'Walton and O'Rourke' (Paul E. Walton and Michael O'Rourke) were a famous team of cabaret puppeteers who founded the Olvera Street Puppet Theatre in
Hollywood in
1935.
WIthin the puppeteering community Walton and O'Rourke were considered one of the finest teams of puppet showmen the U.S. ever produced. Some of their
marionettes used as many as seven strings to control a single marionette arm.
Walton and O'Rourke appeared on
Broadway in the
1941 Olsen and Johnson review Sons o' Fun.
The only known filmed record of their work is the
1953 motion picture
Lili, in which they performed using hand puppets rather than the marionettes for which they were most famous. For the film "Lili", Walton & O'Rourke made the puppets; George Latshaw manipulated Carrot Top; Wolo manipulated Golo the Giant; and Walton and O'Rourke manipulated Margurite and Reynardo.
References
★ The team of Walton and O'Rourke and their puppets