The snobbish, monocled and apparently perma-sloshed Lord Charles has uttered his final cry of "You silly arse!".
Ray Alan, the ventriloquist who manipulated the incorrigible, aristocratic puppet for decades, died early this morning, his agent said. Alan was 79.
Alan was a TV regular for years, clocking up appearances on variety shows as well as having his own children's series, Tich and Quackers.
It is thought he stopped breathing overnight after complaining of feeling unwell at his home in Reigate, Surrey. His agent, Peter Pritchard, said: "He passed away very suddenly."
The ventriloquist had been too ill to work for the last few months and had struggled to manipulate his troublesome sidekick as he got older.
Pritchard, who worked with Alan for 30 years, said: "Technically, he was regarded as Britain's top ventriloquist. You just couldn't see his mouth moving. He was tremendously well-liked in the business and he had been in the entertainment business all his life."
Alan was a notable guest on gameshows such as Celebrity Squares, Give Us A Clue and 3-2-1, as well as appearing in programmes such as Sunday Night at the London Palladium. He was among the stars who performed at a TV celebration for legendary comic actor Bob Hope's 82nd birthday.
Lord Charles, Alan's best-known character, was inspired by a boozy toff whom Alan spotted at a table during a cabaret show. The puppet's features were based on the face of silent movie comic Stan Laurel, with whom Alan worked.
"I looked at Stan Laurel's face and I thought 'Good God, that's the face I want ‑ just change the hair and put a monocle on it," he said. "So I played around with some photographs of Stan and found the face, went to the man [who made his ventriloquist dolls] and showed him what I wanted and he made me Lord Charles."
The character, noted for his catchphrase "You silly arse", would often be distracted by any glamorous women in the audience. Other characters included Ali Cat who featured in the 1970s children's show Magic Circle.
Alan, who was born in Greenwich, south London, was a "call boy" at the Lewisham Hippodrome theatre, leaving school at 14. His act originally involved impressions and conjuring tricks and he developed his ventriloquy after pretending there were voices coming from a box on stage. His first official show as a ventriloquist came when he was 19.
Alan, who is survived by his wife Jane, also worked as a writer. He published his third crime novel, A Fear Of Vengeance, earlier this year.