Violet Philpott

Violet Philpott was a British puppeteer and author who worked on both television and theatre from the 1950s to the late 2000s. I wonder if she ever met Henson puppeteer Toby Philpott, as they both have the same last name and were close with puppeteer A.R. Philpott. Violet was known for performing on the show The Telegoons where she made marionette figures and voiced a couple of characters. Philpott was also well-known for creating Zippy on Rainbow in 1972, unfortunately she left the production after the first season due to a back injury. Even though she only performed Zippy for one season, the character went on to be successful as Ronnie LeDrew took over and played the role since. As an author, she wrote a children's guide in 1975 known as The KnowHow Book of Puppets, containing illustrations aiming to educate kids on how to make their own puppet shows. The following year, Violet Philpott published a book called Bandicoot and His Friends which can be found in London. Other things she did throughout her life include teaching drama at Rose Buford College, serving as a council member on the Educational Puppet Association, and becoming part of The Puppet Centre Trust in 1978, all according to an article archived. Over the years, she ran workshops on a regular basis as well as given performances for many disabled and disadvantaged people. But soon all of Violet's work came to an end, as she wrapped up her tours in 2009 on account of being afflicted with dementia. To make things worse, in December of 2012, Philpott died in her sleep, but what's sad is she had no children. No children means no one to take over her career in the puppet realm. She will be missed, but at least she did so much in her career, even if she never worked on a Muppet or Henson project. Violet Philpott, you were a wonderful performer, and you weren't so bad at publishing two books. You'll never be forgotten by those whom you've worked with over the years. And you'll always be remembered as the creator and original puppeteer of Zippy for the Rainbow series, the character is in good hands now. Farewell Violet. Rest in peace Philpott!