Raymond Alan Whyberd (18 September 1930 – 24 May 2010) was an English

ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

, television entertainer, and writer. His career spanned over half a century, though he was most popular from the 1950s until the 1980s. He was associated primarily with the dummies Lord Charles and Ali Kat and later with the puppets Tich and Quackers.

Early life

Born Raymond Alan Whyberd in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, London, Alan was educated at Morden Terrace School,

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

.''Who's Who on Television'' (1982), ITV Books, Michael Joseph, p.6, He was introduced to the world of entertainment at a young age, entering a talent contest at the age of five at his local Gaumont cinema.

Entertainment career

Aged 13, Alan became a call-boy at the Hippodrome Theatre in

, where he started to do magic sets on stage between acts. He then started to entertain private functions, introducing ventriloquism into his act, along with playing the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

. He soon left school to begin performing full-time. Alan toured in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

all over the world and performed once with

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

in 1954. Laurel had provided inspiration for the look of Alan's most famous creation, Lord Charles, who first appeared at a charity show in Wormwood Scrubs Prison, London. Alan made his television debut with Lord Charles on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

programme '' The Good Old Days'' in the 1960s and the pair regularly re-appeared on the programme. In the 1960s he also appeared on a children's programme ''Tich and Quackers'' with Tich, a small boy, and his pet duck Quackers. He created the puppet character ''Ali Cat'' for the HTV series ''Magic Circle'' (1977). He was also the presenter for two years of the BBC show ''Ice Show''. In 1985 he was a special guest for

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

's birthday show at London's Lyric Theatre. In 1986 he presented a show on Channel 4 on ventriloquism, called ''A Gottle of Geer'', which he later adapted into a book. Alan continued to perform into his seventies, doing tours, performing in plays, and undertaking conference and corporate events. In 1998/1999 he entertained guests on the ''

QE2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner. Built for the Cunard Line, the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel, operating sin ...

''. He took a break from stage work due to ill health but he did not rule out a return, if his health had permitted. His last stage appearance was in November 2008 when he performed at a special charity concert in

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

organised by his friend

Greg Knight Sir Gregory Knight (born 4 April 1949) is a British politician, author and musician. He served as the Conservative MP for East Yorkshire from 2001 to 2024, having previously served as the MP for Derby North from 1983 to 1997. He also serv ...

who was MP for the town. At the end of his performance he received a standing ovation.

Writing

Alan wrote four novels: ''Death and Deception'' in 2007 and ''A Game of Murder'' in 2008 (both published by Robert Hale), ''A Fear of Vengeance'' (2010, published by FA Thorpe) and ''Retribution'' (2011, published posthumously by Robert Hale). He also wrote for

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series '' Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

, Dave Allen and for the shows ''

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew; 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman; 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...

'', ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo se ...

'' and ''

Bootsie and Snudge ''Bootsie and Snudge'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV for three series from 1960 to 1963, with a fourth in 1974. The show is a spin-off of ''The Army Game'', a sitcom about soldiers undertaking national service, and follows two of the m ...

'', usually under the name Ray Whyberd.

Personal life

Alan married Greta Motherwell in 1956; they divorced in 1972. He was in a relationship with Barbie Hayes in the 1980s. He married Jane Laycock in 1991. Alan lived in

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

, Surrey. He died from complications of pneumonia and

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory ...

East Surrey Hospital East Surrey Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in the Whitebushes area to the south of Redhill, in Surrey, England. It is managed by the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Reigate C ...

in Redhill, on 24 May 2010, at the age of 79.

Media appearances

Television

* ''

David Nixon's Comedy Bandbox ''Comedy Bandbox'' is a British TV show that was produced in Manchester by ABC Television from 1962 to 1966. Four series and 54 episodes were produced. It had a revue format in which a variety of comedians performed stand-up and sketches. The l ...

'' (1966) * ''The Tich and Quackers Show'' (1966) * ''Ice Show'' (1969) * ''Tell Me Another'' (1976–1978, guest, comedic anecdotal series) * ''Magic Circle'' (1977) * ''Three Little Words'' (c. 1980) * ''

Give Us a Clue ''Give Us a Clue'' is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1984, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two ...

'' (17 November 1980) * ''

The Sooty Show ''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous ad ...

'' – "Soo's Party Problem" (1983) * '' Mike Reid's Mates and Music'' (1984) * ''

Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follo ...

's TV Weekly'' (1987) Alan was also the presenter of the panel game '' Where in the World'' and of the children's quiz show ''It's Your Word''. He also hosted ''Cartoon Carnival'' and made many appearances on later game shows such as ''

Celebrity Squares ''Celebrity Squares'' is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show ''Hollywood Squares''. It first ran on ITV from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Monkhouse— ...

'', ''

Give Us A Clue ''Give Us a Clue'' is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1984, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two ...

'', ''

Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...

'', ''

3-2-1 ''3–2–1'' is a British game show that made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, from 29 July 1978 to 24 December 1988, with Ted Rogers as the host. It was based on a Spanish game show called '' Un, dos, tres... respond ...

'', ''

Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...

'' and ''

The Bob Monkhouse Show Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, television presenter, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ...

''. Alan also appeared on ''

The Des O'Connor Show ''The Des O'Connor Show'' is a British variety and chat show hosted by Des O'Connor which was broadcast on ITV from 1963 until 1973. History Associated Television produced the programme, which was recorded in black-and-white for the first s ...

'' and on ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

''.

Radio

* ''The Impressionists'',

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

(guest 1974–75; host 1980–88) *''

Just a Minute ''Just a Minute'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Sue Perkins became the permanent host, starting with the 87th ser ...

'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

(four appearances late 1970s) * ''

The News Huddlines ''The News Huddlines'' was a BBC Radio 2 topical comedy sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners. Performers T ...

'', BBC Radio 4 (presenter for one show, 29 October 1975)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alan, Ray 1930 births 2010 deaths 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English novelists Deaths from pneumonia in England Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis English mystery writers Television personalities from the Royal Borough of Greenwich People from Greenwich People from Reigate Ventriloquists Writers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich English male entertainers