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Orville the Duck was the most famous puppet often used by the
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 v ...
Keith Harris (1947–2015) and was named after
Orville Wright (one of the
Wright Brothers). Orville is a green
duckling
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
who wears nothing but a
nappy
A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or contai ...
with a large
safety pin
The safety pin is a variation of the regular pin which includes a simple spring mechanism and a clasp. The clasp forms a closed loop to properly fasten the pin to whatever it is applied to and covers the end of the pin to protect the user from th ...
on the front. He speaks with a
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
accent.
Orville appeared on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television from 1982 to 1990 on ''
The Keith Harris Show
The Keith Harris Show was a comedy variety show on BBC TV featuring Keith Harris and Orville the Duck
Orville the Duck was the most famous puppet often used by the ventriloquist Keith Harris (1947–2015) and was named after Orville Wright ...
'', which featured assorted puppets such as Orville the Duck and
Cuddles the Monkey
Cuddles the Orangutan was one half of Keith Harris's puppet act, the sidekick and nemesis of Orville the Duck. The ape
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though ...
. At the peak of their popularity in December 1982, Harris and Orville released the single "Orville's Song", reaching number 4 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in January 1983 and selling over 400,000 copies in total.
After ''The Keith Harris Show'' ended in 1990, Harris took up work for
Butlins
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...
holiday resorts.
In 1991 "Orville's Song" was sampled for a
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
music single "I Wish I Could Fly" by DWA with Harris appearing in the accompanying music video.
In 2004, Harris provided Orville's personality in an advert for
Surf washing powder. Harris, in an attempt to broaden the horizons of his original stage show, also toured with a more adult offering entitled ''Duck Off''.
Orville and Harris had a short appearance on the sketch comedy series ''
Little Britain'' as themselves in a group of entertainers waiting to meet the royal family. In another episode, Orville was portrayed as an out-of-work actor shopping at a supermarket, played by
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain'' (2003–2006, 2020) and '' Come Fl ...
, dressed as an oversized version of Orville, and had a regularly pitched voice. Harris and Orville have also made an appearance on Channel Four's ''
Banzai''.
In 2005, both Harris and Orville appeared in the
Channel 5 reality TV show, ''
The Farm'' and went on to win it. They also appeared in the video for
Tony Christie
Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This the Way To) Amarillo
"(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" is a song writt ...
's "
Is This the Way to Amarillo
"(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It is about a man traveling to Amarillo, Texas, to find his girlfriend Marie.
Written by two Americans with a strong country-western lyrical theme, the s ...
", which was re-released in that year. In May 2009, they made a cameo appearance on the BBC drama ''
Ashes to Ashes'', set in November 1982.
There were two Orville puppets that Harris used, one manual, one a radio-controlled animatronic version. The original Orville puppet is insured for £100,000.
In February 2012, Orville featured in a
giffgaff
Giffgaff (stylised "giffgaff") is marketed as a lower cost mobile phone flanker brand of Telefónica UK (trading as O2 UK), and was launched on 25 November 2009.
Products and services
At launch, Giffgaff's first product was a prepaid SIM c ...
advert. In October 2012 and December 2013, Orville appeared with Harris on ''
Pointless Celebrities
''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...
''.
Harris died of cancer on 28 April 2015 and his agent confirmed that Orville would be retired and will never appear in public again. The puppet was left to Harris' long time friend, ventriloquist Steve Hewlett, who subsequently donated it to 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 a ...
Museum.
References
External links
Colosseum Nightclub News: Duck In Hell - Orville And Cuddles Have Grown UpLyrics to "Orville's Song"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orville The Duck
Television characters introduced in 1982
Ventriloquists' dummies
Reality show winners
British comedy puppets
Fictional ducks
BBC Records artists