A global network for professionals, amateurs, and people who just like puppets.

For you Bil Baird Fans Out there

Check Out www.flexitoons.blogspot.com for a great post on Bil Baird's Alice in Wonderland. How many other Hubbers are Bil Baird fans? There are many of us older folks whose early inspiration came from Baird. In my opinion [ and please remember younger folks Baird was one of Hensons inspirations] Baird had the greatest sense of line in sculpture of any 20th century puppeteer. In movement look and style Baird was completly unique and was one of the great pioneers of puppetry in film and TV. For those of you who may not be familiar with Baird he did the Lonley Goatherd sequence in the sound of music.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Vixie on April 28, 2009 at 12:23am

I actually have a picture of me holding a Bil Baird marionette. It was owned by puppet builder Pam Clouse, when I visited her after she made my first puppet.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David C. Herzog on April 28, 2009 at 9:31am

Hi Jim, I will check the original post over at puptcrit and try to get a new link, Craig has some great pictures on his blog about Alice. Hey vixie I bet that was Pams Calrk Gable marionette that is a great puppet

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David C. Herzog on April 28, 2009 at 9:38am

Thge link is www.flexitoon.blogspot.com I hope this one works i checked it out myself and it was workiing

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Vixie on April 28, 2009 at 10:20am

Actually, the puppet was of a railroad conductor. She said it was used in a show that was performed at Radio City music Hall.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David C. Herzog on April 28, 2009 at 10:22am

Hi vixie, Yest the railroad conductor is the puppet I am talking about, he was made to look like Clark Gable, It was used in a schetch where all the puppets weremovie star portrait marionettes

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Vixie on April 28, 2009 at 9:22pm

I found my pictures of the puppet, I will scan them and post them soon.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David C. Herzog on April 29, 2009 at 11:53pm

I'll look forward to seeing the pictures by the way do you know where Pam Clouse is these days. She was here in Chicago for a while but I have not heard from her in some time
Vixie said:

I found my pictures of the puppet, I will scan them and post them soon.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Vixie on April 30, 2009 at 9:00am

I actually haven't heard from Pam in some time. The last I new she had divorced her husband and was having issues with her daughter, and was living in Chicago. It's been several years since I've head anything.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David C. Herzog on April 30, 2009 at 9:40am

oops my bad that nis not the Clark Gable puppet, now i need to figure out where I saw Calrk GAblebut i do remember Pam bringing this pupet to show us at aGuild meeting in Chicago

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steven Widerman on April 30, 2009 at 3:28pm

Images of puppets from Bil Baird's production of "Alice in Wonderland" can be found on Michael Baroto's web site:

http://home.att.net/~mbaroto/bbalice.htm

Michael was shop foreman for Baird in the 1970's. The designs are based on the John Tenniel illustrations published in Lewis Carroll's book. Bil was also influenced in his designs for "Alice" by his mentor and employer, Tony Sarg., who also produced a version of "Alice."

-Steven->

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David C. Herzog on April 30, 2009 at 4:07pm

Wow great pictures Baird's sense of design just never ceases to inspire me. He mamaged to bring the drawings from the book to life and yet they are all uniqely Bil's as well. He also acheived this in his translation of the Denslow illistrations from the Wizard of OZ. I think the Tin Woodman from that production is one of his great master pieces. On the subject of the major productions does Mavis Baird own them and have they been left complete so they could be produced again?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David C. Herzog on May 4, 2009 at 8:08pm

Steve,
I know you own the larger of the two Baird Belly Dancers. Do you know the difference in size between the two? I also came across a picture of the Baird faceless male Flamenco Dancer you had on display at the regional festival at Uconn a few years ago. How tall is that puppet, and why were they faceless?