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Marionettes
in America

Origins of American Marionettes
This section outlines the origins and history of marionettes in America from the early Hopi Indian ceremonies to modern day Hollywood.

Who's Who of American Puppeteers
Focuses on important puppeteers of the last 150 years and their contributions

Backstage with Le Theatre de Marionette
Personal narrative about my experience backstage with a modern marionette troupe.

Interview with a Puppet Master
This section is an interview with John Hartman who has worked with puppets for fifty years.

Chronology

Digital Bibliography

"The American urge to see values in everything, to capitalize on every activity, has lifted puppetry into significance even when it aimed at nothing but a little fun." --Paul McPharlin

Puppets are a part of the lives and memories of almost every American and yet we do not all know where they came from or why they are so interesting to us. This website is designed to provide a history of marionettes in America. There are many different kinds of puppets and each one could have its own web page. Most of the research regarding marionettes and puppets is old and intertwined. Most do not separate the lives of the different types of puppets. Whenever possible I have tried to focus mainly on marionettes. A marionette is a puppet that is operated from above generally by strings, wires or rods.

I must warn that this web page is not exhaustive and only covers some of the major events and people in the history of marionettes. The sources listed in the Digital Bibliography contain more information than I could put on one webpage. The history of puppets in America has generally been chronicled through the different puppet groups and their success and failures. This web page will keep to that tradition. Most of the information is based more on the stories of people than on particular events.

Although I do discuss some of the modern puppetry, there is not much mention of Jim Henson and others like him. This is mainly because they have done so much that they deserve and have their own websites dedicated to their work and lives.

Finally puppetry has been in the world longer than live acting and it continues to grow and have a place in the hearts and histories of people around the world. America is no different. Our rich heritage is full of puppetry and we have made great strides to support the continuation of puppetry. Many colleges and organizations continue to support puppetry as an art form. It is suggested that if you are ever in Atlanta, Georgia, you visit the Center for Puppetry Arts and learn more about the wonderful world of puppets.