They're baaaack!

Uh-oh. It’s those Santas again! It’s December already? Dang it. . . It’s time to utter a few four-letter words.

December 10 is the two-year anniversary of this blog. Whether I like it or not. I’m sorry to say that a certain four-letter word comes immediately to mind, and that word is: TIME. Or the lack of it.

I enjoy writing and I enjoy posting on this blog. But there’s this thing called LIFE (another four-letter word, you will notice) that keeps getting in the way. I enjoy having a little space here on the world wide whatever where I can share my views and keep in contact with others. But there are other things happening besides this site, and they’re just about all more important than this site! So this poor site gets pushed aside rather easily.

It wasn’t meant to be this way. In my blogging dreams, I planned of posting at least three or four times a week, with photos and extensive data. Alas, it was not to be. Time isn’t on my side in this one. I had to remove the words “updated weekly” from the mast head when it became clear that I would be lucky if I could update monthly!

The writers in Hollywood went on strike a few weeks ago. That’s because writing is work. Even those who enjoy it must confess that it takes time to do well. It’s not something that can be taken for granted, as some people are disposed to do. Good writing takes time. If I’m having trouble putting together a simple blog, imagine how much work it must be for good writers to put together a TV show every week - or even every day, in the case of soap operas! Thankfully, they are given some time (and cash) to write. But I don’t have that luxury. That puts this blog on the same level as cleaning out the attic or buying the latest gadget. It’s something that should be done, but that doesn’t have to be done immediately.

What’s the next step? Well, just as those Santas are moving one step at a time, I will do the same. I definitely will keep posting once in a while, and hopefully you can find something here that you will enjoy. You’ve probably figured out that you don’t have to check in every week. But hey, there’s always every other week. As I’ve said before, thank you for your patience. Your prayers and good wishes for me are very much appreciated.

Also, please keep checking my YouTube page every few weeks. I have been posting new videos there (Most recently Ernie and Bert‘s "what happened here" and "The King‘s Nose"). You just might find something fun over yonder.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go clean the attic. . .

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DUSTY, BUT THERE: We have an update to the November posting about “In search of: Retired Puppets”. As mentioned before, a fellow named Benjamin Wagner is working on a documentary about Fred Rogers. He recently visited the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, and in a blog posting he confirms that the Mister Rogers puppets are on display there. He writes:

The Museum has been home to "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" exhibit since 1998. Developed in partnership with FCI, it replicates the show's set -- it's all there: King Friday's castle, X the Owl's tree -- but in a hands-on way. Kids can be on or behind the camera, drive trolley, put on their own puppet show, or play Mister Rogers' piano.

Picture Picture's there too. We watched a video on the making of the exhibit narrated by David Newell. There was Mister Rogers wearing an overcoat and glasses, standing next to Bill Isler and smiling.

Mister Rogers' spirit was everywhere. And smiling.

Still -- and I've felt this way numerous times throughout the making of this film -- his absence was palpable too.

Puppets from The Land of Make Believe stood in glass cases in the hallway next to the exhibit. And while it was exciting and even moving to see the real Daniel Striped Tiger and King Friday, it made me sad to see them staring back at me all glassy-eyed, lifeless and dusty.

I miss Mister Rogers, and often wish he was here to help Chris and me.

You can read the complete blog posting here:

http://mrrogersandme.blogspot.com/2007/11/mister-rogers-danny-me.html

You can read about Ben's meeting with Mister Rogers here:

http://www.benjaminwagner.com/news/mrrogers.html

Now we need somebody in Chicago to visit the historical society and see if the Kukla and Ollie puppets are on display!

