Velma Wayne Dawson

Who was Velma Wayne Dawson?

Velma Wayne Dawson was an American puppet maker and puppeteer. She was best known for creating Howdy Doody marionettes for the Howdy Doody Show. She was born on May 30, 1912, in Sydney, Australia.

Dawson built only two classic Howdy Doody marionettes for the famous children's show that began on December 27, 1947.Velma Wayne Dawson created the first Howdy Doody marionettes for the famous children's show in 1948.making all the prototypes with green felt hats plaid shirts white neckerchief and Tan pants made of cloth brown boots brown hair and brown eyes. [2] She continued to build the marionettes until the show went off the air in 1960. She was replaced in June of 1952 by Rufus and Margo Rose who complimented Scott Brinkers puppet making for the show. Howdy Doody went off the air on September 24, 1960 after 2343 shows.

Dawson was honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Pacific Southwest Chapter for her 50 year long career in television. Additionally, she was honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 2000. She was an active benefactor to College of the Desert in Palm Springs.