History of Marionettes and Puppets

In the early days of national television the Howdy Doody Show was first broadcast in the United States from 1947 to 1960, being the first successful children’s show and also when NBC pioneered the first color production, which helped RCA sell its pioneer color television sets in the 1950s. Howdy Doody was a western dressed puppet, a marionette featuring one freckle for each state of the union (48 freckles) and whose original voice was made by Buffalo Bob Smith, who was the show’s host. Other puppets characterized on the show were Heidi Doody, Howdy’s sister; Phineas T. Bluster (mayor of Doodyville), Princess Summerfall Winterspring, Dilly Dally and Flub-a-Dub, a combination of a duck, cat, spaniel, giraffe, dachshund, seal, pig, and the memory of an elephant. 

Grimm, TV Series, in 4th Successful Season

In case you haven't seen the television series Grimm, it is an American police/fantasy drama that is unique and entertaining. The actors and actresses help make everything fall into place and believable with a myriad casted characters. The screenplay has contributed greatly to the series' success.

It was inspired by Grimms' Fairy Tales, brothers who were academics, linguists, cultural researchers, lexicographers and authors of the most lasting folklore stories created in the 19^th century that the series resurfaces in the 21^st century.

Wilhelm & Jacob [right] Grimm

Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) produced stories that became adapted for storybooks that Disney filmmakers would recreate on screen, like Cinderella (Aschenputtel), The Frog Prince (Der Froshkönig), Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel and Gretel), Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin (Rumpelstilzchen), and Snow White (Schneewittchen). Their stories became as famous as those created by Hans Christian Anderson, a Danish author of children's storybooks, plays, novels, and poems; except the Grimms tales were darker in nature incorporating into the Gothic vogue at the time. The first collection of these folk tales was published as Children's and Household Tales (Kinder-und Hausmärchen) in 1812.