkey, in a career spanning many decades.
Harris learnt special vocal techniques at a very early age, helped by his father Norman who was also a ventriloquist. By the time he was a teenager he was a gifted ventriloquist and started appearing in variety shows during Summer holiday seasons, before later making the move to television in programmes such as The Black And White Minstrel Show.
He rose to mainstream fame in the 1980s in his own Saturday night BBC One series, The Keith Harris Show. The format ran for eight years on the corporation's flagship channel, from 1982 to 1990.
In 1982, I Wish I Could Fly, a song sung by Orville, sold over 400,000 copies, reaching number 4 in the charts. Keith Harris also performed in a variety of other media, and gave private performances for Prince William's 3rd birthday and later at Prince Harry's 3rd birthday too. He also appeared on the bill of five Royal Variety Performances.
With TV tastes changing, Harris reinvented his act in the 2000s for student unions, pantomimes and holiday camps, which he continued performing in until recently.
Harris has also written and directed seventeen pantomimes and holds the record for the longest run of Aladdin, which was sold out for 22 weeks at The Theatre Royal in Nottingham.
In a Daily Mail interview from last year, Harris said: "I've made about £7 million throughout my career, but I've lost it all too. It's all down to the dyslexia. I can't read or write. Reading contracts? I didn't, I just signed them. I got into trouble many times. I signed myself away for 14 years to someone once - 25 per cent I was paying. I had no idea."
Speaking to the Press Association today, current agent Robert C Kelly paid tribute to the entertainer, saying: "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."
Harris leaves behind his fourth wife Sarah, and his children Kitty (aged 15) and Shenton (13); as well as a daughter, Skye (27), from his first marriage.
Fans have started leaving tributes on social media. Simon Edwards tweeted BCG to say: "A sad loss to Britain. The one the best with his lovely duck. RIP", whilst commenting on Facebook Sarah Smithe said: "What sad news! Keith and Orville's shows kept me entertained for a whole decade."
In the below clip, the pair perform a sketch on the game show 3-2-1:
In this video, Orville sings his hit song with Keith on the 1982 Christmas edition of Top Of The Tops:
Here is a clip from a 2002 Louis Theroux documentary, in which Harris - talking about Orville - says he thinks he "created a monster":
Below is an advert from 2012 in which Keith and Orville reinvented themselves as the rap duo 'K-Orville':