Bob Baker’s story

Bob Baker and I at his theatre

Bob Baker’s story - how he told it to me in a one-on-one conversation on the 3rd of July, 2010.  For more info on his life and theatre and performance credits - visit his website.

When Bob was 6 years old, already trained in piano and dramatics - he went to see a puppet show and was so entranced, he went back twice after, so he could understand how it worked.

Having an understanding mother, he received his first puppet and lessons in puppetry every Sunday for a year. After much training and passion, he did his first puppet show for the payment of $15 in the affluent Bel Air and continued on doing shows until WW2.

Bob went with his puppets to every movie star's home in Los Angeles, taught puppetry when he was in high school, manufactured puppets and became an accomplished Vaudeville performer before even turning 17.

When he turned 17, he was in the army airforce camouflage division, teaching camouflage to older men. After the war - he worked on movies, receiving credits as a puppeteer, alongside some of the world's greatest entertainers, such as Elvis Presley, Shirley Temple and Judy Garland, just to name a few. He was responsible for moving animated objects in box-office classics such as Bed Knobs and Broomsticks, Adams Family 2, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and many more (see his website).

He also became well-known as the ‘Butterfly Man’, when he would make little ‘butterflies’ with bits of mono-filaments or cellophane at the end of long rods and strings, and dangle them over dogs in order to get them to do tricks for the camera.

Bob was also one of the first people to start using Technicolor, and realised that TV could be a pre-recorded medium and not just live. This opened up a whole new world for the art of puppetry and his work appeared in many TV shows, television variety shows and commercials.

Bob also had a very fruitful manufacturing line and supplied puppets for large companies, such as Walt Disney.

More recently, Bob supplied a series of puppets for the animated motion picture The Polar Express. But after the company asked if they could have the copyright to his creations and Bob rejected them, they ended up ditching his puppets, while changing them only slightly to get out of crediting Bob.

Bob told me about his frustration with such practices and more generally with a world of computer-generated imaginary (CGI) and 3D animation. When I asked him what he thought of the future of puppetry and if it had a future, he gave me a cheeky smile as if he had been to the future and seen puppets being ingrained in entertainment again and
said; “We just need to wait it out”.

To hear this coming from a man in his mid-80s confirmed my own view that puppetry is much more precious than we may think it is and we all need to help keep this world alive.

Bob Baker Marionettes Theater

Bob Baker www.bobbakermarionettes.com

After what felt like the walk of my life, I finally arrived in what felt like heaven - The Bob Baker Marionettes. In hindsight, I should have taken a taxi, but a 20-30min walk from my hotel in the heart of Downtown L.A. looked so simple on Google Maps at the time.

I count my lucky stars that I made it through the bewildering alternate universe. Along my little journey I encountered one too many a gang of threatening looking kids with knives, one too many a shady character concealing things under their shirts and one too many open roofed cars pumping harsh rap music and yelling out to me if I wanted to join them...

Being a person who tends to get lost even with a GPS navigator - I felt a high probability of getting lost and ending up in situations I didn’t want to think about - so I found myself praying to any god, spirit or angel that would listen for me to not loose my way...

Miraculously, the spirits must have been watching over me - either that or pure fear and intuition helped me navigate my way through the nightmare and I only managed to turn the wrong way once. Headstrong and determined, I kept walking through sweltering heat with my head and my heart pounding as I cursed at myself for not spending a few extra dollars to take a taxi. But, at that point I had gone too far and there was no taxi or familiar sight to be seen and all I could do was keep going and hope it wasn’t much further.

But in the end, the journey was worth it, and in hindsight - it probably seemed much worse then it really was. Of course it helped tremendously that the journey’s reward was so very sweet, as I got to see the America’s oldest running 50 year old puppet theatre and also meet the legendary Bob Baker (now in his mid-80s) himself.

I was treated like a celebrity - being that I came ‘all the way from Australia’ and taken backstage to meet all the puppeteers and their puppets and see the workings of a theatre that is been built on pure love. From the 3000 puppets - each one was his child - to the hand-made coffee-can stage lights, this place has a real history and carries an immense sense of passion I’ve never felt anywhere else.

Most of all, the emotional warmth the theatre holds in such a cold part of town is striking and knowing it has survived the elements and surroundings for 50 years now, without losing any sense of pride and integrity, is truly astonishing.

