KH
Keith Harris
Actor
Born September 21, 1947Died April 28, 2015 (67 years)
Keith Shenton Harris (21 September 1947 – 28 April 2015) was an English ventriloquist, best known for his television show The Keith Harris Show (1982–90), 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" which reached number 4 in the charts.
The son of variety performers, Harris assisted in his father's ventriloquy acts as a child; as a teenager, he created his own ventriloquism characters which he performed at holiday resorts in the summer season, attracting the attention of television producers. He debuted on screen in 1965 and became a popular act guest starring on various shows; he had his first solo series Cuddles and Company in the 1970s, but got his big break in 1982 with The Keith Harris Show. He, Orville and Cuddles became popular performers on primetime television until the show was cancelled in 1990, as audiences and television producers began to move away from variety performances.
After a low period and two failed business ventures in the early 1990s, he embarked on a busy stage career (mostly in pantomime) and found new appreciation in the 2000s, appearing as a guest in several television programmes. His output declined after a 2013 cancer diagnosis and he died two years later.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Keith Harris (ventriloquist), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
The son of variety performers, Harris assisted in his father's ventriloquy acts as a child; as a teenager, he created his own ventriloquism characters which he performed at holiday resorts in the summer season, attracting the attention of television producers. He debuted on screen in 1965 and became a popular act guest starring on various shows; he had his first solo series Cuddles and Company in the 1970s, but got his big break in 1982 with The Keith Harris Show. He, Orville and Cuddles became popular performers on primetime television until the show was cancelled in 1990, as audiences and television producers began to move away from variety performances.
After a low period and two failed business ventures in the early 1990s, he embarked on a busy stage career (mostly in pantomime) and found new appreciation in the 2000s, appearing as a guest in several television programmes. His output declined after a 2013 cancer diagnosis and he died two years later.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Keith Harris (ventriloquist), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
2020 | The Big Night In · as Self |
2011 | Big Brother's Bit On The Side (TV Series) · as Self |
2010 | Pointless Celebrities (TV Series) · as Keith Harris |
2008 | Celebrity Juice (TV Series) · as Self |
2008 | The Kevin Bishop Show (TV Series) · as Self |
2008 | Ashes to Ashes (TV Series) · as Self |
2007 | The Weird World of Louis Theroux · as Self |
2007 | The Convention Crasher (TV Series) · as Self |
2006 | The Slammer (TV Series) · as Self |
2005 | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year · as Self |
2005 | 8 Out of 10 Cats (TV Series) · as Self |
2005 | Comic Relief: Red Nose Night Live 05 · as Self |
2005 | The Friday Night Project (TV Series) · as Self |
2005 | Come Dine with Me (TV Series) · as Self |
2004 | The Farm (TV Series) · as Self |
2004 | |
2002 | Timeshift (TV Series) · as Self - Minstrel Show Ventriloquist, 1976-1978 |
2002 | Dick & Dom in da Bungalow (TV Series) · as Self |
2002 | Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (TV Series) · as Self |
2002 | I Love Muppets · as Self |
2002 | |
2002 | Living with Louis · as Self |
2001 | Harry Hill's TV Burp (TV Series) · as Self |
2001 | Banzai (TV Series) · as Self |
2000 | The Weakest Link (TV Series) · as Self |
2000 | Big Brother (UK) (TV Series) · as Self |
1998 | The 11 O'Clock Show (TV Series) · as Self |
1997 | Light Lunch (TV Series) · as Self |
1996 | Never Mind the Buzzcocks (TV Series) · as Self - Special Guest |
1996 | TFI Friday (TV Series) · as Self |
1987 | Going Live! (TV Series) · as Self |
1982 | Channel 4 News (TV Series) · as Self |
1982 | Saturday Superstore (TV Series) · as Self |
1982 | Wogan (TV Series) · as Self |
1979 | Antiques Roadshow (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
1978 | Blankety Blank (TV Series) · as Self |
1978 | 3-2-1 (TV Series) · as Self - Guest Star |
1975 | The Val Doonican Music Show (TV Series) · as Self |
1972 | Pebble Mill at One (TV Series) · as Self |
1971 | The Generation Game (TV Series) · as Self - Guest Star |
1964 | Top of the Pops (TV Series) · as Self |
1955 | Crackerjack (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
1955 | This is Your Life (UK) (TV Series) · as Self |
1953 | The Good Old Days (TV Series) · as Self - Performer |