Rest in Peace Eugenios Spatháris

Greek Master Puppeteer Evgenios Spatharis passed away after sustaining injuries in a fall en route to a performance last week.

The world has lost another master of a historic, traditional form of puppetry.

Eugenios Spatháris - one of the world's best-known shadow puppeteers - died yesterday at the age of 85. Eugenios was a second generation puppeteer who followed in his father Sotiris Spatháris footsteps working as a puppeteer in traditional Greek shadow theatre. He gave his first performance in 1942 and had been performing ever since. According to reports, he died from injuries sustained in a fall while en route to performance last week.

This is sad news for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that traditional Greek shadow theatre is a dying art form. Shadow puppetry has a rich history in Greece; it first arrived there from Asia in the mid-15th century and for decades after Greece first achieved independence it was the nation's only form of public entertainment. Sadly, it's popularity has declined somewhat during the past several decades and Eugenios had fought hard to preserve it as part of Greece's cultural history.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is much video of Eugenios Spatháris' work available online. The only clip I could find was this one, which has his voice and some of his puppetry remixed in to a dance video.

Rest in Peace Eugenios Spatháris.

11/5/09 Update: Seems that the AP and several other media outlets may have been misspelling Eugenios' name "Evgenios", an error I didn't catch until it was pointed out by Alan Cook (there is still a little debate about the proper English spelling of his name). To see more of Eugenios' work visit his YouTube channel.

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 illness. Hank was well-known in Pittsburgh (and later New York) for the dozen years he spent working on kids' shows beginning in 1952. Later in his career put away his puppets to become a successful actor, appearing in dozens of movies, TV series, soap operas and plays, Hank also worked steadily for many years doing commercial voice-overs. One of his well-known characters, Knish, can still be seen today on exhibit at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

Rest in Peace Bernie Brillstein

Legendary Hollywood manager Bernie Brillstein passed away on Thursday.

I got up this morning to some sad news...legendary Hollywood agent/manager/studio exec Bernie Brillstein has died of heart disease at the age of 77. Bernie was known in the entertainment industry as what the Hollywood reporter called a "brash and gregarious old-school Hollywood fixture who worked his way up from the WMA mailroom in 1956 to become one of the most powerful and respected brokers of talent in the entertainment business." He was responsible for managing the careers of many of Hollywood's biggest stars including Adam Sandler, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, and Gary Sinise, among others.

One of his most famous and successful clients was Jim Henson; Bernie negotiated many of key deals that helped the Muppets rise to international fame in the 1970s, famously without even ever having a written contract (they did business on a handshake). He was also a behind the scenes force on Paul Fusco's puppet sitcom Alf in the 1980s. Bernie's memoir Where Did I Go Right? You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead is a great read and contains lots of anecdotes about his relationship with the Muppets and Alf.

Rest in Peace Bernie Brillstein and thanks for helping so many people keep us so well entertained all these years.

Rest in Peace Kermit Love

Big Bird, director Helmut Hermann, Samson and Kermit Love on the set of On the set of Sesamstrasse (the German-language version of Sesame Street).

I just got the sad news that Kermit Love passed away last Saturday at the age of 91. Kermit was an incredible puppet builder and costume designer who was long associated with the Muppets. Kermit worked with marionettes as a child, which led to a career working on Broadway shows and eventually collaborating with Jim Henson. He was one of the key people responsible for refining the look of the classic Sesame Street Muppets; probably his most famous work was building Big Bird.

Carol Spinney (Big Bird's puppeteer) often tells a famous anecdote about how Kermit convinced him to stick with the Muppets when he was ready to leave. After his first year on Sesame Street, Carol felt he wasn't making enough money to live in New York and planned to tell Jim Henson he was quitting the show, but Kermit convinced him to give it another month. The next week Big Bird was on the cover of Time magazine and Carol never had another thought about leaving.

Kermit also worked on a number of successful non-Muppet puppetry projects, including the Great Space Coaster and Snuggles the Fabric Softener Bear. Although he was primarily a behind-the-scenes figure, he stepped in front of the camera to play Willy the hot dog vendor on Sesame Street for many years in the 1970s and `90s.

The puppetry world has lost another giant.

Rest in Peace Stan Winston

Special effects master Stan Winston died Sunday night after a long battle with cancer.

Wow, I just heard the awful news that Stan Winston passed away Sunday night at his home in Malibu after a long battle with cancer. He was 62 years old.

Even if you don't know Stan's name, chances are you know his work. His talented team of artists and puppeteers have created some of the most iconic movie creatures of all time; Transformers, the robots in Terminator, the Alien Queen in Aliens, the giant T-Rex in Jurassic Park and so much more. Stan won several Oscars for his work in visual effects (Aliens, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park) and make-up (Batman Returns). One of his very last jobs was devising the suits for this summer's blockbuster Iron Man and you'll see more of his work in upcoming movies like Avatar, Jurassic Park IV, and Terminator 4.

In time when CGI is used for almost everything on screen, people are often surprised to learn that many of the effects in movies like Jurassic Park and Transformers that they assume are computer generated are in fact done live on the set by puppeteers from the Winston studio. Iron Man director Jon Favreau called him "the king of integrating practical effects with CGI," and Stan once summed up his work philosophy as "I don't do special effects. I create characters and I use the tools of special effects necessary to do it."

