The Life and Times of Bob Baker

A television feature from last year profiles the life and times of puppetry legend Bob Baker.

Some of the very first puppets I ever used professionally had beautiful, life-size Bunraku-style heads that were hand-crafted by Bob Baker, a master puppet builder who operates the oldest continuously operating puppet theatre in the United States, Bob Baker’s Marionettes.

Bob was the first puppeteer to ever perform on live T.V. (on L.A. station KHJ in 1939) and went on to work in hundreds of TV shows and movies over his seven decades (!) in puppetry. He’s worked on classics like Bedknobs & Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and was even a consultant for Walt Disney in the 1940s. In short, the man is a living legend.

About a year ago L.A.’s KCET profiled Bob as part of their “Life and Times” series and I just watched it yesterday online here (click the link and scroll down the page to find the video). Be sure to take a look.

Thanks to Myriad of Marionettes for finding the great link!