Velma Wayne Dawson

Velma Wayne Dawson was a puppet maker and puppeteer who was best known for her work on Howdy Doody Show creating the marionettes. However, she built only two classic marionettes from the start of the show in 1947 but continued to build them until the show ended in 1960. Velma also puppeteered the characters from above as evidenced by the above photo of her holding the marionette strings. Dawson is probably one of the first TV female puppeteers to work with marionettes, then again, I could be wrong about that. She should have worked for Sesame Street or the Muppets when she had the chance after the Howdy Doody Show ended. But she probably never heard of either production since both were created way after her career on Howdy Doody went off the air. Velma Wayne Dawson has been honored by her 50-year-long career in television and was an active benefactor to a college in Palm Desert. It's a shame that she never did any other projects besides Howdy Doody, unless you count being a technical assistant in the 1999 film Man on the Moon. I still think she would have been a great assistant performer for the Muppets, but it's too late for her to try now. In 2007, Velma died at age 95 at her home and was buried since then which means she can never work with the Muppets ever. I bet Dawson never did other shows besides Howdy Doody in her life, she probably didn't even do anything after 1960. On the other hand, it is never too late to assume she only built and performed marionettes for a single television show, maybe she did other puppetry shows as well. Often people find neat things about puppeteers online which can change information about him/her. Velma Wayne Dawson, you were a wonderful person when it came to marionettes since you only did the Howdy Doody Show in your career. But you were still honored by what you've done in your career in puppet making and performing. I hope you've been watching almost everything from heaven. There is no Howdy Doody without you Velma. Farewell to you Dawson!