Keith Harris (ventriloquist)
Keith Shenton Harris (born September 21, 1947 in Lyndhurst , † April 28, 2015 in Blackpool ) was a British ventriloquist .
Life
Harris, whose parents were variety artists, started performing with his father when he was nine years old, and his father taught him ventriloquism as well. At the age of 14 he began to develop his own gigs and ventriloquist puppets. Harris has designed and used about a hundred different dolls during his career. Harris' trademark was a large green duck wearing a safety pin-held diaper. He named the duck "Orville" after the flight pioneer Orville Wright , which was a joke because the duck always complained that it couldn't fly. With the single Orville's Song Harris (together with Orville) even reached fourth place in the British charts in 1982. The title was sold over 400,000 times, but was later voted the worst song ever recorded.
Harris had his first television appearance in 1965. From 1982 to 1986 he had his own broadcast on Saturday night with the Keith Harris Show on the BBC . From 1990 to 1993 he also hosted the Quack Chat Show on the BBC . After this program was discontinued, a difficult professional time followed, in which he was noticed with personal problems and had to file for personal bankruptcy twice. In 2004 he appeared in a laundry detergent commercial and in 2005 in Peter Kay's music video for the Tony Christie hit Is this the way to Amarillo . These appearances ushered in a comeback for Harris.
Harris was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. He underwent an operation and had a bone marrow transplant , after which he recurred. Harris died from cancer, which later recurred in the liver, in April 2015 at his Blackpool home.
Harris was married four times. With his last wife, to whom he had been married since 1999, he had a son and a daughter. His second marriage resulted in a daughter.
Web links
- Keith Harris in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Keith Harris at Discogs (English)
- Keith Harris Obituary. In: The Guardian of April 28, 2015 (English)
- Keith Harris, ventriloquist-obituary. In: The Daily Telegraph, April 28, 2015
Individual evidence
- ↑ Obituary: Keith Harris, ventriloquist. In: The Scotsman, April 29, 2015 (accessed April 29, 2015).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Harris, Keith |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Harris, Keith Shenton (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British ventriloquist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 21, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lyndhurst |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 28, 2015 |
| Place of death | Blackpool |