Jack Beckitt
Jack Beckitt (24 September 1928 – 18 February 2010) was an English ventriloquist known for his "talking shoes" and his dummy Willie Drinkall.
Biography[edit]
Beckitt was born John Beckitt, better known as Jack, on 24 September 1928 in Grimsby. His first ventriloquist's dummy was called Kenny Tok, a monocled puppet who wore top hat and tails.[1] Soon after, he won a talent contest at Grimsby's Empire Theatre.[2] He joined a troupe, called the Ragamuffins and expanded his act with two additional dummies, Johnny and Dickie Shorthouse.[1]
By the 1960s, Beckitt had spent his time in national service, and was represented by the Bert Aza agency, where he would perform in variety shows. Beckitt created a talking shoe with a face painted on the sole as a gimmick for his show - which soon increased into multiple shoes. One shoe's character, an alcoholic, became the basis for his most famous dummy, Willie Drinkall.[1]
Drinkall was a papier-mâché headed dummy, who would generally be smoking a cigarette, his eyes moved independently, as well as his eyelids and jaw. His arm was long enough to go around Beckitt's neck.[3]
With this new dummy, Beckitt appeared on The Good Old Days,[4] which led to an 8-month booking at London Palladium and a further eight-month booking at the Americana Hotel in Miami, and a period at Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.[1]
Beckitt eventually settled in Gosford, New South Wales, where he died on 18 February 2010.[1] Beckitt had married twice, and had a son and a daughter during his first marriage. His son, John Beckitt, would go on to be another entertainer.[5] He wrote his memoirs, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vent!: A Life in Variety from the Palladium to Las Vegas, which were published in the United Kingdom around 2004.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Baker, Richard Anthony (20 April 2010). "Jack Beckitt". The Stage. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Ruston, Abby (14 September 2019). "Treading the boards of time at The Empire Theatre in Cleethorpes". Grimsby Live. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "Willy Drinkall Ventriloquist Dummy, well moulded painted papier-máché head with bulbous nose, tee". www.the-saleroom.com. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "Jack Beckitt: ventriloquist". The Times. No. 69916. London, England. 8 April 2010. p. 59.
- ^ "Son of International Entertainer to Star in Spotlights 'My Fair Lady'". Ascot Matters. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Jack Beckitt (22 July 2018). "It shouldn't happen to a vent!: a life in variety from the Palladium to Las Vegas / by Jack Beckitt". Tranters Ltd – via explore.bl.uk.