Harry Burnett (January 6, 1901May 28, 1993) was the designer of the Yale Puppeteers. He was also a mask creator. In ''Better Angel'', Forman Brown's early gay novel, he is Derry.

Biography

Harry Burnett was born on January 6, 1901, the son of Noble Burnett, a dry goods store owner, and Rose Clark. Advertising executive

Leo Burnett Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cent ...

was his brother and his nephew is Dan Bessie, who, in the film ''Turnabout: the Story of the Yale Puppeteers'' documented the history of the Yale Puppeteers. In 1923 Harry Burnett, his cousin

Forman Brown Forman Brown (January 8, 1901 – January 10, 1996) was one of the world's leaders in puppet theatre in his day, as well as an important early gay novelist. He was a member of the Yale Puppeteers and the driving force behind Turnabout Theatre. ...

, and this latter partner, Richard Brandon, formed a group of puppeteers while attending

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Forman Brown was the writer and Harry Burnett the designer. The group continued when they moved to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and became the Yale Puppeteers. An early work included a production of ''Bluebeard'' designed by

Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer. Early life Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan and was raised in New Philadelp ...

. In the 1930s the company performed in their own puppet theatre in East 40th Street in Manhattan. In 1933 they did a puppet sequence in the movie '' I Am Suzanne''. In 1936–1938 they performed at the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel and the Cosmopolitan Club. In the 1940s they moved to California and, on July 10, 1941, they opened

Turnabout Theatre The Turnabout Theatre was a company of marionette puppeteers who performed in Hollywood from 1941 through 1956. The company's shows began with marionette performances, and concluded with a revue. The name of the theater derives in part from the fa ...

, a permanent theatre in Los Angeles, where they performed until 1960.

Elsa Lanchester Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British-American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary ''Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the Fir ...

regularly performed at the Turnabout Theatre singing Forman Brown's adult themed songs.

Legacy

In 1933, Forman Brown wrote '' Better Angel'', under the pseudonym Richard Meeker, about a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality. The novel is regarded as "the first American novel to present the 'gay' experience in a healthy light."A Remembrance of Forman Brown http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/bios/FormanBrown.html When it was reprinted in 1995, thinking that the author was no longer alive, Brown stepped forward and acknowledged the novel was heavily autobiographic: that the main character, Kurt, was indeed Forman Brown; that one of the main character's love interests, Derry, was Brown's cousin, Harry Burnett; that Kurt's main love interest, David, was Richard Brandon; and that another of Kurt's lovers, Tony, was actor Alexander Kirkland. In 1936 Forman Brown published ''Punch’s Progress'', the story of the Yale Puppeteers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Harry 1901 births 1993 deaths