News / Animals
Orville – made in Bristol
A Bristol dressing room was where Keith Harris, who died on Tuesday, got the idea for his infamous puppet Orville.
The inspiration for the duck – who was later insured for £100,000 – came to Harris while he was starring with the Black and White Minstrels at the Hippodrome.
“I just happened to have this green fur lying about and had this idea for a little bird that was green and ugly and thought he wasn’t loved,” he told the Independent in 2002.
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Harris sent a rough sketch to his puppet maker, but was disappointed with the result.
“I hated him. But I took him to the girls in the dressing room next door and they said, ‘ah, ain’t he lovely’.
“The first time I used him he was an instant hit. There were tears in people’s eyes.”
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