Puppet gala

(1962 December 31)

Last night [on the Ed Sullivan Show] we saw these wonderful puppets and I wished that something would be on when you were here. Skip, it was a full hour of these and they were made by masters - wonderful apt expressions - and controlled by experts. We were shown back stage several times, but mostly just sat enjoying it. There was a negro band and a wench doing the Charleston! There was a marimba band and Maurice chevalier to a T. There was a longhaired proff at the piano and an opera singer whose neck stretched when she reached for a high note that made us hoot - circus, acrobats. Mostly it was how the men who controlled them were so good at it. Puppets did such lifelike things we forgot they weren't real. I read years ago how they were popular in Europe when a big play house was filled, balconies and all, with an audience. The puppet choruses, acts, or complete plays were all the go.