Tom Tichenor
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Thomas Hager Tichenor (February 10, 1923 — November 18, 1992) was an American
puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...
, most noted for creating the original puppets for the Broadway musical ''
Carnival! ''Carnival'' is a musical theatre, musical, originally produced by David Merrick on Broadway in 1961, with the book by Michael Stewart (playwright), Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The musical is based on the 1953 film ''Lil ...
''.


Early life

Tichenor was born in
Decatur, Alabama Decatur () is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County, Alabama, Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City," it is located in North Alabam ...
, and initially raised by his Aunt Ruby in
Smyrna, Tennessee Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 53,070 at the 2020 census, making it the largest town in Tennessee by population in that census. Smyrna is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. Histo ...
. His family later moved with Tom to
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. At the age of 15, Tichenor staged a marionette production of ''
Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" (; ; ; ) is a European fairy tale about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand in marriage of a princess for his penniless and low-born master. The oldest written telling version ...
'' at the
Nashville Public Library Nashville Public Library (NPL) is the public library system serving Nashville, Tennessee and the metropolitan area of Davidson County. In 2010, the Nashville Public Library was the recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. ...
, which began his lifelong association with the library. Tichenor graduated from
Hume-Fogg High School Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School is a public magnet high school serving grades 9–12 and located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. History Hume School, serving the first through 12th grades, opened in 1855 on Eighth Avenue ...
in Nashville in 1940, along with classmate (and class salutatorian)
Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up model, pin-up photos.US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
in 1943, and at the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
came back to Nashville. There he continued his puppetry work with Nashville Public Library, performing marionette shows and story times. Tichenor also launched a 15-minute children's radio show on WSM called ''Wormwood Forest'', which was sent live to
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
for national broadcast. Tichenor wrote the show, and played several characters. In 1949,
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
(as himself and as
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
) and
Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor and impressionist. He is best remembered as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of W ...
(as
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...
) made special appearances on the show.


Puppetry and books

Tichenor also expanded into television, with puppetry shows on both WSM in Nashville and WKNO in Memphis. In 1959, Tichenor became the first local
Bozo the Clown Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to tel ...
for WSM. 1959 also saw the publication of his first book, ''Folk Plays for Puppets You Can Make'' (
Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press ...
, 1959). He would go on to write two other informational books: ''Tom Tichenor’s Puppets'' (Abingdon Press, 1971) and ''Christmas Tree Crafts'' ( J.B. Lippincott Company, 1975.) He also authored three books for children: ''Smart Bear'' (Abingdon Press, 1970), ''Sir Patches and the Dragon'' (Aurora Publishers, 1971) and ''Neat-O the Supermarket Mouse'' (Abingdon, 1981).


New York

At the encouragement of an actor friend, Tichenor traveled to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1960 to audition his puppets for the upcoming Broadway production of ''Carnival!''. Tichenor auditioned for director
Gower Champion Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Early years Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Ca ...
, writer Helen Deutsch, and casting director
Michael Shurtleff Michael Shurtleff (July 3, 1920, in Oak Park, Illinois – January 28, 2007, in Los Angeles, California) was a major force in casting on Broadway during the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote ''Audition'', a book for actors on the audition process. He als ...
. They found the “provincial simplicity” of Tichenor's work perfect for the show, and hired him. Tichenor was tasked with designing and building the show's central puppets, and also with training actor
Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical and global celebrity on te ...
in puppetry. The show was a hit, and Tichenor's puppets appeared on the May 5, 1961 cover of ''Life'' magazine along with star Anna Maria Alberghetti. While in New York, Tichenor got involved with television, appearing with Paul Tripp on
WNBC WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey ...
in ''Birthday House'' in 1963. Tichenor appeared as Strawtop, a pantomime scarecrow, and also performed many puppet characters. When ''Birthday House'' ended in 1967, Tichenor returned home to Nashville.


Back to Nashville

Back in Nashville, Tichenor resumed his relationship with the public library, but still found other outlets for his puppetry. In 1969 his characters appeared on ABC TV’s ''The Mysterious Magical Miracle Box''. In 1974 he served as a puppeteer and designer for '' The Letter People'', a television series originating from
KETC KETC (channel 9) is a PBS member television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, owned by St. Louis Regional Public Media. The station's studios are located at the Dana Brown Communications Center on Olive Street in St. Louis' Gran ...
in St. Louis. Tichenor continued his library work until his retirement in 1988. He died in 1992 in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...
and is buried in Nashville National Cemetery. Tichenor's legacy is carried on by Wishing Chair Productions, the Nashville Public Library's resident puppet troupe.


References


External links

*
Tom Tichenor
on
IBDb The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

Wishing Chair Productions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tichenor, Tom 1923 births 1992 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American puppeteers