BOOKS STEVE ABRAMS Sophisticated Adult Entertainment
Life On A String: The Yale Puppeteers and the Turnabout Theatre By Christina Rice Los Angeles Public Library, 2020
T
he Yale Puppeteers are celebrated with a book featuring more than 200 photos. This is a most wel- come addition to the chronicle of puppet history. The book was published to coin- cide with an exhibit with the same title at the Los Angeles Public Library, Getty Gallery, scheduled for April 2 to Septem- ber 27, 2020.
Forman Brown (1901–1996), Harry Bur- nett (1901–1993), and Richard “Roddy” Brandon (1904–1985) began touring as the Yale Puppeteers in 1928. After work- ing in film and on Broadway in the 1930s, they opened the Turnabout Theatre in Los Angeles in 1941, presenting 4,535 perfor- mances before closing in 1956. After Forman Brown passed away in 1996, the Los Angeles Public Library was selected to be the custodian of the Yale Puppeteers’ archive. A digitized tour of the collection was posted online. The book and exhibit are another major step in preserving a legacy that is part of puppet history, Los Angeles history, and LGBT history. Forman Brown’s delightful memoir, Small Wonder, a small format book, was published in 1980. At that time, attitudes about LGBT relationships had not evolved. In this new volume, the very first page concludes by saying, “These three men— who for most of their lives were unable to be open about being gay—forged a profes- sional and deeply personal lifelong bond.” Life on a String, 170 pages, includes 100 full-page images of photographs, documents, and puppets. There are several color images of playful and stylish posters and programs. There are photos of pages from Harry Burnett’s extensive notebooks and scrapbooks. Of course, there are exterior shots of Teatro Torito on Ol- vera Street from 1930 and the Turnabout Theatre from the 1940s and 1950s, but the book also includes photos of one-season venues: the Club Guignol, Los Angeles, 1929; Tally-Ho Theatre, Maplewood, New
Hampshire, 1932; a theater on 46th St. in New York, 1932; and a theater in San Francisco, 1956.
There are six full-page color images of puppets (far too few), including the pianist and violinist from the “Haydn Trio,” Simon Legree, and an opera singer and pianist from a national tour in 1953. Pages are devoted to “Celebrating Celebrities.” When the seats were turned about from the marionette stage to the cabaret end of the theater, Elsa Lanchester (1902–1986), known for her leading role in Bride of Frankenstein, was a star attrac- tion. Forman Brown wrote 56 songs for Lanchester. Her husband, Academy Award winner Charles Laughton, was a dedicated fan and a personal friend of the Yale Pup- peteers. The “boys,” as they were some- times called, were understandably proud to proclaim and photograph the many ce- lebrities who attended their small theater. There are full-page presentations of several of the most famous celebrities with their puppet portraits, including Albert Einstein, Martha Graham, Gary Cooper, Ramon Novarro, Helen Hayes, Marie Dressler, and the folksinger Odetta. The photo collec- tion also includes Leslie Howard, Charles Laughton, Mary Pickford, Bette Davis, and Marlene Dietrich. There are five photos of various versions of their “autograph wall.” The emphasis on glamour was certainly brilliant Hollywood-style promotion. In 1933, Forman Brown published Better
Angel, one of the very first novels in which gay characters were happy and not tragic. Forman used the pseudonym Richard Meeker. In 1987, the novel was rediscov- ered, and in the 1990 printing, Forman Brown fully acknowledged that he was the author. Life on a String documents this history and also includes four archival love letters from Forman to Roddy Brandon. Author Christina Rice, a reference li- brarian in Los Angeles since 2005, devoted her work on the book exclusively to the extensive material in the archive. There are a few misspellings, factual errors, and omissions in Life on a String. There is no index or bibliography, and no mention of other collections that include puppets by the Yale Puppeteers. The Alan Cook/ Jacqueline Marks Collection, now in Seattle, has several great examples. The
Harry Ransom Center in Austin has five marionettes: Lynn Fontanne as Alkmena; Alfred Lunt as Jupiter; and Topsy, Uncle Tom, and Eliza. Works by Forman Brown include a book of poetry, Spider Kin,1929; The Pie-Eyed Piper and Other Impertinent Plays for Pup- pets, 1933; Punch’s Progress, 1936; and Small Wonder, 1980. Life on a String adds new richness and insights to the fascinat- ing story of the Yale Puppeteers.
Small Wonder was published in 1980. At that time, attitudes about LGBT relationships had not evolved. In this new volume, the very first page concludes by saying, “These three men—who for most of their lives were unable to be open about being gay—forged a professional and deeply personal lifelong bond.”
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