Larry Smith Biography

Mr. Larry Smith

Biography:

The Early Years

Larry was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1938. He began his lifelong fascination with puppetry at the age of 5 1/2 after seeing a picture of a puppet in a coloring book. His first puppet was a sock puppet that looked like a monkey. He was collecting marionettes by the age of six. In a fourth grade class, Larry learned how to make papier-mache. He used his father's garage as his theater. He also put together his own puppet shows in Sunday School and Elementary School using home-made figures. He wheeled around a stage mounted on a wagon to neighborhood bus stops to give performances. Most of Larry's puppets were home-made because they were too expensive to buy. Larry was influenced by such well known performers as Burr Tillstrum of "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie", Bill Baird's "The Art of Puppetry", Sid Ceasar's "Your Show of Shows",  and "Howdy Doody".

April 2001

The 1950's

During the early 1950's, Larry delivered papers for The Dayton Daily News. During the summer he would entertain the neighborhood with his marionettes. Profits from admission to his regular shows was used to buy new material for his marionettes. He made the tiny heads, bodies, and clothes for each character. He appeared in shows for the Longfellow School's seventh grade class and a Dayton neighborhood council charity performance. He also won first place honors in a National Cash Register Co. talent show in conjunction with National Newspaperboy's Day. Larry made his T.V. debut in Dayton in 1952, accompanied by Teaser the Mouse. In 1954, he made his professional debut on WHIO-TV channel 13, on "The Tic Toc Toy Shop". He was 14 years old. The show ran for two years and he earned $3.00 per show. Because he was a freshman in high school, he had to get permission from the Board of Education to miss some of his classes. He appeared on Dayton T.V. for a total of three and a half years.     Larry graduated from Dayton's Fairview High School and went on to attend Ohio State University and The Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Larry first met Burr Tillstrum, the creator of the "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" TV show, in 1955 at a National Day of Puppetry Festival at Bowling Green University, in Northwest Ohio. In 1956, Larry helped Burr with an impromptu performance at another Puppeteers of America festival near Chicago, Illinois. In 1957, Larry came to Cincinnati, auditioned for and won a part in "The Uncle Al Show". Officially, he was hired as part of WCPO's art department, but also performed and created puppets for the show. Soon he and his puppets were seen twice daily, first on "Puppet Time", then on "The Uncle Al Show" following that. He hosted "Puppet Time" for three years, and appeared on "Uncle Al" for six years. During the 1958-59 season, "The Uncle Al Show" appeared on 130 stations coast to coast and was beating  it's competitor, "Captain Kangaroo", in the ratings. In 1959, on Thanksgiving day, Larry presented the television special, "The Littlest Snowman", commissioned by The H. and S. Pogue Company (Pogue's Department Stores). The show was aired 'LIVE'. In coordination with the special, Pogue's Departments Stores featured animated window and arcade displays.

1990's

1980's

1970's

1960's

The 1960's

To be continued ...

Click here to read a collection of newspaper articles about Larry over the years

1960's

Quotes from Larry:

"I will not sew a button on my shirt but I will sew for a puppet."           - L.S. to Ed Strohe, The Cincinnati Post, 9/4/1972.

"I read every letter I get from my viewers. That's where I get a lot of ideas."           - L.S. to Mary Wood, The Cincinnati Post, 8/11/1973.

1960's

"You have to be born a puppeteer. It is an art with many layers. It takes a    person who can make the puppets, write the scripts, build the sets, and    do the performances. It is something a lot of young people play with but    very few follow through and make it a career."          - L.S. to Ed Von Strohe, The Cincinnati Post, 9/4/1972.

Friends & Associates:

1960's

Bill Baird - "The Art of Puppetry" influenced Larry.

Elliot Block - General Manager of WBQC  - TV 25

Sid Ceasar - "Your Show of Shows" influenced Larry.

Skip Fenker - Worked with Larry. Now a director/Producer

Dan Glanzer - Worked with Larry on his shows. Long time writer.

1950's

Carolyn Haas - actress who joined Larry during the 1960's to help                           make costumes and present shows.

Hueston Henry - another associate who has helped Larry over                               the years.

Jim Henson

Lee Marcussen

1950's

Wayne Martin    This Boston, Massachusetts based puppeteer was influenced by Larry's work. He assisted Larry at WXIX-TV channel 19 on several occasions. He was Assistant Puppeteer for numerous personal appearances throughout the 1970's and a costume character performer for personal appearances and parades. In 1974, Wayne was the Assistant Puppeteer for the "The Magic Forest" SPCA T.V. pilot.

Burr Tillstrom     Creator of well known "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" television show.

Larry at Work:

Larry watching a monitor to see how his hand movements affect the puppets. - (PHOTO)

Larry backstage on a ladder with a marionette, probably Mr. Riddle-De-Dee - (PHOTO)

Larry demonstrating how marionettes work for a curious young fan - (PHOTO)

Larry inspecting a marionette in his studio/workshop - (PHOTO)

Outing for The American Cancer Society with large size Snarfie character - (PHOTO)

A Day at Fantasy Farm in 1971 with large size characters - (PHOTO)

This page was last updated on: JANUARY 20, 2002