Over the years, we've been able to meet some famous people. Here are a few . . .
Jim Henson
During the New Orleans World's Fair, Jim Henson used his influence to facilitate the presentation of rare Italian puppets. Somehow, these rare puppets, never before let out of Italy, were lost. David was a Production Co-ordinator during the fair and was charged with the task of finding the puppets before the performance began.
"I wasn't about to tell Mr. Henson
that the puppets were lost. We had teams looking through all the rooms where the
performers were staying, people checking warehouses on the fair grounds, and we raced to
airport customs armed with the manifest for the puppets. We finally found them,
hidden in the back of the warehouse just yards from the performance area."
Steve Whitmire and Kermit the Frog
Here's Rainbow Puppet Maker with Steve Whitmire and Kermit the Frog. Steve now does the voice and operates Kermit. Chris specializes in the flying puppets and crab puppets in all of our shows.
Dr.
Jack Horner
Paleontologist and author, Dr. Jack Horner is perhaps best known to the public as the technical advisor for "Jurassic Park.'' He was part of the many dinosaur events planned for the Virginia Marine Science Museum. We got to meet with him in the weeks before our dinosaur show opened. Based on that meeting, we had to make changes in our dinosaur show to make it more scientifically accurate.
Cathy Rigby
We got to see Cathy after a performance of Peter Pan. The show was filled with terrific flying scenes, great orchestrations and wonderful special effects. It certainly was an influence on our Wright Brothers play. If you pay attention to the last song in the show, we specifically mention Peter Pan.
Brian Wilson
Founder and writer of most of the songs for the Beach Boys. We gave him a Creatures tape for his children. His songs influenced the fish songs in both the "Dino Show" and "Jonah."
Ann B. Davis
Alice on "The Brady Bunch." We saw her at Norfolk's Scope arena after a performance of "The Mother Goose Travelling Rock and Roll Show."
Adam West
T.V.'s Batman with Laura Huff and David backstage with Adam West after a benefit program for the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters held at Norfolk's Scope area.
John Wayne*
(*Okay, we didn't really get to meet John Wayne, but Jason did include a giant talking cut
out of the Duke in a recent show.)