Fred Russell

Who was Fred Russell?

Fred Russell OBE was an English ventriloquist. Usually credited as being the first to use a knee-sitting figure, he is known as "The Father of Modern Ventriloquism".

Russell was born Thomas Frederick Parnell in London, and began his career as a journalist, but from 1882 began performing his hobby of ventriloquism in public. In 1886, when he was editor of the Hackney and Kingsland Gazette, he was offered a professional engagement at London's Palace Theatre and took up his stage career permanently. His act, based on the cheeky-boy dummy "Coster Joe", broke from the prevailing format of a family of dummies, establishing a precedent for performers such as Edgar Bergen and Paul Winchell.

According to The Times obituary, he changed his name because of the political flavour of "Parnell".

In 1910, Russell published a book on his craft entitled Ventriloquism and Kindred Arts. His act remained popular for several decades, involving prolonged tours of Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as visits to the United States and Ceylon. In 1938 he appeared at the Royal Command Performance. He was active in promoting the variety show genre and was an early and leading member of the Grand Order of Water Rats. He was a founder of the Variety Artists Federation. In 1948 he was awarded an O.B.E. for his long services to the profession.