Milestones In Memoriam
John Leland 1928–2020
ohn Leland was a designer for Disneyland and an original member of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. John was born in Pasadena and studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. For many years, he worked as display manager for the Broadway department stores. He had a long-time associa- tion with Bob Baker. He also worked with puppeteers John Zweers and Jim Gamble. John volunteered many hours helping Alan Cook document his vast collection of puppetry books. During a 2017 Puppet Life interview, Leland said that he would work with Baker in the middle of the night, when the pup- peteer would bounce ideas by him. “Bob had wonderful ideas. I would do the original diagrams, back front side and a lot of conceptual drawings for the TV shows and Disney, doing the window animations.” John passed away at the age of 91 in a nursing home in Ventura, California. From Variety and the Orange County Puppet Guild
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Tom Bonham 1946–2020
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s a young child, Tom Bonham developed a deep appre- ciation for puppetry and performing arts that shaped his long career as a puppeteer. Tom's legacy in puppet- ry arts includes being lead puppeteer for Sid and Marty Krofft, puppeteer for Heiken Puppets, and more recently, his comical appearance on America's Got Talent. Tom enjoyed working in a wide range of puppetry styles, including hand and glove, moving mouth, rod, tabletop, and marionettes. He is known for his unique style of "found ob- ject" puppetry, which he cleverly entitled "Puppet Pareidolia." Tom was incredibly dedicated to the Puppet Guild of Greater St. Louis, being a member since 1965 and having served in multiple roles on the board, including as guild president in the
Good wishes to Gabrielle Boison on her 100th birthday
Gabrielle Boisson, a puppeteer and artist, was born in Paris on December 19, 1920, and moved to Los Angeles in 1956. In Paris, Gaby made and sold beautiful crepe flower arrange- ments. In 1951, she sang at the legendary cabaret Le Chat Noir. The famous French mime Marcel Marceau was a dear friend. In 1962, Gaby opened the French Doll House Nursery School. She discovered puppetry in 1968 to entertain and teach her students, and she learned from Harry Burnett and Bob Bromley. Gaby became an accomplished puppeteer, builder, and costumer. In 1970, she started doing shadow puppetry. Her nursery school frequently hosted meetings for the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry. She served as guild president from 1982 to 1983. Gaby was the subject of Ted Salter’s profile in Puppetry Journal, September 1980. She retired in 1997, and in 2011 she moved to Kingsley Manor se- nior residence in Hollywood.
https://www.hhdcb3cam.org/ htmlpages/2017SeniorArt/English/
years 1981–1983 and 1990–1992. For many years, Tom served as the web developer, newsletter coordinator, and social media communications coordinator. Tom attended countless national and regional puppetry festi- vals over the years. In 2016, he helped organize the Regional Puppetry Festival held in St. Louis, where he also opened the festival with his performance of The Carnival of the Animals. Tom's knowledge, commitment, and passion for puppetry will be greatly missed, as will his humor and his famous family recipe of spiced Russian tea.
From the Puppet Guild of Greater St. Louis
Sennosuke Takeda 1930–November 29, 2020
apanese puppeteer Sennosuke Takeda passed away at age 91. Sennosuke carried the name of the Takeda pup- petry lineage established in the 18th century. Born in Iida, Japan, he worked extensively in marionette theater on television, in films, and on the stage. He opened one of the first studios dedicated to producing marionette films, most notably science fiction episodes for children. His company was declared an intangible cultural property of the city of Tokyo. After 50 years in Tokyo, Sennosuke moved the company to Iida. He served as a member of the executive committee of UNIMA, Honorary President of UNIMA Japan, and director of the Takeda Memorial International Marionette Museum. He was named a UNIMA Member of Honor in 2012.
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Tom Bonham and puppets. 36
History note: Since the founding of UNIMA in 1929, 222 puppeteers in 35 countries have been named UNIMA Members of Honor, or Honorary President. From 2011–2020, 25 Members of Honor have passed away, including Allelu Kurten and Alan Cook. Current Members of Honor in the United States are Peter Schumann, Nancy Staub, Vincent Anthony, and Andrew and Bonnie Periale.
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