Olive Blackham

Olive Blackham was a British puppeteer, director, author, and weaver who was best known for being one of the first puppeteers to appear on television in 1948. She was also best known for developing the Roel Puppets Theatre, active from 1932-1961. Olive is definitely one of the historical puppeteers in the world for she did her puppetry career way before Jim Henson created the Muppets. Blackham started out with her production The Ark, which inspired her to become a puppeteer in the first place and later went on to do Roel Puppets. Within Roel Puppets, she tested out some experimental ideas of hers and she even got tour her shows during World War II, that was a dangerous time for puppeteers. Some of the pre-war shows she did took place in theatres, music halls, and even schools, while post-war productions include Chester Miracle Plays, Hagoromo, Widecome Fair, The Proposal, and The Unwilling Martyr, just to name a few. In addition to working with puppets, Olive Blackham also wrote three books about the different types of puppets there were during that time. It's a shame she retired way back in the mid-1960s, she could've met Jim Henson himself when he was starting out his Muppet franchise. Luckily, she donated her puppets to several museums for people to admire, and they still do. After years of being in retirement weaving, Olive died in 2002 at the age of 103, making her one of those rare puppeteers to become a centenarian. At least Blackham still remains one of the first puppeteers to ever appear on TV, even though she's dead now. And instead of flowers, donations of her puppets were made to the Puppet Centre Trust, according to an article retrieved in 2023, link found on her Wikipedia page. At least her puppets are in good hands, on display for those who want to know about her career. Olive Blackham, you hold the record for being one of the only puppeteers to ever perform during the WWII period. You were also a wonderful puppeteer and author with Roel Puppets Theatre and other companies. I hope that from heaven you're still watching over your displayed things. Bye Olive. Rest in peace Blackham!

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