Harry Corbett OBE was an English magician, puppeteer and television presenter.
13 Facts About Harry Corbett
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Harry Corbett was best known as the creator of the glove puppet character Sooty in 1952.
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Harry Corbett had a younger brother, Les, a saxophonist, whom he played duets with, and who would sometimes appear on The Sooty Show.
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Harry Corbett's parents had a fish and chip business in Guiseley called Springfield, which remains open and is known as Springfield Fisheries.
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Harry Corbett worked as an engineer with Leeds City Council prior to his time in show business.
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Harry Corbett was given a part in Peter Butterworth's TV show Saturday Special.
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Sooty and Harry Corbett were regularly featured on the Mickey Mouse Club in the United States in the mid-to-late 1950s.
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Harry Corbett continued to make occasional appearances on The Sooty Show for several years with his son.
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Harry Corbett continued his one-man stage show after he gave up his television appearances, and he died in his sleep on 17 August 1989, after playing to a capacity audience at Weymouth Pavilion in Weymouth, Dorset.
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In 1988, Harry Corbett was the subject of This Is Your Life, commemorating forty years in the entertainment industry and the debut of Sooty.
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Harry Corbett was a Freemason under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England.
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Harry Corbett was initiated in 1951 in Chevin Lodge No 6848 in West Yorkshire.
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Harry Corbett was awarded the OBE "for charitable services" on 1 January 1976.