CAPTAIN BRINGDOWN and THE NEANDERSONS

Always wanted to bring COMIC STRIPS to life. . .

YOU'LL WANT TO WRITE DOWN THIS ADDRESS

Bil at his Bairdiest

Absolute LOVE . . .

(thanx to Doug Preis for finding this!)

COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK

Here are a whole lot of our puppets doing a whole lot of things. . .

Chet Dowling

Legendary Kid Show producer CHET DOWLING (most of the WPIX-11 children's programs including The Chuck McCann Show) pictured backstage with Bil Baird during a tour of DAVY JONES LOCKER. Chet is holding his own puppet "Hippity Hop the Security Cop."

Chet is living in CA. The big question remains - - where is Hippity Hop???

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

My DAD started it by becoming a cartoonist at 13. He began touring vaudeville and burleque theatres when he was 17 (I have a MINSKY's program with Dad on the same bill as Phil Silvers and Sid Stone.) He also performed with the Three Stooges and Cab Calloway. When I was a kid, he would tell me stories, draw cartoons and do their voices.

No doubt about it, I was genetically incapable of not going into show business. Puppetry - - cartooning in 3D - - is my chosen art (that's me below manipulating Sammy Davis Jr. on my own Christmas Morning TV Special at WABC-Boston).

And now, my son Gabriel, is on another tour across America with his amazing band CONSIDER THE SOURCE. http://considerthesourcemusic.com/

From my Father to my Son through me.

THANX DAD!

Dad re-appears in his vaudeville guise as THE CHATTERBOX CARTOONIST pictured with my Mom, Ruth - - his "Blonde Georgia Model."

"GOIN' UP" - - The Trailer

Our film, "GOIN' UP" is an Official Selection in the KIDS FIRST! FILM FESTIVAL.

Here's the trailer (thanks Mike Campbell!)


Producer.................Dann Linck
Director...................Craig Marin

STARRING

Jonathan Freeman

Olga Felgemacher

Alan Semok

Ken Miele

Craig Marin

ORIGINAL MUSIC PERFORMED BY

The Playground

The Marko Puppet Theatre Daze

Here are some FlAsHbAcKs!!!!! to my days with the MARKO PUPPET THEATRE ("the most psychedelic puppet show on the planet"- - Harpur College Newspaper, Binghamton NY). We played Universities and Happenings across the country, eventually settling in San Rafael, CA. (right UP the block from the Grateful Dead.) Great times exploring art & self . . .

Preparing for the very second Marko show: "1795 & The Familie"

" HAL LEWIS NATION in KINGDOM KUM"

Devil B. DeMille runs a nightclub-in-hell in "KINGDOM KUM"

OTTO D. SLOBBE gets a rude awakening from OFFICER INNOCENT IN "OTTO'S SITE"

Otto hitch-hikes to California and is picked up by DIESLER(r) & AXIL


DR. COSMO POLITON, a past-life-regression specialist
The good(?) Dr. and his assistant OZZIE MUMBLES send Otto's brain bye-bye.
Otto and the Doctor pose with their Pop

Backstage, hanging drops for THE FAMILIE. . .

STUFF, ITEMS, and THINGS OF IT (Part 1)

PICASSO was once asked if he was ever going to write his autobiography, and he said his work IS his autobiography. Here then are a few pages from mine . . .

BORIS KARLOFF STOP-MOTION PUPPET

(one of the first carved foam puppets I ever made)

Inspired of course by Rankin/Bass MAD MONSTER PARTY

On The Set of the WGBH series ALL ABOUT YOU

A Nightclub Appearance with CHOO-CHOO

Incorporating Puppets & People into THURBER'S CARNIVAL

(Me on the right, with assistant puppeteer Hal Pederson)

FLEXHIBITION

"PUPPET GOVERNMENT"

photo by Kati Meister

Design for a TOYMAKER Flexitoon

the one and only CHUCK McCANN!!!

I know I've said it before, but to me CHUCK McCANN was the best kid show entertainer I ever saw. His comedy, characters, heart and most importantly PUPPETRY ("voices & animation") was eveything I needed. He was just so much FUN! And. Come along! We're all going to have FUN together. Chuck inspired me no end. The memories still do.

Chuck understood and presented his love for television itself as part of his presentation. He was on for 4 hours(!) on Sunday with a show called "LET'S HAVE FUN". Before the program came on, WPIX-11 would show an artcard with cutout pictures of the puppets and a LETS HAVE FUN logo in the center. They'd play old time gazebo music by a group called Professor H.

Then at 9:00 AM, this following scene would unfold. . .

Notice how Chuck took us into his world - - behind the scenes of the teeny tiny studio populated by characters of his own imagination - - all the way to the far end of magic-land until soon? He disappears behind the puppet stage and his alter egos take over. Absolute magic. I'd never miss it!

Olga, Chuck & Me in Flexitoon Central, prior to an "Evening of Memories" @ the Museum of Broadcasting

On the next Chuck post, I get the courage to traipse from Queens-to-Manhattan to meet Chuck @ WPIX, and end the day by being on his show!

*Produced by CHET DOWLING. Directed by IRV JARVIS.