There is a great video tribute to Stan and his work over at JoBlo.com.

Rest in peace Stan Winston. You'll be missed.

Rest in Peace Anthony Minghella

Director Anthony Minghella has passed away at the age of 54.

I just read the sad news that filmmaker Anthony Minghella has died. He is best known for directing films like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain and won a Best Director Oscar for The English Patient, but got one of his first big breaks working for the Jim Henson Company. Minghella was credited with writing every episode of Jim Henson's groundbreaking Storyteller series and also wrote other Henson projects like Greek Myths and Living With Dinosaurs. The world has lost a unique and very talented filmmaker.

Rest in Peace Will Stackman

I just received the sad news that apparently Will Stackman ("Professor Will") has passed away. More details aren't available yet, but this is an awful loss for the puppetry community. Will was an American puppeteer who was a fixture in the Boston area puppet scene. He was probably best known for performing Punch and Judy shows in the area and for his frequent reviews of puppet theatre.

Lesser known is the fact that Will was (to my knowledge anyway) the very first puppeteer to seriously write a blog about puppetry on the web and a very smart guy who was a fantastic advocate for the art of puppetry. I never met him in person, but we had corresponded and debated about puppetry over email many times during the past ten years and I liked him a lot.

If anyone knows more details I would appreciate you contacting me at puppetvision [@] gmail.com.

Rest in Peace Walker Edmiston

Actor/puppeteer Walker Edmiston on the set of The Walker Edmiston Show in the 1950s.

I just read that Walker Edmiston, a talented actor, voice artist and puppeteer died recently in Los Angeles from complications from cancer at the age of 81. Walker started out doing incidental characters on the original Time for Beany puppet show, had his own local kid's show in L.A. in the 1950s and early '60s and worked with Sid and Marty Kroft on shows like H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. Walker also did voice over work and appeared as an actor in a number of popular TV shows over the course of his six decade long career.

Rest in Peace Roger Mara

Talented American puppeteer and puppet builder Roger Mara has passed away at age 53.

I just read the sad news on Patrick Johnson's Puppet Design Blog that Roger Mara of Snapdragon Puppets has passed away after a short battle with stomach cancer at the age of 53. I never had the opportunity to meet or speak with Roger myself, but I was a fan and admirer of his work. Roger was known to encourage and mentor aspiring puppeteers and was among the very first puppet builders to publish puppet building tutorials on the internet.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of premature death in North America. It's so sad to hear about it claiming another member of the puppetry community. Please consider making a donation to support The Canadian Cancer Society and/or The American Cancer Society and their efforts to fund research and help them find a cure for this terrible disease.

Rest in Peace George Latshaw

George Latshaw photographed in 1999 putting on an impromptu puppet show in his Florida home.

I just received the awful news that George Latshaw passed away last night in hospital. Very little other information is available right now, but this is a terrible, terrible loss for the puppetry community.

George was a puppeteer, writer and director whose shadow looms large over the American puppetry community. He is probably best known for his work editing the Puppetry Journal (which he founded in 1949) for almost two decades and for his book The Complete Book of Puppetry, which is one of the most definitive works on the art form ever written. George befriended and mentored dozens, if not hundreds, of puppeteers in his lifetime and influenced thousands more through his writing. The PofA's biannual George Latshaw Award for accomplishments in writing and publishing in puppetry is named in honour of him.

My deepest condolences - along with those of the entire puppetry community I am sure - go out to his wife Pat Latshaw and all of George's family and friends.

Rest in peace Jerry Juhl

I just arrived back home in Toronto last night and got the sad, sad, horrible news that Jerry Juhl passed away on Monday. Jerry was, of course, a television and movie writer best known for his work with Jim Henson and the Muppets. He first worked as a puppeteer on Sam and Friends and eventually gravitated towards writing and served as Head Writer on The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, The Jim Henson Hour and many other projects. He also wrote many of the classic Ernie and Bert skits performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz on Sesame Street.

Few details about Jerry's passing have been made available so far, but the Jim Henson Company is expected to issue a formal press release soon.

Rest in Peace Nikki Tilroe

I have some very sad news to share...Nikki Tilroe has passed away. This is from Crabgrass Puppet Theatre:

"Nikki Tilroe died last night. She had been ill for a number of months, and was facing a liver transplant and possibly a kidney transplant as well. Almost two weeks ago, she decided to terminate medical intervention, left the hospital, and went home. She said that her body was dying, and it was time to go on to the next adventure. Her final days at home were filled with visits and calls from friends and many, many puppeteers. When we saw her a little over a week ago, she was radiant, calm, very certain that this was the right thing to do, and very happy. She was, as always, beautiful, inspiring, and a lot of fun. We will miss her greatly."

Although she had lived and worked primarily in the United States for many years, Nikki was an important member of the Canadian puppetry community in the `70s and early `80s when she was based in Toronto and ran Frog Print Theatre.

Nikki performed on many well known television series over four decades, including the popular 1970s Canadian children's series The Waterville Gang (it still airs in various markets around the world today), Today's Special, Fraggle Rock, and The Charlie Horse Music Pizza. She also performed Snuggles the Fabric Softener Bear with Kermit Love in a long running series of commercials for Unilever and contributed to Puppets and Television, one of the earliest books on video puppetry techniques.

She will be sadly missed by the entire puppetry community.