Roger De Courcey (born 10 December 1944 in London, England) is a British

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 ...

, best known for performing with Nookie Bear. He was the winner of the 1976 ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

'' televised talent competition grand final.

Biography

De Courcey has performed on the West End stage, in productions of musicals '' Sweet Charity'', ''Two Cities'' and '' Company''. He has appeared at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

many times including the 1976 Royal Variety Performance in the presence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. In 1978 he released 'Nookie's Song', on the

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

Label. A freemason, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers. De Courcey is also a member and former "King Rat" 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 ...

which is the oldest theatrical fraternity in the world. De Courcey is also an agent, and represents musician Rick Wakeman and broadcaster David "Kid" Jensen. In 2008, De Courcey and Nookie made a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in Episode 7, Series 1, of '' Ashes to Ashes'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. De Courcey is also a fan of Crystal Palace Football Club.

References

External links

Official website
* 1944 births Living people Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Place of birth missing (living people) British male comedians Comedians from London Ventriloquists {{UK-comedian-stub