Educating Archie

As strange as it may seem now, Archie Andrews was a ventriloquists dummy that first hit the big time on Radio! 

Operated by Peter Brough, Archie was the most popular radio personality of 1952, pulling in a phenomenal average of 15 million listeners. In 1951 a 1000 pound reward was offered for the puppets return when Brough had accidentally left him on a train. His show was also to give exposure to many up-and-coming stars of the time including Tony Hancock, Max Bygraves, Harry Secombe, Benny Hill, Beryl Reid and the 14-year-old Julie Andrews. There was also a fan club of around 250,000 children. 27 half hour TV shows were made for ITV, scripted by Ronald Chesney and Marty Feldman. 

Co-starring support came from Irene Handl and Dick Emery. Archie Andrews career was cut short when Peter Brough's father died and he decided to quit showbiz in order to run the families textile business.

Published on December 9th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.