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The Ritts Puppets - A variety of
animal hand puppets seen on the children's program IN THE
PARK/CBS/1951-53.
Paul & Mary Ritts with Magnolia the
Ostrich
The program followed host Bill Sears (dressed in suit jacket,
vest, string tie, and hat) as he sat leisurely on a bench and
conversed with his puppet friends who lived in the park. They
included:
- Sir Geoffrey the Giraffe
- Albert the Chipmunk who lived in a tree by the bench
- Calvin the Crow who originally smoked a nasty cigarette
- Magnolia the Ostrich, a sweet talking bird with long
eyelashes and a southern accent
- Shanel the skunk
The puppets were the creation of Paul Ritts who also used his
talents on the educational series EXPLORING/NBC/1962-66 filled
with science, music, art, songs. His wife, Mary
Holliday supplied the
voice for Magnolia the Ostrich. Paul Ritts provided the other
puppet voices.
Sir Geoffrey and Albert with host
Bill Sears
Magnolia Ostrich, Albert Chipmunk,
Calvin Crow &
Geoffrey Giraffe
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| Opening scenes from "In the
Park" as chalk drawings on the sidewalk are revealed
as a broom brushes away fallen leaves. |
TRIVIA NOTE: Born May 14, 1920, Cleveland,
Ohio, USA, puppeteer Paul Ritts died of a heart
attack on October 18, 1980 in Monroe,
Michigan.
His wife, Mary Holliday Ritts (born
June 16, 1910 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
died of natural causes on May 14, 2006 in
Pasadena, California.
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