1. Anthony Frederick Sarg was a German American puppeteer and illustrator.
12 Facts About Tony Sarg
1. 2.
Tony Sarg was described as "America's Puppet Master", and in his biography as the father of modern puppetry in North America.
3.
Tony Sarg was born in Coban, Guatemala, to Francis Charles Sarg and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Parker.
4.
The elder Tony Sarg, son of Mary Ellen Best, was a consul representing Germany; Parker was English.
5.
The family returned to the German Empire in 1887 [but note conflict that father Franz Tony Sarg remained Consul until 1894]; Tony Sarg entered a military academy at age 14 and received a commission as lieutenant at 17; in 1905 he resigned his commission and took up residence in the United Kingdom.
6.
Tony Sarg had been raised around puppets, inherited his grandmother's collection of them, developed them as a hobby that enhanced the impression he made on other artists, and finally in 1917, turned them into a profession.
7.
The pinnacle of Tony Sarg's visibility occurred at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, where his cumulative audience was 3 million; Baird was involved in this production, as were Rufus Rose and Margo Rose.
8.
Tony Sarg stepped back from competing with other puppet studios, and pursued illustrating magazine covers, guide books, and original children's picture books, games, and toys.
9.
Tony Sarg designed salons and sophisticated interiors for high-end department stores and restaurants, including the supper club at New York's Waldorf Astoria.
10.
On February 17,1942, Tony Sarg had surgery for a ruptured appendix, and died on March 7,1942, of complications arising from it.
11.
Tony Sarg is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
12.
The Academy Film Archive has preserved several of Tony Sarg's films, including The Original Movie, When the Whale Was Jonahed, Why They Love Cavemen, The First Earful, and Why Adam Walked the Floor.