Mark Ritts
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Mark Ritts (June 16, 1946 – December 7, 2009) was an American actor, puppeteer, television producer and director, and author. Ritts also produced and directed many independent videos and television spots as president of Mark Ritts Productions, Inc., for clients around the world.
Biography
Ritts was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in English literature. Being the son of noted puppeteers Paul and Mary Ritts, he pursued a sideline in puppetry, starring in PBS's The Real Adventures of Sherlock Jones and Proctor Watson and NBC's The Pink Panther Show, among many others. In the 1980s he was the puppeteer for the Philadelphia-area produced Starstuff.
Throughout the 1990s, Ritts was the voice and performer of Kino, the
From 1992 to 1998, he participated on CBS's Beakman's World. In it, Ritts starred as Lester, a disgruntled actor (with a bad agent) in a rat suit who reluctantly helps Beakman with his experiments and trades barbs with Josie, Liza and Phoebe. The character was originally conceived as a puppet character, but at the last minute, the show's producers decided he would be a costumed actor.[1] Ritts also operated the Herb penguin puppet, with the voice provided by Alan Barzman. The program has been televised in nearly 90 countries around the world, and is seen in syndication throughout the United States.
After moving to California from the East Coast in 1994, Mark wrote and produced a
Ritts is also the co-author (with Don Fleming, PhD) of a parenting book entitled Mom, I Hate You, released by
He made a major high-definition documentary for
Ritts died from kidney cancer in La Cañada Flintridge, California. He was 63 years old.[3]
Family
He was married to actress and singer Teresa Parente and had a daughter. He was previously married to Nina Daniel and they had two sons.[4]
References
- ^ Ritts, Mark. "Beakman's World – Official Site – Meet the Cast". Sony Pictures USA. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- IMDb
- ^ Martin, Douglas (December 11, 2009). "Mark Ritts, an Actor Best Known as a Lab Rat, Is Dead at 63". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (December 12, 2009). "Mark Ritts, an Actor Best Known as a Lab Rat, is Dead at 63". The New York Times.
External links
- Official Website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Mark Ritts at IMDb