He’s no dummy, he just acts with one
SECOND STREET — During his more than 14 years as a puppeteer, Steve Meltzer has worked on several commercials, appeared with his dummy Fred Mingo on Nickelodeon and “The Daily Show,” and worked on the cult classic “Team America: World Police” — the first feature film to use marionettes instead of real actors.
Meltzer and Mingo just recently made a cameo appearance in the upcoming film “The Great Buck Howard,” starring Tom Hanks and John Malkovich.
While appearing on television and on the big screen has been fun for Meltzer, who has a masters degree in fine arts from USC, his biggest thrill derives from operating the Santa Monica Puppetry Center over the last decade.
During that time, Meltzer has performed for countless children and their parents, opening their eyes to a world that is often overlooked and underappreciated in an age of computer graphics, hand-held video games and the ever-shortening attention span.
“I think we’re ready for grass-roots, down-home theater,” said Meltzer, sitting nearby his dog Zeke, his dummy and the stage where he performs “Puppetolio!” and other marionette musicals. “My mission is expanding puppetry, but it is also just as much about showing people that we can gather in a room and sing songs without there being any religious or political agenda. It’s all just about having fun for all ages, taking people to this magical world that only exists in their imaginations.”
On the walls of his modest museum and theater, Meltzer has hung scores of marionettes, puppets and dummies from the earliest days of the art in what can only be described as an elaborate shrine that pays homage to the likeminded performers that preceded him.
Each artifact comes with a unique story of its origin and how Meltzer acquired it, starting with the first puppet he purchased for $5 at a Long Beach swap meet.It was a “spur-of-the-moment” decision — an impulse buy — but for some reason, when Meltzer saw the puppet, he knew he had to have it.
“There, on this blanket, was this little puppet,”Meltzer said. “It was pretty ragged, was missing a few strings, but something in me just made me want to buy it...And after that,very quickly, I started to collect as many puppets as I could and restore them. That lead to me building them as well.”
Meltzer, 53, was first introduced to the magic of puppetry as a boy growing up in New York City. Television was relatively young then, and stations were dominated by variety shows. Meltzer’s favorite was the “Paul Winchell-Jerry Mahoney Show”on NBC.A 30-minute variety show for adults and kids, it captured Meltzer’s attention and his imagination. He fell in love with the ventriloquist and his wooden dummy.
“The biggest thrill was to stay up late and watch his 7:30 (p.m.) broadcast,” Meltzer said. “He was unlike any other ventriloquist. He was innovative. His dummy didn’t just sit on his knee. It was just fantastic. I just remember thinking,‘I know that guy’s not alive, but in a way, he was. It was my first dichotomy.”
Little did he know at the time, but Meltzer would eventually meet Winchell and become friends with the voice of Tigger on the “Winnie the Pooh” series. The two became so close that Winchell gave his last performance at the Puppetry Center before he died in 2005.
“It was such an honor to have him here,”Meltzer said of his idol.“It was something very special … one of the highlights.”
A WOODEN PERSONALITY In his teen years, puppetry on television began to fade, but Meltzer’s fascination with the art stayed strong. While working at a summer camp, he decided to make his own dummy, and that’s when Fred Mingo was born.
Like most performers, Meltzer turned Fred Mingo into a more outrageous version of himself. The dummy, which Meltzer still uses today, would utter the things that Meltzer dare not.
“Ventriloquism has its roots in Vaudeville,” Meltzer said. “You used to have a double act, where two performers would play off each other and split the profits. Soon, people realized that if you had a dummy, you could keep it all for yourself and only have to get one room in a hotel. The dummies became saucier and more outspoken.”
Meltzer, who moved to Santa Monica in the ’70s to attend USC, continues to perform with Fred Mingo at least three times a week at the center and at the homes of youngsters celebrating their birthdays. Meltzer’s biggest clients are often schools, which is fitting considering Meltzer’s previous work as a teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. While no longer teaching, Meltzer is able to interact with grammar school kids regularly through his performances. He also tutors those who want to get into the act.
“People always ask me if this is a lost art or a dying art,” Meltzer said. “The truth is that it isn’t. Puppetry has also been a very rare art, rarer than magic … If you could find all the people making a living performing, it would be itty bitty. This is really about one’s passion for the art. If you are not dedicated and know in your heart that this is something you want to do, then you should consider something else.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to support myself doing this and to keep the center running for 10 years now,” said Meltzer. “It’s amazing, really.”
When he’s not performing, manning the museum or sculpting new puppets, Meltzer, who lives on Fifth Street in downtown, can be seen walking around Santa Monica with his dog, riding his bike and dining at local restaurants.
“You can often spot me at 2 a.m. taking the last walk of the day,” he said last week. “I like to go to movies... I guess I don’t really have much of a life outside of my work.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 8, 2007. Read the original PDF.