Keith Harris(1947-2015)

Keith made his pantomime debut at the age of nine as Babe in Babe in the Woods, followed the next year as Puss in Puss in Boots. Having followed his parents into a life of show business (his mother was a dancer and his father a comedian), his backstage childhood of touring led him to join his parents on stage whenever he could. His parents retired to Chester where his mother made panto costumes. His first ventriloquist act at fourteen was with a frog as his dummy. In 1983, he co wrote a panto on Humpty Dumpty around himself and his dummy, Orville. He had Orville since 1977 and Cuddles since 1967. He was married to the singer Jacqui Scott.