The original B&W was taken by 'BRUNO of HOLLYWOOD' in the 1940s. It is a photo of Mr. Paris during a performance on stage at the RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL in New York City.

Frank Paris and Bob Bromley used to appear standing on stage floors with their marionette varieties, operating one marionette or one tandem pair at a time---they did not upstage the marionettes, but their classy presence added something. Many night club puppeteers of the late 1930s emulated this format with success.

It began as a matter of necessity in Frank's case. He did not have funds at age seventeen, to build a stage for an appearance at the Los Angeles Public Library, so performed without one atop a library table. He had borrowed a spotlight from Bob Bromley who was present. About two weeks later, Bob adopted the same simplification. For night clubs, often notorious for limited performance space, working marionettes in the open, made getting a puppet act on or off stage a lot easier.

Born in 1914 Frank Paris would become in the 1930s a regular performer at the Radio City Music Hall where he was a pioneer of the ‘cabaret style’ presentation where the puppeteer appears on stage with the marionettes. In these clips he presents a trick-cyclist, a fan-dancer and the wonderful Sir Rollin D Bones

This is some of the only footage that exists of master puppeteer Frank Paris' famous cabaret marionette variety acts. Included are his signature Carmen Miranda (pictured), as well as his Sonya Henne ice skater, circus bike rider, "jive" dancer, disjointing skeleton, and an extraordinary, realistic Sally Rand fan dancer.

His hands were painted black to keep the audience from looking at his hands. He could not use gloves, they would hurt his manipulation. Frank was the first to create cabaret style marionette manipulation. Short strung marionettes performed out front, usually a spot light. He was the first to perform at Radio City Music Hall. Scott Land

Frank Paris, Josephne Baker, 1937, marionette, © The Detroit Institute of Arts

The Hollywood on Broadway puppets were used in television variety specials of the same name which aired in the 1970s. The puppets, originally numbered 65, and were created with all the magic of the Paris and Highchief team expertly mimicking the most famous of Hollywood stars.

Mae West Hollywood on Broadway Marionette Absolutely gorgeous marionette, dressed in a black & silver sequined gown ending in an abundance of ostrich feathers, with layers of crinoline underneath. Mae is dressed with exquisite detail, from the diamond rings on her fingers to her red polished nails, to the jeweled silver high heels on her feet.