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 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 "Wulfrunian ...

, Insull trained as a

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 ...

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 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 Quack ...

and

Archie Andrews Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,

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 English puppeteers English magicians {{England-bio-stub