2012 - Jack and the Beanstalk at the Wolverhampton Grand
2011 - Cinderella at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
2010 - Dick Whittington at the Birmingham Hippodrome
2009 - Peter Pan at the New Theatre Hull
2008 - Dick Whittington at the Ferneham Hall in Fareham
2007 - Cinderella at the Fernham Hall in Fareham
2006 - Aladdin at the Fernham Hall in Fareham
2005 - Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Ferneham Halls
2004 - Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Bolton Albert Halls
2003 - Dick Whittington at the Fernham Hall in Fareham
2002 - Jack and the Beanstalk - Wolverhamtpon Grand
2001 - Cinderella at the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe
2000 - Aladdin at the Floral Pavilon Brighton
1999 - Dick Whittington at the Alhambra Theatre Bradford
1998 - Little Red Riding Hood at the Billingham Forum
1997 - Jack and the Beanstalk at the Dorking Halls
1996 - Jack and the Beanstalk in Weston Super Mare
1995 - Aladdin at the Charter Theatre, Preston
1994 - Dick Whittington at the Southport Theatre
1993 - Robinson Crusoe - Ayr, Gaiety Theatre
1992 - Mother Goose at the Pavilion Theatre Rhyl
1991 - Mother Goose at the Darlington Civic
1990 - Snow White at the Cliffs Pavilion Southsea
1989 - Aladdin at the Theatre Royal Nottingham
1988 - Humpty Dumpty at the Theatre Royal Nottingham
1987 - Humpty Dumpty at the New Theatre Hull
1986 - Humpty Dumpty at the Sunderland Empire
1985 - Humpty Dumpty at the Birmingham Hippodrome
1984 - Humpty Dumpty at the Dominion Theatre London
1982 - Aladdin at the Oxford Apollo
1981 - Aladdin at the Theatre Royal Nottingham
1980 - Little Red Riding Hood - Lewisham Concert Hall
1979 - Babes in the Wood -Lewisham Concert Hall
1975 - Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Bradford Alhambra
1974 - Aladdin at the Birmingham Hippodrome
1973 - Robinson Crusoe - New Theatre Cardiff
1965 - Puss in Boots at the Swansea Grand Theatre
Keith Shenton Harris (21 September 1947 – 28 April 2015) was an English ventriloquist, best known for his television show The Keith Harris Show (1982–90), audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey. He had a UK Top 10 hit single in 1982 with "Orville's Song" which reached number 4 in the charts.
Harris' best known creation, Orville the duck, came about after he saw some green fur lying around backstage at a performance of The Black and White Minstrel Show in Bristol. Orville, recalled Simon Farquhar in his Independent obituary of Harris, was "a huge, gormless, falsetto-voiced green duckling sporting a nappy fastened by a giant safety pin". Harris recorded "Orville's song", written by Bobby Crush. It made the Top Ten in the UK singles chart in 1982 and sold 400,000 copies. It was later voted the worst song ever recorded.
In 2002 (filmed in 2001) Keith Harris was the subject of an episode of 'When Louis Theroux Met'
which gave a vunique look into Keith's personal and home life and followed him as he prepared
for his 2002 pantomime stint playing Buttons in Cinderella at the Crewe Lyceum in a Charles
Vance production. With exclusive rehearsal footage of Keith directing and a visit to Keith's Mum
who had created a new costumefor his panto performance this show was a fascinating insight
into Keith Harris and his thoughts about his career. At times despite trying his best to give out a
cheery outlook Keith came across as having regrets that his career had never hit the heights he
would have liked. Although throughout the documentary there were some awkward moments
between Louis and Keith the pair remained friends following the filming.
Harris had his spleen removed and chemotherapy after a cancer diagnosis in 2013. He subsequently returned to work. The cancer returned in 2014 and he died on 28 April 2015, at the age of 67.
Listen here to the UK No.4 Orville & Keith
Harris hit I WISH I COULD FLY
