Van Snowden
Van Snowden | |
---|---|
Born | Van Charles Snowden February 19, 1939 San Francisco, California, US |
Died | 22 September 2010 | (aged 71)
Occupation | Puppeteer |
Years active | 1969–2007 |
Van Charles Snowden (February 19, 1939 – September 22, 2010) was an American puppeteer active in the film and television industries for decades. Snowden performed as the H.R. Pufnstuf character in most projects after the original series and film.[1] His other credits included the horror films Child's Play 2 and Child's Play 3, Tales from the Crypt and D.C. Follies.[1]
Life and career
Snowden was born in
Snowden peroformed as a puppeteer on the Sid and Marty Krofft film Pufnstuf, a spin-off of the series H.R. Pufnstuf, and would take over from Roberto Gamonet as Pufnstuf in subsequent appearances. He continued to collaborate with Sid and Marty Krofft on a number of their other productions, including Land of the Lost, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Lidsville and The Bugaloos.[1] Additionally, Snowden toured with The Pufnstuf Road Show for two years,[1] and made an appearance in the non-Krofft series Mother Goose's Treasury.
In 1989, Snowden and other puppeteers were nominated for an
Snowden also assisted with the
His last television credit was as H.R. Pufnstuf on an episode of
Snowden also worked for the puppeteer division of Hasbro and its Tiger Electronics division.[1] He was part of the puppetry and programming team which developed the body, mouth and eye movements for such interactive toys as Furby, E.T., Gizmo and Yoda.[1][3] Snowden headed Hasbro's puppeteer division for the last three years of his life and career.[2]
Van Snowden died from cancer on September 22, 2010, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, California, at the age of 71.[1][2] He was survived by his brother, Nick, and sister, Deanna.[1]
Van was the son of Wyatt Estes Snowden and Ortha Dufree.
Filmography
- Pufnstuf (1970)
- The Bugaloos (1970–1971) - Tweeter
- Lidsville (1971–1972) - Tonsolini the Opera Hat, Pierre de Sewer, Pufnstuf
- Fol-de-Rol (1972) - Puppeteer
- The NBC Saturday Morning Preview Revue (1974) - Petey the Peacock
- Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973–1974) - Sweet Mama Ooze
- Land of the Lost (1975) - Zarn
- The Brady Bunch Variety Hour(1977) - Cher Crow, H.R. Pufnstuf
- The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars(1978) - Various characters
- The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour (1978) - Head puppeteer
- Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters(1980) - Puppeteer
- The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (1984) - Henrietta (in-suit performer)
- The Patti LaBelle Show(1985) - Puppeteer
- Dumbo's Circus (1985) - Assistant puppeteer
- D.C. Follies (1987) - Assistant puppet builder
- The Mother Goose Video Treasury (1987) - Humpty Dumpty, Townsperson of Gooseberry Glen
- Beetlejuice (1988) - Puppeteer
- Redeye Express (1988) - Puppeteer
- Pee-wee's Playhouse (1988) - Puppet operator, puppet supervisor
- Christmas at Pee Wee's Playhouse (1988) - Puppet operator
- Tales from the Crypt (1989–1995) - Puppeteer of Crypt Keeper
- Child's Play 2 (1990) - Additional puppeteer of Chucky
- Child's Play 3 (1991) - Additional puppeteer of Chucky
- Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) - Puppeteer
- Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - Additional puppeteer
- Toby Terrier and His Video Pals(1993) - Head puppeteer
- Casper (1995) - Puppeteer of Crypt Keeper
- Bordello of Blood (1996) - Puppeteer of Crypt Keeper
- The X Files(1998) - Puppeteer
- My Name Is Earl (2007) - H.R. Pufnstuf
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnes, Mike (2010-09-28). "Hollywood puppeteer Van Snowden dies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Passings: Van Snowden, Maury Allen, Georgi Arbatov". Los Angeles Times. 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
- ^ a b Barnes, Mike (2010-09-29). "Van Snowden: Remembering the puppeteer behind HR Pufnstuf, Chucky, and more". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
External links
- Van Snowden at IMDb