Harry corbett sooty biography of abraham lincoln

When Harry Corbett bought a bear glove puppet on Blackpool's North Pier in 1948 to entertain his children, he could surely not have realised he was teaming up with a future TV icon.

Sooty, who turned 70 on Thursday, cost the then-engineer 7s 6d (about £11.50 in today's money) but proved a bargain as he grew from those humble beginnings into a star of stage and screen, delighting generations of children on both the BBC and ITV.

Although he whispers into his co-stars' ears, the rest of us have never heard him speak a word, as he prefers to let his wand and water pistol do the talking.

And yet the "magical" bear has still managed to have a catchphrase - "Izzy wizzy, let's get busy" - which his human companions have uttered to accompany his tricks.

Richard Cadell, who has been keeping Sooty in check since 1998, said it wa