File puptcrit/puptcrit.0709, message 351


Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 12:56:46 -0400
To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
From: "Michael" <mreher-AT-dc.rr.com>
Subject: [Puptcrit] Velma Dawson


Thank you Alan for passing on the news about Velma. I have been a 
close friend of Velma's for many years. I know that she has continued 
on a wonderful journey. I visited with Velma often, once a week. I 
had a long conversation with her Tuesday evening and had shared with 
her about Marcel Marceau. I had the honor of meeting him several 
years ago. We talked about his teaching and helping puppeteers and 
Velma said, "Good, they need all the help they can get." We both 
laughed very hard. Velma had a wonderful; sense of humor and sharp 
wit. I am grateful I have shared wonderful times and helped keep 
puppetry alive with Velma. There was hardly an evening when friends 
gathered or a party that Howdy and Madame Sings Off Key didn't make a 
special appearance. This past spring Velma was honored for 50 years 
of service by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. I 
had the responsibility and pleasure of presenting Howdy before the 
more than 500 guests. Howdy, spoke with the guests and MC, Bryce 
Zabel. When the time came to present Velma her special award, there 
was no more joy in me than when Howdy pointed to Velma's and said 
"Come on up her Mom!".

Velma created wonderful puppets and marionettes. She recently asked 
me to bring back to life a special series of characters she created 
in the fifties. We, Velma and I, have already been able to share with 
another generation of young people a few of the beautifully built 
characters. I know that everyday that a string is pulled, that Velma 
is right here pulling that string too.

Below is an article from the front page of the Desert Sun. Earlier it 
was mistakenly reported Velma being 84. She'd let you know, as well 
as all who helped celebrate her Birthday May 30, that she is 95 years 
old. The article below originally referred to Iris Beach as a 
caretaker. Iris has been a close and valued friend of Velma and her 
late husband for more than 50 years. She has known Velma longer than 
anyone and provide quality of life, a caretaker never could have.

Desert Sun Article (Revised)

Creator of Howdy Doody dies at 95
Judith Salkin * The Desert Sun *

September 27, 2007

Velma Wayne Dawson, the woman who made Howdy Doody a TV icon, has 
died at the age of 95 at her Palm Desert home.
Dawson was born in Sydney, Australia, on May 30, 1912.
Originally taking an interest in dance, she was a ballroom dancer 
with Charles Tesks and worked as a dance stand-in for Marion Davies.
She became enamored of puppets, marionettes in particular, after 
seeing the Walton and O'Rourke puppets on Los Angeles' famed Olvera 
Street.
After trying to find a puppet to purchase, Dawson searched for 
puppet-making books.
Dawson spent the next several years developing her skills as 
marionette designer.
"There's a lot that goes into the puppets. You have counter balance 
the strings to get them move right," said Robin Montgomery of the 
Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts 
and Sciences.
In 1948, when NBC was looking for someone to carve a new Howdy Doody, 
after a dispute with Howdy's original designer, Frank Paris, they 
contacted Dawson.
She continued as Howdy's primary caretaker through the 1960s when the 
show went off the air.
Dawson was married to golf course designer Johnny Dawson in the early 
1940s. The couple was married for 32 years before they divorced in 
the 1970s.
While Johnny Dawson designed the Thunderbird Country Club, Velma 
designed the clubhouse. "It never looked as beautiful as when Velma 
designed it," said longtime friend, Edith Morrey. The two also 
collaborated on other country clubs in the area.
Morrey, who shared a friendship with Dawson for more than 50 years, 
recalled her work with Coachella Valley charities, particularly the 
Pathfinder Ball at Thunderbird Country Club and her seat on the board 
of the College of the Desert Foundation. The foundation building is 
named in her honor.
According to Dawson's longtime friend, Iris Beach, memorial services 
are pending. "She wanted to be cremated and her ashes buried next to 
her mother."
Throughout her long life, Dawson was best remembered for Howdy Doody. 
"All I did," she is quoted as saying, "was make a stupid puppet."
End end end

I will have a few pictures to share soon. For now, everyone=8A.
It's Howdy Doody Time
It's Howdy Doody Time . . . . . .


Michael Reher
Master Puppeteer-Proprietor
Things On Strings
La Quinta, CA 92253
760-771-9671
visit us and shop on line 
<http://www.thingsonstrings.com/>www.thingsonstrings.com
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