Archie Andrews was a
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 v ...
's
dummy used by ventriloquist
Peter Brough in
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...
and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
shows in the
UK in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps the most popular show in its radio format was called ''
Educating Archie'', regularly attracting over 15 million listeners. Archie was invariably dressed in a broad-striped blazer, and addressed the ventriloquist as "Brough". The television scripts were written by
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his prominent, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on the ITV sitcom ''Bootsi ...
and
Ronald Chesney
Ronald Chesney (born René Lucien Cadier; 4 May 1920 – 12 April 2018) and Ronald Wolfe (born Harvey Ronald Wolfe-Luberoff; 8 August 1922 – 18 December 2011) were British television comedy scriptwriters, best known for their 1960s and 1970s sit ...
.
The radio show had a children's fan club that at one time had 250,000 members. Among future stars who appeared on the show were
Tony Hancock,
Dick Emery,
Max Bygraves,
Harry Secombe
Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...
,
Benny Hill
Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme ''The Benny Hill Show'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double ente ...
,
Beryl Reid and 14-year-old
Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy ...
. During this period
Max Bygraves together with Archie Andrews/
Peter Brough recorded "The Dummy Song" which is still available on
Max Bygraves' compilation albums.
Archie went missing several times.
*In 1947, he was in Peter Brough's car when it was stolen from
Lower Regent Street,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, but found two days later in a garden in
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
.
*He was left in the rack of a railway carriage at
Chatham, but a
railway porter sent him back by taxi in time for his show.
*In 1951, Brough was travelling to
Leeds
Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
to
compere the televised Northern Music Hall at the Theatre Royal, Leeds, with Archie in his suitcase. Brough went for dinner in the dining car, and whilst away the carriage in which he had been sitting was taken off the train and went on to
Bradford. Unable to locate the puppet, at the venue Brough went through a revised script without the dummy. A
£1000 reward was offered and he was returned.
It is claimed that many Archies were made over the years and that two currently reside with puppet collector David Wilde. However, it is also claimed that only one Archie was made and that he was made in 1942. The mould from which he was made is believed to have been destroyed during the Blitz of World War II.
Archie was sold at auction in 2005 for £34,000.
See also
*
Leonard Insull
References
External links
Archie Andrews, the ventriloquist's puppet
Andrews, Archie
Puppets
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