Wikipedia

Mollie Falkenstein

Mollie Peck Falkenstein (1906-1992) was a dancer who became a puppeteer known for her work with finger puppets.

Mollie Falkenstein
Born
Mollie Peck

1906
England
Died1992 (aged 85 or 86)
California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Dancer and Puppeteer
AwardsTrustee’s Award in 1978; UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence in 1983

Biography

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In 1906, Mollie Peck was born in England and moved to Canada when she was six years old[citation needed] where she began training in ballet.[1] In 1922 she moved to Los Angeles[2] and became a professional dancer[3] performing in “Rio Rita” in 1927,[4] before landing a job as a ballerina for Rio Rita on Broadway.[5] Falkenstein got involved with puppets when her daughter, Jan, was in elementary school and she made a set of puppets and a story to accompany the puppets. This grew over time as the group of children performed in puppet shows with Falkenstein performing as the Chiquita Puppeteers.[6][7]

Falkenstein also performed a one-woman show with finger puppet ballerinas that would eventually become known as the “dancing ballet.” The ballet puppet dancers had molded legs attached to Falkenstein’s fingers and a head and arms controlled by strings.[8] This technique was later called “Ballerette”.[9]

Falkenstein also worked on puppetry for the community and founded a puppetry guild in Orange County in 1961. Then, in 1964, she was invited to serve as the General Secretary for Union Internationale de la Marionnette - International Puppetry Association (UNIMA).[6] Mrs. Falkenstein attended UNIMA IX Munich 1966, as the USA delegate and then founded the American Chapter of Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA-USA) in 1966 and began editing the chapter’s magazine APROPOS.[10] Falkenstein would also serve as vice president of UNIMA-USA from 1976-1980.[11]

Falkenstein passed away in 1992 and, after her death, an exhibit including marionettes, shadow figures, and hand and rod puppets was held at the John Wayne Airport called “Puppets for Mollie” to honor Falkenstein.[12]

Awards and honors

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In 1978 Falkenstein received the Trustee’s Award from the Puppeteers of America.[13] UNIMA-USA presented her with a citation of excellence in 1983,[10] and she was named an honorary member of UNIMA.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Little dancer prevented panic". The Vancouver Sun. 1922-01-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  2. ^ "Miss Mollie Peck to study at Los Angeles". The Vancouver Sun. 1922-05-27. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  3. ^ "Scores success". The Vancouver Sun. 1925-11-19. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  4. ^ Faulkner, Jean (1927-03-20). "Local Girl Joins The Follies". The Province. p. 44. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  5. ^ Dircks, Phyllis T. (2004-09-14). American Puppetry: Collections, History and Performance. McFarland. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7864-1896-1.
  6. ^ a b Driscoll, Marjorie (1969-11-10). "Show goes on-even for Mollie's puppets". The Los Angeles Times. p. 80. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  7. ^ "Ebell party to feature puppets". The Los Angeles Times. 1959-12-17. p. 117. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  8. ^ Brouhard, Milt (1964-10-01). "Workshop to stress the art of string-pulling". The Los Angeles Times. p. 111. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  9. ^ Latshaw, George (2012-04-30). The Complete Book of Puppetry. Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-15699-6.
  10. ^ a b "Special Citations". UNIMA-USA. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  11. ^ Latshaw, George (1978). Puppetry : the ultimate disguise. Internet Archive. New York : Richards Rosen Press. ISBN 978-0-8239-0363-4.
  12. ^ Berg, Mary Helen (1992-11-26). "'For Mollie' airport exhibit is memorial to puppeteer". The Los Angeles Times. pp. [1], [2]. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  13. ^ "Puppeteers of America - Awards" (PDF). www.puppeteers.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 6, 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  14. ^ "MEMBERS OF HONOR". UNIMA-USA. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
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Further reading

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