The ventriloquist Keith Harris, famous for his green bird puppet companion Orville the Duck, has died of cancer, aged 67.
The entertainer, who hosted The Keith Harris Show on BBC One, had a showbusiness career that spanned 50 years.
Harris, who performed at birthday parties for the young princes William and Harry, had a No 4 chart hit at the peak of his popularity in 1982 with Orville’s Song, which sold 400,000 copies.
He announced that he had cancer on stage last April, breaking down in tears while telling his audience he was set to have a bone marrow transplant.
Harris’s agent, Robert C Kelly, told the Press Association that Harris had become ill again in January after first being diagnosed in 2013.
“I spoke to Keith most days, whether we had business to do or not. I think I laughed every single time we spoke,” Kelly said.
“Keith was not only a technically great ventriloquist, he was also a gifted mimic and an extraordinarily funny man both on stage and off. Perhaps even rarer than that in showbiz, he was a thoroughly decent man, a great friend and a wonderful father and husband.”
Harris had three children, Skye, 27, Kitty, 15, and Shenton, 13, and had been married four times.
Kelly said Harris spent his last months “at his second home in Portugal, taking walks along the Blackpool seafront and sitting in the park eating ice cream and watching the world go by”.
Stars and public figures began to pay tribute to the star shortly after his death was announced. The culture secretary, Sajid Javid, tweeted: “Very sad to hear that Keith Harris has died after a battle with cancer. Brought joy to my childhood.”
The TV presenter and actor Keith Chegwin said: “So sad. A great entertainer and all round nice man Keith Harris has passed away. Best wishes to his family at this sad time.”
We're saddened to hear that Keith Harris has died. Alongside Orville, he made millions of viewers laugh and smile. pic.twitter.com/W4AJZoOXdK
— BBC One (@BBCOne) April 28, 2015
So sad to hear of the death of Keith Harris. RIP.
— Les Dennis (@LesDennis) April 28, 2015
