Harry Burnett (January 6, 1901May 28, 1993) was the designer of the Yale Puppeteers. He was also a mask creator. In ''

Better Angel ''Better Angel'' is a novel by Forman Brown first published in 1933 under the pseudonym Richard Meeker. It was republished as ''Torment'' in 1951. It is an early novel which describes a gay lifestyle without condemning it. Christopher Carey calle ...

'',

Forman Brown Forman Brown (January 8, 1901 – January 10, 1996) was one of the world's leaders in puppet theatre in his day, as well as an important early gay novelist. He was a member of the Yale Puppeteers and the driving force behind Turnabout Theatre. ...

's early gay novel, he is Derry.

Biography

Harry Burnett was born on January 6, 1901, the son of Noble Burnett, a dry goods store owner, and Rose Clark. Advertising executive

Leo Burnett Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cen ...

was his brother and his nephew is

Dan Bessie Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

, who, in the film ''Turnabout: the Story of the Yale Puppeteers'' documented the history of the Yale Puppeteers. In 1923 Harry Burnett, his cousin

, and this latter partner, Richard Brandon, formed a group of puppeteers while attending

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Forman Brown was the writer and Harry Burnett the designer. The group continued when they moved to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and became the Yale Puppeteers. An early work included a production of ''Bluebeard'' designed by

Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer, described in 2012 by the New York Times as "a brilliant craftsman and draftsman, a master of style, the 20t ...

. In the 1930s the company performed in their own puppet theatre in East 40th Street in Manhattan. In 1933 they did a puppet sequence in the movie ''

I Am Suzanne ''I Am Suzanne!'' is a 1933 American pre-Code romance film involving puppeteers in Paris written by Edwin Justus Mayer, directed by Rowland V. Lee, and starring Lilian Harvey, Gene Raymond and Leslie Banks. The picture's puppetry sequences f ...

''. In 1936–1938 they performed at the

Barbizon-Plaza Hotel Trump Parc and Trump Parc East are two adjoining buildings at the southwest corner of Central Park South and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Trump Parc (the former Barbizon-Plaza Hotel) is a 38-story condominium building, and Tru ...

and the Cosmopolitan Club. In the 1940s they moved to California and, on July 10, 1941, they opened Turnabout Theatre, a permanent theatre in Los Angeles, where they performed until 1960.

Elsa Lanchester Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the First World ...

regularly performed at the Turnabout Theatre singing Forman Brown's adult themed songs.

Legacy

In 1933, Forman Brown wrote ''

'', under the pseudonym Richard Meeker, about a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality. The novel is regarded as "the first American novel to present the 'gay' experience in a healthy light."A Remembrance of Forman Brown http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/bios/FormanBrown.html When it was reprinted in 1995, thinking that the author was no longer alive, Brown stepped forward and acknowledged the novel was heavily autobiographic: that the main character, Kurt, was indeed Forman Brown; that one of the main character's love interests, Derry, was Brown's cousin, Harry Burnett; that Kurt's main love interest, David, was Richard Brandon; and that another of Kurt's lovers, Tony, was actor

Alexander Kirkland William Alexander Kirkland (September 15, 1901, Mexico City, Mexico – 1986) was a leading man in Hollywood during the early sound era as well as a stage actor who starred in productions of the Group Theatre (New York), Group Theatre in New Yo ...

. In 1936 Forman Brown published ''Punch’s Progress'', the story of the Yale Puppeteers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Harry 1901 births 1993 deaths