Keith Harris, the man who gave us Orville the Duck, dies at 67

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/28/ventriloquist-keith-harris-dies

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The ventriloquist Keith Harris, famous for his green bird puppet companion Orville the Duck, has died of cancer, aged 67.

The entertainer, who hosted The Keith Harris Show on BBC1 and also voiced the bright orange Cuddles the Monkey, had a career in show business that spanned 50 years.

Related: Secret weapon that gave Keith Harris and Orville humanity and appeal

Harris, who performed at birthday parties for the young princes William and Harry, had a No 4 chart hit at the peak of his popularity in 1982 with Orville’s Song, which sold 400,000 copies.

He announced that he had cancer on stage last April, breaking down in tears while telling his audience he was set to have a bone marrow transplant.

His agent, Robert Kelly, told the Press Association that Harris had become ill again in January after first being diagnosed in 2013.

Sad to announce death from Cancer of my client, dear friend and great talent, Keith Harris #keithharrisandorville http://t.co/ML5vL1QbJm

“I spoke to Keith most days, whether we had business to do or not. I think I laughed every single time we spoke,” Kelly said. “Keith was not only a technically great ventriloquist, he was also a gifted mimic and an extraordinarily funny man both on stage and off. Perhaps even rarer than that in showbiz, he was a thoroughly decent man, a great friend and a wonderful father and husband.”

Harris had three children, Skye, 27, Kitty, 15, and Shenton, 13, and had been married four times.

Related: Keith Harris: a life in pictures

Kelly said Harris spent his last months “at his second home in Portugal, taking walks along the Blackpool seafront and sitting in the park eating ice-cream and watching the world go by”.

Stars and public figures began to pay tribute shortly after his death was announced. The culture secretary, Sajid Javid, tweeted: “Very sad to hear that Keith Harris has died after a battle with cancer. Brought joy to my childhood.”

The TV presenter and actor Keith Chegwin said: “So sad. A great entertainer and all round nice man Keith Harris has passed away. Best wishes to his family at this sad time.”

We're saddened to hear that Keith Harris has died. Alongside Orville, he made millions of viewers laugh and smile. pic.twitter.com/W4AJZoOXdK

So sad to hear of the death of Keith Harris. RIP.

Fellow ventriloquist Nina Conti told the Guardian she had met Harris in 2004 for a Radio 4 interview. “He was playing a packed house of families at a holiday camp and they were laughing their heads off throughout,” she said.

“Ventriloquists have been close to extinction for a while now and you feel it when one goes. My thoughts go to Orville who sadly has now lost his voice.”

Born in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, and later moving to Chester, Harris said he had loved performing with puppets since he was three, acting as dummy for his ventriloquist father, Norman.

His BBC1 show ran for eight years from 1982, after successful appearances on a number of TV variety shows. Orville was known for his child-like innocence, enduring constant jibes from Cuddles whose catchphrase was “I hate that duck”. It was followed by The Quack Chat Show in 1990.

Depressed by the cancellation of his show, Harris had money troubles towards the end of his career, blaming his lack of reading ability for having signed unfavourable contracts. He once claimed that his dyslexia had cost him £7m.

Having lost his TV show, he performed at Butlin’s holiday camps, took on pantomime roles and appeared on Celebrity Big Brother. He also toured with an adult version of his puppet show, Duck Off.

But he reportedly refused to appear on Ricky Gervais’s Extras in 2006, distressed at the portrayal of his character. “He wanted me to be a racist bigot,” Harris told the Independent. “I read the script and thought, this isn’t clever writing, it’s pure filth. I turned it down. I’m not desperate.”

And he lamented the lack of his brand of gentle, child-friendly comedy on modern television. “There’s nothing for kids to laugh at now,’ he told the Daily Mail. “I thought I could do a TV show with Cuddles and Orville that teaches children manners. But the TV people don’t like to back an old horse. They say, ‘I don’t think it’s what we want any more.’”

Harris had an operation on his cancerous spleen and was given a year to live in 2013, but was apparently given the all-clear in May 2014 after months of chemotherapy. But the illness returned and he was told the cancer had spread to his liver, giving him no chance for further treatment.