I'm sad to have to report the passing of yet another television puppetry pioneer...Bernard Paul died peacefully in his sleep last Sunday at the age of 98. Along with his wife Edith, Bernard created one of America's very first television shows featuring puppets - Paul's Puppets - at WBAL-TV in Baltimore in 1948 and was a mainstay of the station's lineup for nearly twenty years. The show ended its run in 1957, but the Pauls continued to perform live throughout the Baltimore area well in to the 1960s and `70s.
Bernard is survived by two sons, seven grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren (Edith Paul passed away in 1993). A memorial service is planned for Oct. 7 at the St. John Lutheran Church in Linthicum Heights, Maryland.
