Keith Harris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keith Harris (born 21 September 1947 in Lyndhurst, Hampshire) is an English ventriloquist who is known for his television show (which ran from 1982 till 1990), audio recordings and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey. In 2005, he and Orville won the Five reality TV show The Farm. Harris now lives in Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool.
A well-known star in his time, Harris came close to bankruptcy in the years that followed the cancellation of his TV show. Although his show was axed, Harris remained a celebrity in the UK and is something of a minor legend. He has appeared as a guest star in a number of TV shows, including Harry Hill, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Trisha and The Weakest Link. This, combined with work entertaining in the clubs and holiday camps around the country, as well as starring in a commercial for Surf, enabled him to became solvent again.
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.
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 was axed in the 1990s, also appeared in the video.
On January 13, 2007 Harris made a short cameo appearance with Orville on 'Al Murray's Happy Hour' on ITV1.
[edit] Trivia
- Harris drives a Mercedes with the registration "ORV 1L".
- In Purley, London, there is a carpet showroom named "Keith Harris Carpets". Some believe that this is a business owned by Harris, but this is not the case.
- Harris turned down a role in Ricky Gervais's sitcom Extras.
- Harris also does an annual Pantomime in Fareham with 2006 being "Aladdin" Next year the group are performing "Cinderella"
