Thomas Frederick Parnell OBE (29 September 1862 – 14 October 1957), known professionally as Fred Russell, was an English

ventriloquist 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 ve ...

. Usually credited as being the first to use a knee-sitting figure, he is known as "The Father of Modern Ventriloquism".

Biography

Russell was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and began his career as a journalist, but from 1882 began performing his hobby of ventriloquism in public. In 1896, when he was editor of the '' Hackney and Kingsland Gazette'', he was offered a professional engagement at London's Palace Theatre and took up his stage career permanently. His act, based on the cheeky-boy dummy "Coster Joe", broke from the prevailing format of a family of dummies, establishing a precedent for performers such as Edgar Bergen and

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, humanitarian, inventor and ventriloquist whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Paul Winchell S ...

. According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' obituary, he changed his name because of the political flavour of " Parnell". In 1910, Russell published a book on his craft entitled ''Ventriloquism and Kindred Arts''. His act remained popular for several decades, involving prolonged tours of Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as visits to the United States and

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. In 1938 he appeared at the

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

. He was active in promoting the

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

genre and was an early and leading member of the

Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...

. He was a founder of the

Variety Artistes' Federation The Variety Artistes' Federation (VAF) was a trade union representing variety performers in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded on 18 February 1906, after discussions between the show business social club and charity the Grand Ord ...

. In 1948 he was awarded an OBE for his long services to the profession. He continued to perform late in life, giving televised music hall performances in 1952, billed as "the oldest ventriloquist in the world". He died in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, aged 95.

Blue plaque

Fred Russell lived in Kenilworth Court in Putney, London, from 1914 to 1926. A blue plaque by the entrance of Kenilworth Court commemorates him.

References

*Obituary, ''The Times'', Tuesday, Oct 15, 1957; pg. 14

External links

English Heritage Blue Plaque for Father of Modern Ventriloquism, Fred Russell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Fred 1862 births 1957 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Ventriloquists Vaudeville performers