Fred Russell (ventriloquist)

Thomas Frederick Parnell OBE (29 September 1862 – 14 October 1957), known professionally as Fred Russell, was an English ventriloquist.

He is known as "The Father of Modern Ventriloquism" because in the 1890s he used only one dummy on stage creating a fast moving comedy team rather than a multi-figure act which, at the time, was the accepted format for a ventriloquial presentation.

In 1896, 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.

He 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.

Blue plaque, Putney, London
Image of male-appearing ventriloquist dummy with blond hair, faded red and cream-coloured scarf, knitted long-sleeved top in various colours, trousers, and black heeled boots, sitting seemingly unaided against a plain background.
Image of "Coster Joe", held by University of Bristol Theatre Collection .