Help building the largest human-edited directory of the web Suggest URL - Open Directory Project - Become an editor

directopedia.org uses links and structure from dmoz Open Directory Project.
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.

A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object -- a puppet -- to create the illusion of life. A puppeteer can operate a puppet either by the use of strings, rods, wires or simply their own hands. Some puppet styles require puppeteers to work in teams to create a single character.

There are a broad range of styles of puppetry that require puppeteers. There are shadow puppets, rod puppets, Marrionettes, Table-top puppets, body puppets, Hand or glove puppets, etc. Whatever the style, the puppeteer's role is to use manipulate the physical object in such a manner that the audience believes the object is imbued with life.

Sergey Obraztsov, frequently cited as the father of artistic puppetry, was skilled in finger puppeteering and showing puppeteering with his bare hands. His famous number was a dancing couple whose complicated tango movements had to be manipulated by seven puppeteers simultaneously.

Two of the most famous modern puppeteers are Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Their work has entertained children for decades on the popular Sesame Street, and The Muppet Show television series. (The puppets used by these puppeteers are usually called Muppets).

Henson and Oz also frequently worked in film, including directing and puppeteer work in the 1982 film The Dark Crystal and the 1986 film Labyrinth. Oz is also well known for his work with the puppet of Yoda in the popular Star Wars movie series and as a director of movies such as the musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Another puppeteer is Gerry Anderson who used a puppet system called Supermarionation to a number of successful science fiction television shows like Thunderbirds.

Contents 1 Notable puppeteers 1.1 Famous people who also were amatuer puppeteers 2 See also 3 External Links

Notable puppeteers

• Cosmo Allegretti (Captain Kangaroo's Mr. Moose and Mr. Bunny Rabbit)
• Bob Baker (400 movies, first puppeteer on TV - Los Angeles KHJ in 1939.)
• Bil Baird
• Eric Bass (Artistic Director Sandglass Theater, Putney, Vermont]
• Trace Beaulieu (Mystery Science Theater 3000's Crow T. Robot)
• Edgar Bergen (Charlie McCarthy and others)
• Michael Ian Black (The Pets.com sock puppet)
• Warner Blake (Interdisciplinary Artist)
• Fran Brill (Prairie Dawn, Zoe, Little Bird, Roxie Marie)
• Kevin Clash (Elmo on Sesame Street)
• Jonathan Edward Cross (a.k.a. Jonny ClockWorks) Artistic Director of The Cosmic Bicycle Theatre
• Wayland Flowers (Madame)
• Christine Glanville (One of Gerry Anderson's lead puppet operators)
• Phillip Huber (Puppets for Being John Malkovich)
• Jim Henson (Kermit the Frog, Ernie, and many others)
• Roberto La Morticella (made giant street theater puppets during the Summer of Love)
• Shari Lewis (Lamb Chop and others)
• Jon Ludwig (Artistic Director, Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, Ga.)
• Mat McCoy (Farscape)
• Lewis Mahlmann (Director of Children's Fairyland puppet theater 1967-1990)
• Randal Metz (Director of Children's Fairyland puppet theater 1990-present, President SF Puppet Guild)
• Kevin Murphy (Mystery Science Theater 3000's Tom Servo)
• Jerry Nelson (Dr. Julius Strangepork, Herry Monster)
• Sergey Obraztsov, frequently cited as the father of artistic puppetry
• Frank Oz (Miss Piggy, Yoda, Bert, Fozzie Bear, Grover, Cookie Monster and many others)
• Pantopuck (first puppeteer on television, author of "The Magic Tower and other Plays" & "Modern Puppetry.")
• Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood)
• Ilke Schönbein (travelling puppeteer)
• Peter Schumann (Bread and Puppet Theater)
• Robert Smigel (Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog)
• Caroll Spinney (Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street)
• Winston Tong (1978 Obie Award winner for Puppetry)
• Bart. P. Roccoberton Jr. (Professor of Puppet Arts, University of Connecticut)

Famous people who also were amatuer puppeteers

• Peter Brook
• Jean Cocteau
• Goethe
• Alfred Jarry
• Jon Stewart

See also

• List of puppets
• Adult puppeteering
• Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets
• Larry Niven's Known Space science fiction stories in which Puppeteers are an alien race.
• For information about puppetry technique or the use of puppets, see the respective articles on each kind of puppet.

External Links

• Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA) - International organization of puppeteers and puppet enthusiasts
• Puppeteers of America - National non-profit organization of puppeteers in the United States
• The Puppetry Homepage - Extensive although no longer updated site with links to information on puppeteers and all styles of puppetry
• PuppetVision Blog - Popular weblog about puppeteers and the role of puppetry in film, television and digital media
• Puptcrit - Email discussion list about puppeteers, puppetry theory and practice
• Frappr Map - Of puppeteers worldwide
• Muppet Central Puppetry Forum - Popular message board for puppeteers and puppet builders working in the Muppet tradition
• People's history: A short history of radical puppetry from the 17th Century to today

This article is based on the article "Puppetry" from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Here you find the list of authors of this article. The article can only edited within Wikipedia. Edit this article in Wikipedia.