HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SANTA MONICA
PUPPETRY FESTIVAL
OCTOBER 8 – 12, 2008

Congratulations to Steve Meltzer for organizing a very special five day festival of puppets, especially honoring movie star, Leslie  Caron”. Every day was special and some days included surprises.

Many puppeteers and fans of puppetry attended the opening reception at the Santa Monica Puppetry Center. A surprise visitor was Chuck  McCaan, actor and ventriloquist. He brought two of his puppets and  was generous in entertaining the crowd with the puppets and anecdotes about his career in show business. More information about him can be  found at www.chuckmccaan.net.

The evening entertainment was a showing of the 1934 movie, “I Am Suzanne”, featuring two puppets companies, Picolli Marionettes, Italy and the Yale Puppeteers from the U.S.A. Alan Cook lead a discussion after the movie with help from Tony Urbano and Charles Taylor who worked at the Turnabout Theater with the Yale Puppeteers.

Thursday and Friday events included a tribute to Paul Winchell and “Puppets on the Edge”, selected puppet performers hosted by stand-up ventriloquist, Dan Horn.

On Saturday evening, a Celebration of Puppetry with master of ceremonies, Steve Meltzer included performances by Tony Urbano, René, Bob Baker and Mallory Lewis.

The BIG surprise of the evening was a puppeteer with the marionette, Carrot Top. Although this will be his only appearance before he is returned to a private collection, puppeteers were overjoyed to have a chance to see the whole puppet cast from “Lili” together again. The puppet in the movie was a hand puppet and the whereabouts of that Carrot Top is still a mystery. It is known that a doctor bought three puppets, no Golo from Warner Bros. for  $45.00 each. He gave them to his children and they have not been seen since. Alan Cook owns Marguerite, Golo and Reynardo but no Carrot Top. It was through years of research and tracking down a lot of leads that the marionette Carrot Top was found. The people responsible for locating this marvelous puppet should be congratulated for their diligence and  support in making it possible for Carrot Top to make an appearance.

Leslie Caron was introduced as the honored guest. She answered 
questions about her illustrious career, especially working with the 
puppets in "Lili".

On Sunday, Phillip Huber performed. His mastery of marionette 
manipulation is unsurpassed. As usual, he had refined even his best acts to make them even better.

The anticipated showing of “Lili” closed the Festival. Leslie Caron 
again answered questions about her career. Caron is a delightful 
person was very generous in talking about her life in show business. The impact of the movie has not diminished over the years. It is a classic in every way.