Milestones continued from previous page End of an Era 1910-1919
The passing of Bernice Silver (1913-2020) marks the end of an era, the last puppeteer from the decade 1910- 1919. Bernice was born before Frank Paris, and Burr Tillstrom, perhaps the two brightest stars born in that decade. To get some historical perspective it is some- times useful to take a look at who were contemporaries with each other.
1910: Carl Harms, Morey Bunin, Milton Halpert, Hazelle Rollins, Frances Oznowicz.
1911: Bob Longfield, Catherine Westfield, Dorothy Rankin.
1912: Dorothy Gleason, Marie Hitchcock, George McElroy, Roy Patton, Cora Baird, Dorothy Zaconick, Velma Dawson, Alton Wood.
1913: Bernice Silver, Paul Ashley, Bea Geller, Bob Clampett, Leonard Suib.
1914: Frank Paris, George Merten, George Spaeight, Alfred Wallace, Ruth Waxman
1915: Esther Cheatle, George New, Harry Patton, Tasha Tudor, Sydney Chrysler.
1916: Lea Wallace, Kermit Love, Eleanor Boylan, Ernest Wolff, Ann Cohen, Mike Oznowicz, Dora Velleman.
1917: Burr Tillstrom, Franz Fazakas, Wah Chang, Lou Harrison.
1918: Carol Fijan, Ed Johnson, Fay Ross Coleman, Bruce Bucknell, Howard Mitchell.
1919: Doug Anderson, Gayle Anderson, Jay Marshall, Pete Seeger, Shirley Roman.
Paul McPharlin, Marjorie Batchelder McPharlin, Rufus Rose, Margo Rose, Martin Stevens, and Bil Baird were all born in 1903 and 1904, an earlier decade. George Latshaw, Fred Rogers, Dick Myers, Tom Tichenor, Albrecht Roser and Paul Winchell were all born in the 1920s.
Ongoing Legacy
At least 25 puppeteers, now in their 90s were born 1920-1929. Two of the most senior puppeteers are Aurora Valentinetti and Margo Lovelace.
Aurora Valentinetti, now 98 years old, served as design- er, production manager, and performer with the Univer- sity of Washington Puppeteers from1943 to 1948. She formed the Valentinetti Puppeteers in 1948. She taught puppetry from 1943 to 1992. Her Christmas shows in the 1950s at the Frederick & Nelson Department Store are fondly remembered. Using large rod puppets, she cre- ated a production of Everyman in 1968. The Valentinetti Puppet Museum opened in Bremerton, Washington, in 1999.
Margo Lovelace, now 97 years old, first worked with Cedric Head’s Kingsland Marionettes around 1949. She opened a 100-seat theatre in Pittsburgh in 1964. In 1967 she was personally invited by Sergei Obrazstov to study in Moscow. In 1977 the Lovelace Marionettes began present- ing at the Carnegie Museum. When she retired in 1984 her collection was donated the Children’s Museum of Pitts- burgh. Ms. Lovelace moved to the Actor’s Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey in 2014.
38 Photo: Jim Cole Tomie dePaola September 15, 1934–March 30, 2020 T
omie dePaola wrote and/or illustrated over 200 books. As a child, Tomie had some interest in puppetry, and with the encouragement of a high school art teacher,
Carol Carranza 1950–2020
C
arol Hardy Carranza died on May 19, 2020, after a bat- tle with cancer. I met Carol when I joined the Greater Houston Puppetry Guild in the 1980s. Carol and David were charter members of the Guild. Carol Hardy met David Carranza while they were pursuing the art of puppetry. They married and became a team, making and performing mari- onette and hand puppet shows. David built the puppets and marionettes, and Carol made the costumes. She was an avid painter, so David built the scenery and Carol painted it. They performed the marionette shows together, and each had their own hand puppet shows that they made and performed. Carol and David gave puppet workshops for festivals and wherever they were asked. Carol was the editor of the guild newsletter, and throughout the years she served the guild in every possible way. The guild established an annual puppet festival, and Carol frequently served as director or registrar. When she became ill, she gave me the guild papers and
library, which she maintained for 40 years. Going through the material, I realized how very much work, commitment, and effort Carol put into keeping the Greater Houston Puppetry Guild vital. We are thankful for her life and for all she did for the art of puppetry.
Submitted by Joanne Schroeder
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