Keith Harris
Encyclopedia
Keith Harris is an English
ventriloquist
, who is known for his television
show (which ran between 1982–1990), audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck
and Cuddles the Monkey
. He had a UK
Top 10 hit single
in 1982 with "Orville's Song".
and North Baddesley
(near Southampton
), and started creating ventriloquism
characters as a teenager. He then appeared in summer seasons at holiday resorts before appearing on television in Let's Laugh. He then became a popular act on television variety shows, was the host of the Black and White Minstrel Show, and was given his own show called Cuddles and Company.
, Never Mind the Buzzcocks
, Trisha, Banzai, and The Weakest Link
. This, combined with work entertaining in the clubs, in pantomime, and at holiday camps around the country, as well as starring in a commercial for Surf soap powder, enabled him to became solvent again. In 2002, Harris was the subject of a Louis Theroux
documentary called When Louis Met... Keith Harris. Harris later said that both had become friends during the course of filming, although they lost contact when Theroux went back to the US for his next projects.
In 2004, Harris and Orville performed at Bolton Albert Hall in the pantomime Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Harris made a short appearance on the sketch comedy series Little Britain
as himself, with Orville, as part of a group of entertainers waiting to meet the Royal Family
. In the sketch, the entertainers are interrupted by a man with a sock puppet who claims that he is Keith Harris and his sock is Orville. The real Harris is annoyed at this, and the fake Harris, after a few attempts at claiming to be other people, is thrown out. The sketch did not make the TV version of the show, but is included in the deleted scenes portion of the DVD.
Harris also recently starred in a children's programme called The Slammer
, set in a prison on CBBC
, where contestants perform to an audience of children.
In 2005, Harris was among the all-star line up in Peter Kay
and Tony Christie
's music video, "Is This the Way to Amarillo
". Fellow children's entertainer Geoffrey Hayes, who also had financial troubles after his own show failed to be re-commissioned, also appeared in the video.
In later years he has added self-mockery to his act, and often appears on mainstream (as opposed to children's) television, realising that many of his child viewers will now be grown up.
Also in 2005, he and Orville won the Five reality TV
show The Farm
. On 12 January 2007, he made a short cameo appearance with Orville on Al Murray's Happy Hour
on ITV1
.
From 2005 to 2008, Harris had his own pantomime company, Keith Harris Productions Ltd., from which he wrote and appeared in his own pantomimes. He undertook an annual pantomime
at Ferneham Hall, Fareham
, Hampshire
. Harris' company was bought out in 2009 by Jordan Productions Ltd. In 2009 Harris joined another production company and appeared in Peter Pan alongside Orville and Cuddles at the Hull New Theatre in Kingston upon Hull
.
In May 2006, Harris made a pilot called Judge Orville for Bravo. In a parody of popular shows such as Judge Judy and The People's Court, Orville was dressed in judge's garb and made pronouncements on fictional disputes. The show was not made into a series.
In February 2007, he refused to appear on the second series of Extras
, claiming that writer Ricky Gervais
"wanted me to be a racist bigot" and describing the script as "pure filth". When asked about Harris' refusal on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
, Gervais claimed that Harris simply "didn't get it". Keith Chegwin
, who assumed the role offered to Harris, said "the people who didn't get it probably think Johnny Depp
really is a pirate."
near Blackpool
with his fourth wife, Sarah, and his two youngest children, Shenton and Kitty. He was previously married to singer Jacqui Scott, a winner of a BBC talent show in 1979 who entered the 1980 A Song For Europe contest with her own composition. They had one child. Harris was a fan of Chester City F.C.
, and has entertained fans at the Chester City social club.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
ventriloquist
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"...
, who is known for his television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show (which ran between 1982–1990), audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck
Orville the Duck
Orville the Duck is the puppet of ventriloquist Keith Harris and was named after Orville Wright . Orville is a green duckling who wears nothing but a nappy with a large safety pin on the front...
and Cuddles the Monkey
Cuddles the Monkey
Cuddles the Monkey was one half of Keith Harris's puppet act, the sidekick and nemesis of Orville the Duck. The monkey was orange, with a blue face. He wore a white shirt collar and blue tie, and his catchphrase was "I hate that duck."- External links :*...
. He had a 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...
Top 10 hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in 1982 with "Orville's Song".
Early life and career
Harris grew up in ChesterChester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and North Baddesley
North Baddesley
North Baddesley is a large village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated 3 miles east of the town of Romsey and 6 miles north of Southampton. It occupies an area of approximately 9.15 square kilometres, and is home to a population of just over 10,000 people. It is located in the...
