Archie Andrews (puppet)
Encyclopedia
Archie Andrews was a ventriloquist
's dummy used by ventriloquist Peter Brough
in a radio
and television
show in the UK
in the 1950s and 1960s. In its radio format it was called Educating Archie
. The bizarre concept of delivering a ventriloquist act, a visual humour, by radio, an audio medium, never seemed to bother anyone at the time, however. Archie was invariably dressed in a broad-striped blazer, and addressed the ventriloquist as "Brough". The television scripts were written by Marty Feldman
and Ronald Chesney.
The UK radio show attracted up to 15m listeners and had a children's fan club that at one time had 250,000 members. Among future stars who appeared on the show were Tony Hancock
, Max Bygraves
, Harry Secombe
, Benny Hill
, Beryl Reid
and (as a 14-year-old) Julie Andrews
.
Archie went missing several times.
It is claimed that many Archies were made over the years and that two currently reside with puppet collector David Wilde.
However, it is also claimed that only one Archie was made and that he was made in 1942. The mould from which he was made is believed to have been destroyed during the Blitz of World War 2.
Archie sold in 2005 for £34,000 at auction to Colin Burnett-Dick.
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
's dummy used by ventriloquist Peter Brough
Peter Brough
Peter Brough was an English radio ventriloquist who became a well-known name to audiences in the 1950s. He is associated with the puppet Archie Andrews.-Radio days:...
in a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1950s and 1960s. In its radio format it was called Educating Archie
Educating Archie
Educating Archie was a BBC Light Programme comedy show broadcast from June 1950 to February 1958 on Sunday lunchtimes featuring ventriloquist Peter Brough and his doll Archie Andrews. The programme was successful despite a ventriloquist on radio seeming strange, though in the United States, Edgar...
. The bizarre concept of delivering a ventriloquist act, a visual humour, by radio, an audio medium, never seemed to bother anyone at the time, however. Archie was invariably dressed in a broad-striped blazer, and addressed the ventriloquist as "Brough". The television scripts were written by Marty Feldman
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
and Ronald Chesney.
The UK radio show attracted up to 15m listeners and had a children's fan club that at one time had 250,000 members. Among future stars who appeared on the show were Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
, Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
, Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
, Benny Hill
Benny Hill
Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
, Beryl Reid
Beryl Reid
Beryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
and (as a 14-year-old) Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
.
Archie went missing several times.
- In 1947, he was in Peter Brough's car when it was stolen from Lower Regent StreetRegent StreetRegent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but found two days later in a garden in PaddingtonPaddingtonPaddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
. - He was left in the rack of a railway carriage at Chatham, but a railway porterPorter (railroad)A porter is a railway employee assigned to assist passengers aboard a passenger train or to handle their baggage; it may be used particularly to refer to employees assigned to assisting passengers in the sleeping cars....
sent him back by taxi in time for his show. - In 1951, Brough was travelling to LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
to compere the televised Northern Music Hall at the Theatre Royal, Leeds, with Archie in his suitcase. Brough went for dinner in the dining car, and whilst away the carriage in which he had been sitting was taken off the train and went on to BradfordBradfordBradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. Unable to locate the puppet, at the venue Brough went through a revised script without the dummy. A £1000 reward was offered and he was returned.
It is claimed that many Archies were made over the years and that two currently reside with puppet collector David Wilde.
However, it is also claimed that only one Archie was made and that he was made in 1942. The mould from which he was made is believed to have been destroyed during the Blitz of World War 2.
Archie sold in 2005 for £34,000 at auction to Colin Burnett-Dick.