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FELIZ NAVIDAD FROM BOB: In the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade this year, we saw an appearance of the legendary Bob McGrath. Yes, Bob is still on the street! You may have seen him singing “See you tomorrow” to Big Bird in a more recent clip. I like to promote the “old school” stars whenever I can. Bob also has a new Christmas album, but don’t click on the link below if you’re in a library. It plays a clip of Bob singing. You’ll bother all the non-believers sitting around you. I guess Bob took a lesson from Maria (Sonia Manzano), whose site also has a song clip.

http://www.bobmcgrath.com/

I wonder if Bob’s Christmas sing-along is a tribute to his days singing with the Mitch Miller singers. Remember Mitch? They did a few sing-along Christmas albums as well. I’m not sure if Mitch Miller ever went on tour, but Bob did! Bob performed some of his songs at a few Barnes & Noble bookstores in the last few weeks.

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AND, OH YEAH, BY THE WAY. . . I would assume that all my web-savvy muppet friends have discovered the Beta version of the Sesame Street video site! I haven’t been having much luck with it so far, but that’s probably more due to my connection than anything else. I can’t wait to test-drive it on a fast modem. I shall report back when I have more luck. In the meantime, enjoy some superb classic Sesame St. clips from yesteryear on this site.

And hats off to Sesame Workshop. With the “Old School” releases plus this Web site, they demonstrate that they have a desire to share the classic material. They are definitely on the right track.

http://video.sesameworkshop.org/

In search of: Retired puppets

Somewhere in my parents’ attic, there’s a trunk with several of my old toys in it, including an old Winnie-the-Pooh. I’ve been fortunate enough to still have some of my old toys. (You can read about some of them for yourself by clicking on August 2006 in my archives section to the right). But have you ever wondered whatever happened to the REAL puppets or dolls that inspired some of our favorite toys? Where is the FIRST Winnie-the-Pooh, the one owned by Christopher Robin Milne?

The question was asked by Fozzie Bear (no, not Fozzie Bear from the muppets, that’s just his Internet name!) on the Muppet Central Forums. Here is his original post from October 2007: (follow his links to find out where Winnie the Pooh is today!):

I figured something like this would be interesting to discuss. We all know that the tales of Winnie the Pooh were based on actual dolls owned by the real-life Christopher Robin.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u95/kmessner/100_5943.jpg

Now on permanent display at the New York Public Library

http://www.nypl.org/branch/central/dlc/dch/pooh/timeline.html

There is also an actual 100 Aker Wood:

http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/winnie-the-pooh/what-next/places-to-go

One of the Howdy Doody puppets is on display at the Smithsonian.

But:Where are the puppets from the Neighborhood of Make Believe? Where is Kukkla Fran and Ollie (at least the puppets)? Beanie and Cecil (?) - Wasn't that a TV show? Where is the puppet? I'm 100% sure I'm forgetting missing puppets--who or what, and where? Obviously, this isn't discussion about Muppet Characters that have disappeared over the years, but the other puppets in the entertainment industry that have gone the way of mystery. If you know information or have links, please share. Any others missing from here, likewise: Post away!

Poster Winslow Leach added:

I got to see Howdy (and Kermit) at the Smithsonian.

As for Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Fran Allison died in 1989, and Burr Tillstrom, the only puppeteer on the show, passed away in 1985. In his will, Tillstrom prohibited anyone else from performing Kukla, Ollie and the other characters from the show. I assume the puppets still exist, as in the years since Tillstrom's death, people have expressed interest in reviving the characters. His estate must have them in storage...just a guess.

But Kukla and Ollie remained in the public eye long after their series ended in the 1950s. They appeared on numerous TV shows and specials throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Tillstrom even made live appearances with Kukla and Ollie, including a run on Broadway in Side by Side by Sondheim (1978). In 1979, Kukla and Ollie were panelists on Match Game.

It’s cool to know that puppets were on Broadway long before “Avenue Q” came along. It would have been great to see Kukla and Ollie live.

