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Leonard Insull
Leonard Insull (1883–1974) was Britain's leading ventriloquial figure maker of the twentieth century. He created many hundreds of items for Lewis Davenport Ltd. Born in Wolverhampton, Insull trained as a joiner before entering showbusiness as a magician, "Hinsle, the Comedy Illusionist". He worked with his son, also Leonard, to construct ventriloquist's dummies until his son's death in 1957. His noted figures include Lord Charles for Ray Alan and Archie Andrews for Peter Brough Peter Brough (26 February 1916 – 3 June 1999) was an English radio ventriloquist who became a well-known name to audiences in the 1950s. He is associated with his puppet Archie Andrews. Early career Peter Brough’s father, Arthur Broug .... Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's cavalcade of variety acts: a who was who of light entertainment, 1945-60'', p. 3 References 1883 births Ventriloquism 1974 deaths British puppeteers British magicians People from Wolverhampton En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to "throw" one's voice. History Origins Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin for 'to speak from the stomach: (belly) and (speak). The Greeks called this gastromancy ( grc-gre, εγγαστριμυθία). The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the unliving, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future. One of the earliest recorded group of prophets to use this technique was the Pythia, the priestess at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians". Historically part of Staffordshire, the city grew initially as a market town specialising in the wool trade. In the Industrial Revolution, it became a major centre for coal mining, steel production, lock making, and the manufacture of cars and motorcycles. The economy of the city is still based on engineering, including a large aerospace industry, as well as the service sector. Toponym The city is named after Wulfrun, who founded the town in 985, from the Anglo-Saxon ''Wulfrūnehēantūn'' ("Wulfrūn's high or principal enclosure or farm"). Before the Norman Conquest, the area's name appears only as variants of ''Heantune'' or ''Hamtun'', the prefix ''Wulfrun'' or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter. Alternatively, the city ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joiner
A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in a workshop, because the formation of various joints is made easier by the use of non-portable, powered machinery, or on job site. A joiner usually produces items such as interior and exterior doors, windows, stairs, tables, bookshelves, cabinets, furniture, etc. In shipbuilding a ''marine joiner'' may work with materials other than wood such as linoleum, fibreglass, hardware, and gaskets. The terms ''joinery'' and ''joiner'' are in common use in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The term is not in common use in North America, although the main trade union for American carpenters is called the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. In the UK, an apprentice of wood occupations could choose to study ''bench joinery'' or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Charles
Ray Alan (18 September 1930 – 24 May 2010) was an English ventriloquist and television entertainer from the 1950s until the 1980s. He was associated primarily with the dummies Lord Charles and Ali Kat and later with the puppets Tich and Quackers. Lord Charles was the first ventriloquist's dummy to have his own personal microphone. Early life Born in Greenwich, London, Alan was educated at Morden Terrace School, Lewisham.''Who's Who on Television'' (1982), ITV Books, Michael Joseph, p.6, Alan was introduced to the world of entertainment at a young age, entering a talent contest at the age of five at his local Gaumont cinema. Entertainment career Aged 13, Alan became a call-boy at the Hippodrome Theatre in Lewisham, where he started to do magic sets on stage between acts. He then started to entertain private functions, introducing ventriloquism into his act, along with playing the ukulele. Alan toured in cabaret all over the world and performed once with Laurel and Hardy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Alan
Ray Alan (18 September 1930 – 24 May 2010) was an English ventriloquist and television entertainer from the 1950s until the 1980s. He was associated primarily with the dummies Lord Charles and Ali Kat and later with the puppets Tich and Quackers. Lord Charles was the first ventriloquist's dummy to have his own personal microphone. Early life Born in Greenwich, London, Alan was educated at Morden Terrace School, Lewisham.''Who's Who on Television'' (1982), ITV Books, Michael Joseph, p.6, Alan was introduced to the world of entertainment at a young age, entering a talent contest at the age of five at his local Gaumont cinema. Entertainment career Aged 13, Alan became a call-boy at the Hippodrome Theatre in Lewisham, where he started to do magic sets on stage between acts. He then started to entertain private functions, introducing ventriloquism into his act, along with playing the ukulele. Alan toured in cabaret all over the world and performed once with Laurel and Hardy in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archie Andrews (puppet)
Archie Andrews was a ventriloquist's dummy used by ventriloquist Peter Brough in radio and television shows in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps the most popular show in its radio format was called ''Educating Archie'', regularly attracting over 15 million listeners. 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 radio show 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, Dick Emery, Max Bygraves, Harry Secombe, Benny Hill, Beryl Reid and 14-year-old Julie Andrews. During this period Max Bygraves together with Archie Andrews/Peter Brough recorded "The Dummy Song" which is still available on Max Bygraves' compilation albums. Archie went missing several times. *In 1947, he was in Peter Brough's car when it was stolen from Lower Regent Street, London, but found two d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Brough
Peter Brough (26 February 1916 – 3 June 1999) was an English radio ventriloquist who became a well-known name to audiences in the 1950s. He is associated with his puppet Archie Andrews. Early career Peter Brough’s father, Arthur Brough, was a ventriloquist and a frequent performer on the variety stages around London. Brough senior gave up performing in the early 1920s and concentrated on a textile business. Young Peter left school at 15 and worked for a Bayswater department store called Whiteleys, first as an errand boy and later as a counter salesman. He emulated his father by developing his ventriloquist skills, which he continued to practice whilst working at Whiteleys. Early press reports show Brough entertaining the patients at Acton hospital on Christmas Day, 1935. He continued entertaining at clubs and at concerts in the Acton area and by 1939 he was becoming a regular on the variety stage. His stage performances increased and in 1941 he was described as “Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née Barham) and Harry Hudd. His father was a carpenter who left the family shortly after the Second World War, and his mother, who had a history of mental health problems, commited suicide by gas when Hudd was 9 years old. Hudd was primarily brought up by his grandmother, and attended Tavistock Secondary Modern School in Croydon and Croydon Secondary Technical School. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, he studied commercial art at the Regent Street Polytechnic. He then worked as a messenger for an advertising agency, a window dresser and a commercial artist working under Harry Beck. He made his professional debut as a comedian at the Streatham Hill Theatre on 27 October 1957, in a show in aid of the Sir Philip Game#M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1883 Births
Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * January 16 – The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States civil service, is passed. * January 19 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service in Roselle, New Jersey, United States, installed by Thomas Edison. * February – ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi is first published complete in book form, in Italy. * February 15 – Tokyo Electrical Lightning Grid, predecessor of Tokyo Electrical Power (TEPCO), one of the largest electrical grids in Asia and the world, is founded in Japan. * February 16 – The '' Ladies' Home Journal'' is published for the first time, in the United States. * February 23 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. stat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ventriloquizing, and the ability to do so is commonly called in English the ability to "throw" one's voice. History Origins Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin for 'to speak from the stomach: (belly) and (speak). The Greeks called this gastromancy ( grc-gre, εγγαστριμυθία). The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the unliving, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future. One of the earliest recorded group of prophets to use this technique was the Pythia, the priestess at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1974 Deaths
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; following List of Prime Ministers of Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir's resignation in response to high Israeli casualties, she was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin. In Europe, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkey, Turkish troops initiated the Cyprus dispute, the Carnation Revolution took place in Portugal, and Chancellor of Germany, Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt resigned following an Guillaume affair, espionage scandal surrounding his secretary Günter Guillaume. In sports, the year was primarily dominated by the 1974 FIFA World Cup, FIFA World Cup in West Germany, in which the Germany national football team, German national team won the championshi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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