Does anyone remember George & Lucille Cole (of Cole Marionettes)? From 1980 era George L. Cole, 80, a Chicago-area puppeteer for over 50 years, was the founder and manager of the Cole Marionettes, which has four troupes that have performed close to 100,000 times at schools and malls in the Chicago area since the mid-1930s. He was past president of the Puppeteers of America. Services for Mr. Cole, a resident of Lake Village, Ind., will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the chapel at 604 E. Commercial Ave., Lowell, Ind. He died at home Saturday Mr. Cole, who said he spent 20 cents out of his last dollar in 1934 to buy instructions on how to carve a puppet, had worked full-time since 1945 giving marionette shows. He had four units, each of which gave 12 to 14 performances a week at schools, in shopping malls and for organizations. ``My father was active running the troupes and giving shows himself right up to his death,`` his daughter, Merry Cole, said. ``We want people to know that the shows will go on and we will honor all contracts.`` Children, to Mr. Cole, were a great audience, and few persons have performed before more live audiences of children. Mr. Cole had studied art and music and learned woodworking under his father, Prof. L.M. Cole, at Millikin University, Decatur. He made his first puppet after reading a magazine in a barber shop in 1934. He had one dollar left and spent 20 cents of it to purchase a copy of the magazine to try it. He gave the marionette to a niece but continued to carve them. His wife, Lucille, sewed clothing for them and a friend wrote a script based on Edgar Allen Poe`s story, ``The Gold Bug.`` Mr. Cole and his wife then began presenting their own productions based on famous children`s stories. The puppets are hand-painted to look lifelike and yet to portray distinguishable features to a child in the back of an auditorium. They are hand-carved, with their elbows and knees made of wood and fiber. Mr. Cole opened a puppet workshop and made enough puppets to supply a troupe of puppeteers. The four current troupes perform ``The Tinder Box`` by Hans Christian Andersen, ``The Legend of Sleepy Hallow`` by Washington Irving, ``Jason and the Golden Fleece`` and ``The Circus.``
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 22:41:03 +0000