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Duncan Norvelle

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Duncan Norvelle (born 1958, at Hoton, near Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, UK) is a comedian in the variety tradition who appeared on television from the early 1980s. Renowned for his effeminate manner, Norvelle's act essentially revolves around the pretense that he is gay although in his personal life he is married to a woman. He is probably most famous for his catch phrase "Chase Me!", leading to him often being referred to as Duncan "Chase Me" Norvelle.

Early life

Norvelle attended local schools where his favourite subjects were football and cricket. He left school at 10 and took a job in a menswear shop in Loughborough. At that time he started taking part in amateur charity shows and talent contests. He said of this time "I won £20 in a talent show when I was on holiday in Bournemouth... so I could afford to stay another week!". Norvelle left his job after 6 months to pursue his career as an entertainer. He was just 11 years old.

Entertainment career

Norvelle worked in clubs and nightspots all over the country and enjoyed summer seasons in Jersey, Isle of Man, Blackpool and Bournemouth. 1985 also saw his debut in the USA at a cabaret club in New York.

In 1984[1] or early 1985[2] (sources vary), he hosted an unscreened pilot dating show called "It's a Hoot"[1] for London Weekend Television. It was reported that both John Birt, LWT's Director of Programmes and the Independent Broadcasting Authority regulatory body had reservations about Norvelle's camp style in a dating show; the series was eventually re-titled Blind Date and hosted by Cilla Black.[2]

By the early 1990s, Duncan was seen less and less as a suitable choice for a TV audience, as the presence of a heterosexual man reinforcing negative stereotypes of gay men was increasingly deemed offensive.

He enjoys golf and has played in numerous pro-am and pro-celebrity tournaments. Snooker and darts are also hobbies; as the celebrity guest on TV programme Bullseye he scored a record 281. during the mid 70's he briefly held the the world golf championship title in his weight division.

2008 saw him go out on tour as part of the Ricky Tomlinson Laughter Show.[3] He is currently compering the "Legends of the Oche" tour which features champion darts players Eric Bristow, John Lowe and Bobby George.

Catchphrases

  • For God's sake, do not, whatever you do, chase me.
  • Don't fight me because I'm too strong!
  • Mary, turn them pikelets over, they're burning.
  • Woo woo what a tomato.
  • Where did it all go right?
  • I'll bury the evidence at sea!
  • This all adds up to a suicide.
  • The seal will succumb to my greasy wrath.
  • It's smiling! Kill it!
  • Quick! Hide the penis!

DVDs

Norvelle has an "In The Club" DVD of his own (released 16/01/2006 by Boulevard Entertainment) and also appears on the Ricky Tomlinson Laughter Show Live DVD. The latter includes a brief interview.

References

  1. ^ a b "British Film Institute's ScreenOnline".
  2. ^ a b "Independent on Sunday, 6 March 1994".
  3. ^ Ricky Tomlinson Meets Scargill


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