PuppetVision Blog

PuppetVision Archives: early television puppetry
28 Jul 2011 An Attic Full of Puppets
An Attic Full of Puppets

Award winning documentary maker Richard Butchins was attending a party last January when he made the acquaintance of an older gentleman named Frank. Over the course of their conversation Frank casually mentioned that he “used to be in show business a bit,” and revealed a cupboard full of old cans of film. Richard eventually realized...

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12 Jul 2011 The Adventures of Superpup
The Adventures of Superpup

I'm not sure why I've never heard of this until now, but apparently the producers of the popular 1950s Superman TV series were trying to figure out how to extend their lucrative franchise and hit upon the idea of launching a spin-off/spoof called The Adventures of Superpup that featured actors in dog suits and a...

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27 Nov 2010 Weekend Puppet Catch-Up
Weekend Puppet Catch-Up

Thanks to an incredible number of submissions from all of you wonderful readers and being busy with a few different film projects in recent weeks, I've once again fallen hopelessly behind with interesting things from world of puppet film and video. So once again, here's a quick weekend puppet catch...

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26 Aug 2010
Original Muppets Donated to Smithsonian

The original Muppets have returned home to Washington. The Henson family has donated the original Kermit the Frog puppet - famously made by Jim Henson from his mother's coat and ping pong balls - to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American...

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30 Dec 2008
Rest in Peace Hank Stohl

Hank Stohl was a star puppeteer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the early days of television. I’m sad to report that we’ve lost another of the early pioneers of television puppetry. Henry “Hank” Stohl – a well-known as a puppeteer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1950s and `60s – passed away on Monday after a long...

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14 Aug 2008
John K. on Vintage Puppets

John K. wrote a great post yesterday about “what makes Funny Puppets”. I love his take on the charm of vintage puppets and maybe there’s something to his claim that The Muppets inadvertantly ruined puppetry by being so successful that almost everyone decided to copy their style without understanding the elements of their work that...

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05 Apr 2008 Babes in the Hollywoods
Babes in the Hollywoods

Legendary animator/puppeteer Bob Clampett created the surprisingly risqué Babes in the Hollywoods in 1950. Babes in the Hollywoods is a classic Beany & Cecil film by Bob Clampett (see previous post) from 1950. This was made as fundraiser film for RTRA (Radio Television Recording & Advertising) and is surprisingly risqué. What really struck me about...

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04 May 2007
Rowlf and Jimmy Dean on DVD

American country singer Jimmy Dean and Rowlf the Dog, in an undated photo from the 1960s. Jim Henson’s first regular gig on national TV in the U.S. was Rowlf the Dog appearing as a regular on the Jimmy Dean Show in the 1960s. Clips of Rowlf and Jimmy Dean have traditionally been few and rarely...

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