Bob took me into his office and welcomed me like his long-lost granddaughter and told me about his life and how he got started and how he became what he is today while showing me all his photo-albums containing photo after photo of all his creations, like one would about his children, and the stories each of these characters held.

He opened his heart and explained how he still continues to this day to create theatre, tell stories and spread puppetry to the hearts of the youth today. Even though his arthritis-ridden fingers won’t let him manipulate his marionettes and his body won’t move the way he wants it to - this man carries more hope and faith in his work and the art of puppetry than anyone I have ever met. (read next blog entry for Bob’s story he told me).

The show I got to see was called “It’s a Musical World”, a musical variety show with music from Bob’s life and generation, performed with countless puppets by four young puppeteers who have trained under Bob.

I was fascinated to see a full house of people had come to see the show and that it was full of families with grandparents and all. Each person equally entranced by the movements and colour of the wonderful array of puppets and it was amazing to see that children as young as 2 years-old were enjoying music that was popular way before even their parents time.

You could almost say Bob has kept his theatre and acts so persevered, unmoved and uninfluenced by the fast pace of the outside world that you almost feel transported through time. Transported to a time where Bob was in his peak - performing variety shows for the rich and famous in their Beverly Hills homes, back in the era where cabaret and vaudeville variety acts were highly sought after. This only gives you a little insight of Bob’s integrity, pride, determination and love for his art.
 

But what struck me the most - that any notion that the show was ‘out of date’ was countered by its success, as evidenced by the fact that Bob’s puppets could inspire children and adults of any age in any time or any generation.

Here is a video (not of the show I saw) of a Bob Baker Marionettes show.

Tourism through L.A.

The Hollywood sign on a very overcast day

I took a couple of sightseeing tours with Starline Tours. I highly recommend them if you’re ever in L.A.

Warner Brother Studios

I did a full day tour at Warner Brothers Studios which was really a lot of fun! You went around the studio lots in little cars with a guide and you would learn which famous movies and stars where shot where and when. It was amazing to see such life like sets - and I must say, from someone who has some background in films, I truly enjoyed this and I learnt a lot! My favourite parts were the museums of film memorabilia (we weren’t allowed to take photos) including a whole Harry Potter level, and the film sets of Friends and The Big Bang Theory. Way too cool.

On the couch in the Friends set!

Harry Potter memorabilia

Matrix car

On tour bus: The famous Spider Man 'upside down kiss'

I also made a couple of cool Belgium friends, who I later bumped into at Santa Monica on my grand L.A. tour coincidentally!

That leads into my second tour: The grand tour of L.A. City and Downtown, Hollywood (Hollywood Boulevard, etc), Beverly Hills and the stars homes, Santa Monica and Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach. That was really fun! The only downside was doing it alone. I felt a bit isolated on this tour. Everyone was in couples or groups of friends who weren’t very inclusive and found me a little strange that I was on my own. I got looks from people as if I must have been dumped on my honeymoon and went on the trip alone... Or told by the tour guide: “I’m sorry, since you’re a single, you’re going to have to sit here”, pointing to the only empty seat next to an old lady who looked like she was on her very last tour. But I made the most of it and had a great time exploring the world my own way at my own pace, which has its advantages too.

A sculptor, on Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Beach

Venice Beach was probably my favourite place in L.A. and I was only there about an hour - but that was more then enough to soak up the vibe and experience the place. Being the 4th of July - it was a hot spot for sights to be seen in every direction. You really didn’t have to move and the entertainment came to you!

Venice Beach buskers

The busy streets of Venice Beach

And muscles galore on Muscle Beach...

Here’s just a few word pictures to tantalise you:

• Huge diversity and talent of the street performers,
• R&B bands trying to get you to listen to their music on headphones,
• The stalls full of amazing colourful tourism crap,
• Muscle Beach with the most amazing displays of muscles flexing you’ll ever see, with a whole workout gym and a HUGE muscle comp that was getting a lot of attention
• Squash courts, basketball courts, biking tracks on the beach
• And everything else you expect to be there - including beautiful bodies, strapped with Lycra on roller-blades....
• But funniest of all: tons of people calling outside of shop-fronts “The Doctor’s in! Come get your prescriptions here!”. I found out that 'back in the day' there used to be local doctors on Venice Beach that would prescribe weed for medicinal uses and this has been legal here for some years, but only on Venice Beach. So now it has become a bit of an institution and a tourism attraction where you can go have a “check up”.

