The Hand Behind Some of the World´s Most Iconic Puppets – Ronnie Le Drew

For this episode, Danny is privileged to be joined by actor, puppeteer, co-founder of the London School of Puppetry and president of the British Puppet Guild - Ronnie Le Drew. Ronnie has worked in theatre, television and film for many decades. His movie credits include The Naked Runner with Frank Sinatra, Little Shop of Horrors, The Muppets Treasure Island, Labyrinth and the live-action Beauty and the Beast. To people in the know however, he is most famous for Zippy from Rainbow, which is indisputably the greatest TV show in history and Danny'll fight anyone who disagrees with that.  If you want to gain an insight into why puppets engage adults as well as kids on a level that no other form of entertainment does and how this ancient performance art continues to evolve to appeal to new audiences, listen in. Some of the places Ronnie performs are sure to surprise you. If you can´t get enough of these podcasts, head to https://www.patreon.com/DannyHurst to access my exclusive, member-only, fun-filled and fact-packed history-related videos. KEY TAKEAWAYS Ronnie learned basic puppet skills playing with toy puppets. Ronnie was small and couldn´t sing or dance but wanted to work in theatre, so he decided to fulfill his dream through puppetry. When Ronnie performs with Muffin The Mule, he borrows his granddaughter´s puppet. In some countries you can study puppetry at degree level. Punch and Judy performances continue and are evolving. TV fed Ronnie´s career rather than ruined it. Ronnie was Tom Hanks's body double...not in the way you think. Ronnie is now very popular at Comic Con. Throughout the decades Rainbow has remained popular and as a result Ronnie has appeared with Zippy in some very unexpected ways e.g. Late-night university parties, which attracted large crowds of students. The rude episode of Rainbow was filmed in about 3 minutes. BEST MOMENTS "All 5 of the audience had crept out. They were bored out of their minds, but I was having a ball." "I got a phone call from Henson saying we would like to use me on Labyrinth." "I was Tom Hanks's body double." “We used to lark around – Bungle, Zippy, and George  - in bed...very naughty." EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.facebook.com/ronnie.ledrew Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zippy-Me-Inside-Britains-Infamous/dp/178352698X HOST BIO Historian, performer, and mentor Danny Hurst has been engaging audiences for many years, whether as a lecturer, stand-up comic or intervention teacher with young offenders and excluded secondary students. Having worked with some of the most difficult people in the UK, he is a natural storyteller and entertainer, whilst purveying the most fascinating information that you didn't know you didn't know. A writer and host of pub quizzes across London, he has travelled extensively and speaks several languages. He has been a consultant for exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum and Natural History Museum in London as well as presenting accelerated learning seminars across the UK. With a wide range of knowledge ranging from motor mechanics to opera to breeding carnivorous plants, he believes learning is the most effective when it's fun. Uniquely delivered, this is history without the boring bits, told the way only Danny Hurst can. CONTACT AND SOCIALS https://instagram.com/dannyjhurstfacebook.com/danny.hurst.9638 https://twitter.com/dannyhurst  https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-hurst-19574720 This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/