Jan and Vlasta Dalibor
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Jan Dalibor (5 May 1921 – 23 July 2013) and his wife Vlasta Dalibor (born Vlasta Cely, 22 May 1921 – 21 February 2016) were Czech-born British
puppeteers A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...
, responsible for devising and developing the characters
Pinky and Perky ''Pinky and Perky'' is a children's television series first broadcast by BBC TV in 1957, and revived in 2008 as a computer-animated adaptation. Original series The title characters are a pair of anthropomorphic puppet pigs, named Pinky and ...
on
children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
in the 1950s and 1960s.


Biography

Vlasta Cely was born in Brno, and became friends with Jan Dalibor as a child. She attended a language school and the Janáček Academy of performing arts while Jan taught an art class, but after the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia he was made to work in a factory and she became secretary to a businessman. They married after the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and in 1948 escaped from the new Communist regime by making their way to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Arriving as refugees in Britain, they settled in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. Jan worked in a stone quarry at Tadcaster as a miner, and Vlasta worked as a housemaid in
Houndhill Houndhill is a substantial Grade II listed Tudor Farmhouse (part timber-framed) in Worsbrough, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The present house, which dates from the late 16th century with 17th-century additions, was originally built by ...
. "Vlasta Dalibor, puppeteer - obituary", ''The Telegraph'', 29 February 2016
Retrieved 7 March 2016 In his spare time Jan Dalibor began making wooden
marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...
s, and Vlasta suggested that he make some in the shape of pigs, a symbol of good luck in Czechoslovakia. They began performing with their puppets in 1951, and made their first appearance in a summer season show at
Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal town in Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. Demography Administratively, Heysham is part of th ...
in 1956. The puppets "Pinky" and "Perky" (originally "Porky") were initially minor uncredited characters in the show. They were seen there by Trevor Hill, producer of ''
The Sooty Show ''The Sooty Show'' is a British children's television series, created by Harry Corbett, and produced for the BBC from 1955 to 1967, and then for ITV from 1968 until 1992. The show, part of the ''Sooty'' franchise, focuses on the mischievous a ...
'', and the Dalibors made their first television appearance later that year on a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
talent show, ''It's Up to You'', which featured the two puppet piglets."Jan and Vlasta Dalibor", ''IanDenny.co.uk''
Retrieved 7 March 2016 In 1958,
Pinky and Perky ''Pinky and Perky'' is a children's television series first broadcast by BBC TV in 1957, and revived in 2008 as a computer-animated adaptation. Original series The title characters are a pair of anthropomorphic puppet pigs, named Pinky and ...
began nine years of regular series on BBC television, their show often appearing immediately before the regular early evening news bulletin, where their comments on current affairs occasionally attracted controversy. One of these, “You, too, can be a Prime Minister”, was initially postponed; when it was eventually shown, it attracted more viewers than Harold Wilson’s party political broadcast on ITV.The Daily Telegraph
Retrieved 27 January 2020 The shows also included many other marionettes constructed by Jan Dalibor, and his work was noted for its fine craftsmanship which enabled the puppets to be shown in close-up. Over 200 episodes of the show were broadcast. At the peak of their popularity in the early and mid-1960s, the shows attracted audiences of 15 million, and the characters, with high-pitched speeded-up voices, appeared on records as well as a wide range of merchandise. They appeared at the 1963 Royal Variety Performance alongside
the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
and
Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
, and the characters also became popular in the US, appearing on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...
'' and in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. In 1968, the ''Pinky and Perky'' television series was dropped by the BBC but moved to
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
for a further four years. The Dalibors retired in 1973, and sold the rights to their characters for £500,000. The characters were revived on BBC television in 2008. Bernadette McNulty, "Pinky and Perky: still bringing home the bacon", ''The Telegraph'', 31 October 2008
Retrieved 7 March 2016 They were friends of Mrs Ball, Headmistress of Newmillerdam Primary School, they used to visit the school and bring Pinky and Perkie to entertain the pupils. I remember them well, Bertie Booth The couple retired to
Newport, Pembrokeshire Newport ( cy, Trefdraeth, meaning: "town by the beach") is a town, parish, community, electoral ward and ancient port of ''Parrog'', on the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales at the mouth of the River Nevern ( cy, Afon Nyfer) in the Pembrokesh ...
. Jan Dalibor died in 2013, and Vlasta in 2016.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalibor, Jan and Vlasta Czech puppeteers English puppeteers Married couples