Ivan Owen (19 August 1927 – 17 October 2000) was a British actor, mainly a voice actor, who created the vocal persona of the puppet

Basil Brush Basil Brush is a fictional red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts and comic strips. The character has ...

."Obituary: Ivan Owen"
''The Guardian'', 20 October 2000 He performed as Basil from the early 1960s until the mid-1980s.

Life and career

Born in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half ...

, south London, Owen did his National Service after World War II, and thus came into contact with

Terry Scott Owen John "Terry" Scott (4 May 1927 – 26 July 1994) was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven of the ''Carry On films''. He is also best known for appearing in the BBC1 sitcom ''Terry and June'' with June Whitfield. Early lif ...

. After being demobbed, he attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art but did not finish his course. He then worked in repertory theatre. Owen had already developed expertise in puppet voices when he met

Peter Firmin Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, Basil's designer, in the 1960s. He voiced Basil from his first appearance in 1963, which he modelled, it is reported, on that of

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of t ...

. He also operated the puppet, although the only moving part of it was the mouth. As well as Basil Brush, he provided the voice for another well-known television puppet, the dog "Fred Barker". Basil Brush, who had made his first on-screen appearance in 1963, returned to star in his own show between 1968 and the 1980s. Although Basil Brush was once ubiquitous in Britain and many countries of the Commonwealth, Owen maintained his anonymity throughout the height of the puppet's prominence during the 1970s, never giving television interviews or allowing himself to be photographed as he believed it would "break Basil's spell". He did, however, record one radio interview after he retired as Basil's voice. He died of cancer in 2000, aged 73, in Plymouth.

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Ivan 1927 births 2000 deaths Place of death missing English puppeteers English male voice actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors Deaths from cancer in England