treasured Sooty puppet, introduced dwelling by a stagehand on the highest kids’s TV present as a present for his son, is to go on sale.
Brian Isaacs, who labored as a stagehand and set builder within the leisure trade from the late Nineteen Sixties by means of to the Eighties, begged officers on The Sooty Show to permit him to take the glove puppet dwelling for his son Lee Kent who was a fan of the present.
Now Lee, 46, a safety employee from Surbiton, south-west London, is hoping the puppet will go to an excellent dwelling when it goes up on the market on July 17 as he nonetheless remembers his “father acting silly with Sooty” to make him and his brother Graham chuckle.
The puppet has a £400-£600 estimate on the Hansons Auctioneers’ sale.
He mentioned: “I’ve always treasured Sooty and kept him in a safe place. He’s been a talking point for many years but now I have no family left.
“My parents have passed away and, sadly I recently lost my brother. I have no children and have had health issues myself so feel it’s time Sooty found a home where he can be cherished and loved by someone who will appreciate him and his connection to one of the most famous children’s shows in TV history.”
His father met many entertainers when he labored for Thames Television for greater than 20 years on the units and within the rigging by means of to the Eighties.
Mr Kent mentioned: “I have pictures of him with Ernie Wise, Tom O’Connor, Des O’Connor and Frankie Vaughan among other celebrities, but not, unfortunately, Harry or Matthew Corbett.”
He added: “I was only about three when dad bought Sooty home in 1979 or 1980. At the time my family lived in Carshalton, south London, near the Thames studios.
“Dad told me Sooty was old and had been used in the TV show. I am not sure whether our Sooty was used by Harry or Matthew Corbett but Matthew would have been presenting the show at the time.
“When I was young dad used to play with Sooty to entertain me and my brother, Graham. It still brings a smile to my face when I think of my father acting silly with Sooty.”
Charles Hanson, proprietor of Hansons, mentioned: “This touching story of a loving dad begging a Sooty from the TV set where he worked to delight his sons reminds me of why Sooty was invented in the first place.
“Harry Corbett famously bought the first Sooty puppet on Blackpool’s North Pier for seven shillings and six pence in 1948 to entertain his children.
“The little bear has brought joy to millions of youngsters ever since.”
He added: “The nation’s love for the little yellow bear with a sooty nose and paws never seems to dim.”
A Nineteen Fifties authentic Sooty puppet utilized by Harry Corbett set a world document public sale worth when it bought for £14,500, with purchaser’s premium, at Hansons in 2018, the auctioneers mentioned.
Richard Cadell, the person who now owns the rights to the TV character, paid £3,100 for an authentic Corbett-owned Sooty at public sale in 2008.
The Sooty Show was created by Harry Corbett and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, after which for ITV from 1968 till 1992.
Production was dealt with by Thames Television from 1968 with Mr Corbett presenting the programme till he retired in 1975.
Son Matthew Corbett went on to current the programme till 1992.
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