First stop: Downtown LA

A nicer glimpse of Downtown

So, I’ve arrived in Downtown L.A. with the plan of resting a few days from travelling before the big puppet festivals begin. However - this is not the city to rest in. I must use all my strength and energy to walk down the streets over-confidently, so I blend in to not look like such a typical tourist or target. Every corner I turn, I feel like there’s someone waiting for me to let my guard down so they can mug me or worse... It’s hard to not stand out - I’m probably one of the only young, blonde, white females walking by herself on these old worn out streets... But I try my best to keep my chin up (literally speaking). It is however, a much scarier place then I thought it would be.

Though, however scary, there’s something warm and familiar about it which keeps catching me off-guard and giving me home for this place.

The scary world of Downtown...

Yet, somehow it seems very familiar while at the same time, so very different.

One of the biggest differences being that I think my ‘Australian’ English is very different to L.A. English (and also to the LACK of English at times - which makes the city both culturally vibrant and frustrating to get around). At times I feel as misunderstood as a traveller from a non-English speaking country. It’s like a parallel universe. There are minor differences, but the minor differences build up to make you realise you’re so far from home.

Olvera Street

Everything is just like in the movies and TV shows. Let’s just say, watching CSI Los Angeles in preparation before my trip wasn’t such a bad thing to do. Also, I think when you watch American TV and movies back home, you immediately connect everything to a fantasy reality. So finding that in fact most things are as they seem on TV, is probably the biggest culture shock of all.

L.A. is big and it’s hard to get around. Most people are harsh and unfriendly and seem to have an ulterior motive to help you, especially when it comes to tipping and being a young, white female. To choose to stay in Downtown L.A. of all places on my very first stop, may have been a slight miss planning on my part. But when you’re planning from the other side of the world - foresight isn’t always as easy.

There were a couple of nice places to be, especially during the day on the 4th of July. One of these hot spots was Olvera Street, where the world changed into a little festival full of colour, music, laughter and delicious smells!

Olvera Street

However, when you left little Mexico and places like Olvera Street, the streets transform into a hateful a dog-eat-dog world. There are signs on the streets that state: “No drug dealing on the street” with big, tough Mexicans smoking pot on the side of the street in plain site. The classic ‘pimp’ type guys who I thought only existed in cartoons keep asking me if I wanted to hang out with them for the day. I joke my way out of it with flare and confidence (while my heart is pounding and racing) and thank my lucky stars each time for getting out of sticky situations so easily.

After 5pm the world changes

By 5pm it’s still as light as if it were noon, all the shop fronts become closed with dirty garage doors replacing the vibrant world and everything suddenly changes into a very scary, harsh and frightening place to be. With all my might, I walk through the streets with my continual ‘air of confidence’ and try to avoid the trouble that seems to keep meeting me. With a loaded sigh of relief I return to my hotel room and watch American TV, fascinated by the vast array channels, Spanish soaps and bizarre informercials while I try to block out the gunshots outside and the police and ambulance sirens every five minutes. Sometimes I’m worried to fall asleep since the metal fencing in front of my fire-escape window looks like its been broken into a few too many times.

There was an upside in all this - I did find myself living off the huge variety of fast food and Mexican food chains for five days! It’s a world in itself. Everyday I would try a new chain, in total fascination with the portion sizes. When I order ‘small’, to my surprise I receive a very large size. I try to tell them they’d make a mistake, but with my Australian English both parties are lost in total confusion.

Olvera Street markets

My favourite would have to be ‘El Pollo Loco’, which are as common as McDonald’s in Downtown. I wondered in one afternoon after I’d accidently stumbled into the Spanish district, Little Mexico. Here I had the most trouble communicating, as here no one at all really spoke English. Perhaps it was also my lack of understanding of how to use a ‘salsa bar’ and not having used the American currency before and not knowing if and when or how much I should tip. Somehow we managed to speak some attempt at sign-language and I fell in love with the food while listening to the Mexican version of Mandy Moore. Fantastic.

As happy as I feel to be leaving this place - I’m also happy I came. I don’t think I’ve ever feared for my life so many times in a series of a few days, and through that I learnt a few life lessons and felt a sense of accomplishment and empowerment. The rest of my adventure will be easy after surviving this, I hope...