Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

PUPPETEER BURR TILLSTROM VIEWS THE CAST OF MINIATURE MUMMERS TO WHOM HE GIVES VOICE AND ACTION. lem with mighty enthusiasm. They sent all types of hair restorers, wips and even grass seed—appro- priately green and hairlike for dra- gons. Kukia chose the latter device for rectifying Ollie's coif, put seed on the dragon's head, watered it with a sprinkling can — and up sprang flowers. Eventually the elec- tronic permanent wave machine that caused all the difficulty was brought out again. Since, when turned on, it took the hair off. with Kukla- politan logic, when thrown into re- verse, it put the hair back. Shenanigans like these are always presented ad lib from outlines worked out by daily program staff discussions. Busiest Man in Television Once the program outline is firm- ly set in all the participant.'^' minds, the show is ready to begin. Burr goes backstage and becomes the busiest man in television. In addi- tion to being puppeteer, he watches the show on a television receiver, notes time, switches characters and voices with lightning speed. Hun- dreds of props are stored within his convenient reach. Agile, adept and versatile. Tillstrom has gained a reputation as the nation's top pup- peteer from these superlative per- formances. The wholesome nature of the pro- gram has particularly attracted at- tention from parent-teacher, safety, civic, and other groups, more than a dozen of which have presented the show with citations. Kukla's Clean Plate Club, an exclusive or- ganization with membership re- stricted to those who eat their entire meals, has won the gratitude of parents throughout the listening- looking audience. Health, safety, neatness and other desirable habits are "sold" to the children without preaching at them. And no vio- lence or action even approaching the borderline of poor tast ever appears on the show. This canny evaluation of how to both entertain and hold public favor has been developed by Tillstrom through more than 15 years of pro- fessional puppetry, beginning when he was a high school student in Chicago. He studied the work of the nation's foremost puppeteers and also engineered marionette shows. During one of these shows, 12 years ago, Kukla was born. For a production of "Saint George and the Dragon," in which the noble-nosed little man played Saint George, a dragon of comparable whimsy was needed. That was when Ollie joined Tillstrom's troupe, and he's been an indispensable part of the activity ever since. Performed at World's Fair The redoubtable team and many of its fellows first performed in behalf of RCA at a 1939 depart- ment store television demonstra- tion in Marshall Field &. Company, Chicago. In Spring, 19-40, Till- strom went to Bermuda, again for RCA, to participate in the Com- pany's first overseas television demonstration. Immediately recognized as tele- vision "naturals", Tillstrom and his little people were brought by RCA to the New York World's Fair. There the tiny troupe presented some 2,000 shows, a few of which were telecast over the NBC station in New York. During the war Kukla became a favorite in bond drives, service en- campments and with Red Cross units. Tillstrom still carries on this between-shows activity by en- tertaining at such places as or- phans' homes and hospitals. He finds this direct contact with audi- ence stimulating and secures many of his ideas for programs from the material that brings unexpectedly rewarding laughs from these audi- ences. Electron Microscope (Continued from i>ngc 11} stockings is also an important mat- ter to the average woman. In order to improve the color fastness in stockings and countless other nylon fabrics, the General Aniline and Film Corporation studies the struc- ture of dyes and pigments through the RCA electron microscope. Dr. F. A. Hamm. of General Aniline re- ports that micrographs of dyed nylon before and after steaming substantiate the two following theo- ries: first, that post-dye steaming increases the average size of dye crystals in nylon, which accounts for a decrease in their hiding power and an increase in their fastness to fading; and second, that the larger crystals on the surface can be "rubbed off" more easily than the smaller crystals, with a consequent loss in fastness. Dr. Hamm has successfully un- locked secrets of "color fastness" by combining American ingenuity with knowledge obtained through the RCA electron microscope. He is, in this respect, representative of the many scientists who daily labor in research laboratories everywhere to improve the products of every- day living. [26 RADIO AGE]