Anthony Frederick Sarg (April 21, 1880 – March 7, 1942) was a

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

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 ...

and illustrator. He was described as "America's Puppet Master", and in his biography as the father of modern puppetry in North America.

Early life

Tony Sarg was born in

Cobán Cobán (), fully Santo Domingo de Cobán, is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality. It is located 219 km from Guatemala City. A ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, to Francis Charles Sarg and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Parker. The elder Sarg, son of Mary Ellen Best, was a

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

representing

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

; Parker was English. The family returned to the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1887 ut note conflict that father Franz Sarg remained Consul until 1894 Sarg entered a military academy at age 14 and received a commission as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

at 17; in 1905 (in his mid-20s) he resigned his commission and took up residence in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. There, he pursued a relationship with Bertha Eleanor McGowan, an American he had met when she was a tourist in Germany. They were married in her hometown of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, January 20, 1909, and returned to England, where their daughter Mary was born two years later. In 1914, with the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he sent Bertha and the children to Cincinnati, followed them soon after, and settled the family in

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 1915. In 1920, he became a

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Career

He had been raised around puppets, inherited his grandmother's collection of them, developed them as a hobby that enhanced the impression he made on other artists, and finally in 1917, turned them into a profession. In 1921, Sarg animated the film '' The First Circus'', an inventive cartoon for producer Herbert M. Dawley, who was credited as co-animator. Sarg went on to produce a series of cartoons known as ''Tony Sarg's Almanac'', from 1921 to 1923. In 1928, he designed, and his protégé

Bil Baird William Britton "Bil" Baird (August 15, 1904 – March 18, 1987) was an American puppeteer of the mid- and late 20th century. He and his puppets performed for millions of adults and children. One of his better known creations was Charlemane the ...

built, tethered

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

-filled

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

s up to long, resembling animals, for the New York institution of

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

department store. This work involved a number of puppetry-related principles. These creations were featured in the store's Thanksgiving Day parade. In 1935, he undertook the puppet-related work of designing Macy's elaborate animated window display, which was shown between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The pinnacle of Sarg's visibility occurred at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, where his cumulative audience was 3 million; Baird was involved in this production, as were Rufus Rose and Margo Rose. Sarg stepped back from competing with other puppet studios, and pursued illustrating magazine covers, guide books, and original children's picture books, games, and toys. He designed salons and sophisticated interiors for high-end department stores and restaurants, including the supper club at New York's Waldorf Astoria. He designed extensively for the New York World's Fair, in 1939, creating the fair's official pictorial map, and numerous colorful and modernistic fabrics with World's Fair themes for lady's scarves, handkerchiefs, dresses, table linens, and upholstery, which were sold through Lord & Taylor Department Store. His protégé, Bil Baird, went on to design the puppets featured in the film ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

''.

Death

On February 17, 1942, Sarg had

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

for a ruptured appendix, and died on March 7, 1942, of complications arising from it. He is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Legacy

The Academy Film Archive has preserved several of Tony Sarg's films, including ''The Original Movie'', ''When the Whale Was Jonahed'', ''Why They Love Cavemen'', ''The First Earful'', and ''Why Adam Walked the Floor''.

Filmography

All films co-animated and produced by Herbert M. Dawley * '' The First Circus'' (May 8, 1921) * ''The Tooth Carpenter'' (May 21, 1921) * ''Why They Love Cavemen'' (July 2, 1921) * ''When The Wale Was Jonahed'' (August 20, 1921) * ''Fireman, Save My Child'' (September 11, 1921) * ''The Original Golfer'' (January 7, 1922) * ''Why Adam Walked the Floor'' (February 5, 1922) * ''The Original Movie'' (April 9, 1922) * ''The First Earful'' (May 29, 1922) * ''Noah Put The Cat Out'' (July 9, 1922) * ''The First Degree'' (July 29, 1922) * ''The First Barber'' (August 27, 1922) * ''Baron Bragg and the Devilish Dragon'' (September 24, 1922) * ''The First Flivver'' (October 22, 1922) * ''The Ogling Ogre'' (November 19, 1922) * ''Baron Bragg and the Haunted Castle'' (December 17, 1922) * ''The Terrible Tree'' (January 14,1923)

References

*2007. "FANFAIR - 31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE - Life Sketches -- Tony Sarg's New York Illustrations. The Cultural Divide. Elissa Schappell's Hot Type. My Stuff -- Lauren Bush; A. M. Homes on Lillys New Men's Wear. Krista Smith Exposes the Hotties of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's Grindhous; Bruce Handy Warms Up to Hot Fuzz. Matt Tymauer Has Designs on Moss. Graham Fuller Reviews the Edith Piaf Biopic; Giving Back with Green Jewels. Frank DiGiacomo on the Iggulden Brothers' Lost Childhood; Lisa Robinson Meets The Actual. Leslie Bennetts on Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann's Eco-Education; Amy Larocca on Olivia Chantecaille's Undersea Odyssey; Hot Looks". Vanity Fair. 75.

External links

* *
'Letter of Apology to Bert from This Wretch' Tony Sarg Writes from London
by George Korn

* ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/nantuckethistoricalassociation/sets/72157612238433015/ Photographs of Tony Sarg's Sea Serpent on Nantucket*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarg, Tony 1880 births 1942 deaths People from Cobán Emigrants from the German Empire Immigrants to the United States Deaths from peritonitis American puppeteers Articles containing video clips American illustrators German people of English descent Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Expatriates in Guatemala German expatriates in the United Kingdom