(near Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
), and started creating ventriloquism
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"...
characters as a teenager. He then appeared in summer seasons at holiday resorts before appearing on television in Let's Laugh. He then became a popular act on television variety shows, was the host of the Black and White Minstrel Show, and was given his own show called Cuddles and Company.
Later career
His TV show was later axed, and he came close to bankruptcy in the years that followed. In recent years, he has appeared as a guest star in a number of TV shows, including Harry HillHarry Hill
Harry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...
, Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
, Trisha, Banzai, and The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
. This, combined with work entertaining in the clubs, in pantomime, and at holiday camps around the country, as well as starring in a commercial for Surf soap powder, enabled him to became solvent again. In 2002, Harris was the subject of a Louis Theroux
Louis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...
documentary called When Louis Met... Keith Harris. Harris later said that both had become friends during the course of filming, although they lost contact when Theroux went back to the US for his next projects.
In 2004, Harris and Orville performed at Bolton Albert Hall in the pantomime Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Harris made a short appearance on the sketch comedy series Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
as himself, with Orville, as part of a group of entertainers waiting to meet the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
. In the sketch, the entertainers are interrupted by a man with a sock puppet who claims that he is Keith Harris and his sock is Orville. The real Harris is annoyed at this, and the fake Harris, after a few attempts at claiming to be other people, is thrown out. The sketch did not make the TV version of the show, but is included in the deleted scenes portion of the DVD.
Harris also recently starred in a children's programme called The Slammer
The Slammer
The Slammer is a Children's Talent show that has been broadcasting on BBC One since 22 September 2006.Set in a fictional prison called HM Slammer, this programme follows a variety show format where “prisoners” compete, by performing to an audience, who decide which act should be released.The show...
, set in a prison on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
, where contestants perform to an audience of children.
In 2005, Harris was among the all-star line up in Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
and Tony Christie
Tony Christie
Tony Christie is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his track, "Is This The Way To Amarillo", a double UK chart success.-Career:Tony Christie has sold over 10 million albums Worldwide...
's music video, "Is This the Way to Amarillo
Is This the Way to Amarillo
In the United States, a version by the writer of the song Neil Sedaka made to number 44 in the Billboard charts in 1977, and the title was shortened to "Amarillo".-Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay version:...
". Fellow children's entertainer Geoffrey Hayes, who also had financial troubles after his own show failed to be re-commissioned, also appeared in the video.
In later years he has added self-mockery to his act, and often appears on mainstream (as opposed to children's) television, realising that many of his child viewers will now be grown up.
Also in 2005, he and Orville won the Five reality TV
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show The Farm
The Farm (UK TV series)
The Farm is Five's version of the international TV format The Farm, produced by Strix. It had a number of celebrities appearing on it.-Series one:Series one aired in 2004 and was presented and narrated by Ed Hall...
. On 12 January 2007, he made a short cameo appearance with Orville on Al Murray's Happy Hour
Al Murray's Happy Hour
Al Murray's Happy Hour was a chat show presented by comedian Al Murray and produced by Avalon TV. The first series aired in early 2007. It is broadcast on the British terrestrial TV network, ITV, and the first series was broadcast on Saturday nights at 10pm. The second series aired on Fridays at 10pm...
on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
.
From 2005 to 2008, Harris had his own pantomime company, Keith Harris Productions Ltd., from which he wrote and appeared in his own pantomimes. He undertook an annual pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
at Ferneham Hall, Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. Harris' company was bought out in 2009 by Jordan Productions Ltd. In 2009 Harris joined another production company and appeared in Peter Pan alongside Orville and Cuddles at the Hull New Theatre in Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
.
In May 2006, Harris made a pilot called Judge Orville for Bravo. In a parody of popular shows such as Judge Judy and The People's Court, Orville was dressed in judge's garb and made pronouncements on fictional disputes. The show was not made into a series.
In February 2007, he refused to appear on the second series of Extras
Extras (TV series)
Extras is a British sitcom about extras working on TV and film sets and in theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and is created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in it...
, claiming that writer Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
"wanted me to be a racist bigot" and describing the script as "pure filth". When asked about Harris' refusal on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
, Gervais claimed that Harris simply "didn't get it". Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
, who assumed the role offered to Harris, said "the people who didn't get it probably think Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
really is a pirate."
Personal life
Harris now lives in Poulton-le-FyldePoulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago and several archaeological finds from Roman...
near Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
with his fourth wife, Sarah, and his two youngest children, Shenton and Kitty. He was previously married to singer Jacqui Scott, a winner of a BBC talent show in 1979 who entered the 1980 A Song For Europe contest with her own composition. They had one child. Harris was a fan of Chester City F.C.
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
, and has entertained fans at the Chester City social club.
Singles
- "Orville's Song" (1982) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#4 - "Come to my Party" (1983) - UK #44
- "White Christmas" (1985) - UK #40