Fozzie's question inspired me so much that I decided to do a little Internet searching of my own. Here’s what I’ve found so far:

Let’s start with the muppets. The Jim Henson company is alive and well, and (I assume) the home for all the muppets. As mentioned earlier, The Jim Henson company is donating several puppets – along with sketches and artwork – to Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts. The exhibit will be housed in a wing of the museum that won't be ready until 2012, but when it is, it promises to be a Muppet fan's paradise, featuring puppet characters from several Henson productions. A definite thing to look forward to in 2012. Read about it here, along with some links:

http://muppetnewsflash.blogspot.com/2007/07/henson-collection-moves-to-atlanta.html

According to the site below, many of the Mr. Rogers “Neighborhood of Make Believe” puppets are “on permanent loan” to the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.

http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/is/enroom/mrrogers/mrrogrs.htm

However, when I visit the Web site for the museum, I’m unable to find specifically where the puppets are on display. I suppose it’s possible that they are currently in storage, as many museums keep some of their treasures under wraps for much of the time. Here’s the museum link, but note that “The chicken dance” music plays in the background. Try to remain seated.

http://www.pittsburghkids.org/

Moving on to Kukla and Ollie, the site below says that Burr Tillstrom’s puppet collection was willed to the Chicago Historical Society.

http://www.tvacres.com/child_kuklafran.htm

But once again, I can’t find specifically where the puppets are on exhibit when I visit their Web page:

http://www.chicagohs.org/

This Web page below is easily the best “Kukla, Fran and Ollie” fan page I’ve found so far:

http://kukla.tv/

No luck yet on finding Beany and Cecil, but you can see what the puppets looked like at the site below:

http://www.tvacres.com/puppets_beany_cecil.htm

Remember Paul Winchell? I couldn’t find anything specifically on his puppets, but I did locate an interesting Web site about him and his career:

http://www.paulwinchell.com/

On the subject of famous teddy bears, you may recall that Elvis Presley’s teddy was destroyed by a distraught dog. I posted about that on my blog:
http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/08/elvis-teddy-bear-and-yours-too.html

Even Mr. Potato head appeared in puppet form on a T.V. show. Couldn’t find anything on where the Mr. Potato Head puppet is, but here is a great site for Potato Head data that has a small picture:

http://www.mrpotatohead.net/tv/tv.htm

For Eureka’s Castle, a search revealed that the topic has been covered before on a certain Web site:

http://forum.muppetcentral.com/archive/index.php/t-2199.html

On the Eureka’s Castle puppets, Buck-Beaver writes:

“The puppets were built by 3-Design Studio Inc, the same folks who created puppets for "Wimzie's House", "Groundling Marsh", "The Puzzle Place" and most of the non-Muppet shows coming out of NYC. I've been trying to dig up info on 3-Design for years with little success, but I think a lot of the builders come from the Muppets. They also design toys and do costumes I believe.”

I couldn’t find a specific site for 3-Design either, but I did locate a page with a photo of Jim Kroupa, one of the designers:

http://www.oneillpuppetryconference.com/master.html

Remember Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop? Shari Lewis has passed away, but her daughter Mally Lewis is currently performing with Lamb Chop! You can read about it at her site:

http://www.lambchop.tv/

But what happened to Shari’s lamb chop puppet? According to the site below, Shari’s grandson Jamie Hood . . . is sleeping with it. Cute.

http://www.lambchop.tv/sharilewis/index.shtml

So I would guess that all of Shari’s original puppets are still with the Lewis family. I’m not sure if anyone is sleeping with the other puppets, though.

So basically, it seems like many of the puppets are (I hope) in storage waiting to be displayed in a “special exhibit” someday. I guess I’m just glad that they still exist!

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SPIDEY IN "STAR JAWS": It’s always fun when some of your favorite characters from one show/movie/book team up with characters from another show/movie/book. Here’s a fun example of Spider-Man teaming up with Sam the Robot from Sesame Street. And as if that weren’t enough, they’re doing a parody of “Star Wars!” Man, what’s not to like?

BTW, although Doctor Doom may look like a rip-off of Darth Vader, Dr. Doom actually came first. He first appeared in the Fantastic Four comic book in the 1960s. As a matter of fact, Sam the Robot actually came just a little bit before C-3PO and R2-D2. Hmm. I wonder who’s doing a parody of whom.

http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/2697880.html