Ivan Owen, actor best known as the voice of Basil Brush was born on this date in 1927. Here are ten things you might not know about Basil Brush.
Ivan Owen shunned publicity for himself in order to make the Basil Brush character more believable. He was the voice of Basil Brush until he died in 2000. Basil is now voiced by Michael Winsor, who also stays in the background.
The original Basil Brush glove puppet was designed by Peter Firmin in 1962. He took great pride in creating the Fox's magnificent tail, which led to his name, and which is known to be Basil’s most prized possession.
Basil’s first TV appearance was in a series called The Three Scampies, about an out of work circus act comprising Basil, human performer Howard Williams and a Hedgehog called Spike McPike.
Basil went on to become a supporting act for the magician David Nixon and in due course was given his own show which ran for 12 years from 1968 to 1980.
Basil’s voice was modelled on that of the actor Terry Thomas.
Basil’s human stooges on his show were Rodney Bewes, Derek Fowlds, Roy North, Howard Williams, who was in the original Three Scampies; and finally Billy Boyle. Big stars in the world of music, such as Cilla Black and Petula Clark, would also appear on the show and perform a duet with Basil as well as their solo performances. Because of the huge audience commanded by Basil, singers vied to appear on the show.
Basil supports Leicester City Football Club, which he refers to as "the foxes".
In 1987 he gave a private performance at Kensington Palace at Prince William’s fifth birthday party.
He often appears in panto or as a guest in other shows. In 2003 he appeared in the French & Saunders sketch Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan for Comic Relief Red Nose Day. He played Dobby the House Elf.
He’s a highly intelligent fox who has appeared in several quiz shows, including The Weakest Link (which he won), Pointless Celebrities, QI and The Chase, in which he earned £8,000 in his Cash Builder, and won his head-to-head Chase with Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan.
The first in a new series! It has invading aliens, gladiator-style contests, rivalry and romance.
The six richest people in Britain decide to hold a contest to settle the question of which of them is most successful. It will be a gladiator style contest with each entrant fielding a team of ten super-powered combatants. Entrepreneur Llew Powell sets out to put together his team, which includes his former lover, an employee of his company with a fascinating hobby, two refugees from another dimension (a lonely giant and a drunken sailor), two sisters bound together by a promise, a diminutive doctor, a former Tibetan monk initiate and two androids with a history. As the team train together, alliances form, friendships and more develop, while others find the past is not easy to leave behind.
Meanwhile, a ruthless race of aliens has its eyes on the Earth. Already abducting and enslaving humans, they work towards the final invasion which would destroy life on Earth as we know it. Powell’s group, Combat Team Alpha, stumble upon one of the wormholes the aliens use to travel to Earth and witness for themselves the horrors in store if the aliens aren’t stopped. Barely escaping with their lives, they realise there are more important things to worry about than a fighting competition.
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