Monday, July 09, 2007

Puppets!



I grew up in the golden age of puppetry, or at least the golden age of puppetry that has been preserved on film and video.

My parents took me to watch "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" live when it was broadcast in Chicago and puppeteer Burr Tillstrom was a close family friend. Later, I got to meet Shari Lewis and Jim Henson. So I was thrilled to find out that the wonderful Emmy-winning PBS documentary "Stories of the American Puppet," covering those brilliant puppeteers and Edgar Bergan, Paul Winchell, and many others, will be available on DVD in September. DVD extras include full performances expanding on the excerpts in the show.

For those who can't wait, the earlier documentary from Mark Mazzarella is available on VHS.

3 comments:

Linda said...

Gotta have that DVD! I grew up with those same TV puppets, and prefered them to cartoons. My oldest (who is in her late 20's) is a freak about all that is Muppets. At 2 years old she had to see the Muppets on exhibit at the Boston Children's Museum, even though she got car sick on the way. Yes, even at 2 they are insistent when they're fans! Thanks for the heads up!

Nell Minow said...

Thanks for the wonderful comment! I'm very happy to hear from another puppet fan. If you ever get to Chicago, be sure to stop by the Chicago History Museum to see Kukla and Ollie!

Anonymous said...

I grew up on Fraggle Rock :) Gotta love Henson :)