Heartstrings: Remembering Larry Schmidt, Master Puppeteer

By C.J. Hirschfield

Commercialization and gore are key components of American Halloween these days. But one Oakland artist was committed to providing an alternative experience: a free, site-specific, Halloween-themed, family-friendly marionette show in the driveway of his family’s triplex in the Glenview District.

Larry Schmidt’s whimsical “Driveway Follies” has delighted many thousands of people over the last 11 years, and, I’m proud to say, has employed the talents of at least eight Children’s Fairyland puppeteers. We are all mourning Larry, a kind and generous soul who died at 66, of cancer, on January 18.

Larry Schmidt, founder of Driveway Follies. Photo by Rick Paulas.

A 'Kindred Spirit' Comes to Fairyland's Puppet Fair

By C.J. Hirschfield

The Storybook Puppet Theater at Children’s Fairyland, which raised its curtain in 1956, is the longest continuously operating puppet theater in America. But the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles has been around nearly as long: since 1963. We are both revered institutions in our respective cities. And now, Fairyland is proud to welcome a representative of the Bob Baker Marionettes to our annual Puppet Fair on August 25 and 26.

Bob Baker (1924–2014) began training at age 8 with several puppet companies before he gave his first professional performance. In high school, he began manufacturing marionettes, which he sold in the U.S. and Europe. By the time he was an adult, his puppetry was featured in many TV series and in films such as Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He also provided a place of learning for puppeteers, including Fairyland’s own master puppeteer Randal Metz, who studied with him for three years in the 1980s.

Bob Baker (left) with partner Alton Wood and "birthday dog" puppets. Via Bob Baker Marionette Theater

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is experiencing an exciting transition: it is now a nonprofit organization that will ensure the enduring legacy of its founder. The organization's new executive director is Alex Evans, who worked closely with Bob Baker for almost 10 years.

The Highs and Lows of Puppet Shows

By C.J. Hirschfield

Our puppet-theater director, Randal Metz, is also a respected historian of puppets and puppetry. Recently, while researching the history of puppeteers in California, he came across an article in the Puppetry Journal – the quarterly magazine of the Puppeteers of America – that caught his eye. It wasn’t about puppets or puppeteers: It was about shoes. And not just any shoes: the special footwear used by some height-challenged puppeteers to make them tall enough to do their job.

Puppeteers' shoes suggested by Nick LeFeuvre, via the Puppetry Journal

Book Us for the Holidays

By C.J. Hirschfield

You’ve seen them at local bookstores, popular public attractions, even at hardware stores: those sepia-colored, photo-rich paperbacks that feature hometown history and the people, places and events that celebrate elements that define a community.

They’re the work of Arcadia Publishing, a 20-year-old company that has found a winning formula in a very crowded and competitive bookselling space. As of Dec. 5, one of Arcadia’s newest Images of America books is Children’s Fairyland. The author is Randal J. Metz, who is the director of our Storybook Puppet Theater – and who has worked for Fairyland for 47 of our 66 years. 

Proud author Randal Metz in our gift shop with the new book about Fairyland.

The pre-holiday timing of the publication is no coincidence. After making 66 years of memories, we think our new book is the perfect present for anyone who’s grown up in Oakland — wherever they now call home.

A Land of Oz

By C.J. Hirschfield

Last week, a man and his 5-year-old daughter enjoyed a full day at Fairyland. They were exiting through the gift shop when the man looked up and noticed two puppets in a display that honors the 60^th anniversary of our renowned puppet theater—the longest-running in America.

The Alice in Wonderland and White Rabbit puppets that caught his eye had starred in a 1960s Fairyland production, and on the display we noted the person who designed the puppets’ lovely costumes: Frances Oznowicz, who happens to have been the grandmother of our visitor, Mike Oz.

Mike and Frances Oznowicz with marionettes at one of Fairyland's annual puppet fairs in the 1950s.

Although he’d visited Fairyland many times, as both a child and a father, Mike now felt the time was right to learn more about the place that played a key role in the lives and careers of three of his closest family members.

We’re so glad he did.