Bernice Silver
Bernice Silver | |
|---|---|
 Bernice Silver, from a 1978 newspaper. | |
| Born | October 7, 1913 Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 18, 2020 (aged 106) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Puppeteer, activist |
Bernice Silver (October 7, 1913 – April 18, 2020)[1] was an American puppeteer and activist, known in her field as "the Queen of Potpourri", referring to the combination of puppetry, storytelling, music, and politics in her open-mic performances.
Early life
[edit]Silver was born in 1913, in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the eldest of eight children born to Samuel Silver and Frances Resnikoff Silver. Her parents were Jewish.[2] Her father was a salesman and ran a candy shop.[1]
Career
[edit]Silver worked in schools and factories as a young woman, and sold encyclopedias and other products door-to-door. She joined workers' theatre groups, including Theatre Advance, and performed at demonstrations and strikes.[3] Her one Broadway credit was in the original cast of Thornton Wilder's Our Town in 1938.[4]
Silver began performing with puppets by the 1960s.[1] "It's one of the oldest professions in the world," she explained in The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2013, "It covers many, many artistic professions."[5] She toured New York state with Pete Seeger and others, billed as the "Vagabond Puppeteers".[6] She was active in the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York (PGOGNY),[7] and was known as "the Queen of Potpourri",[8] because her open-mic performances were a mix of puppetry, stories, folk songs, costumes, and political messages.[9][10] She entertained at children's events in the New York area for decades,[11] and later in life she used audience expectations about her advanced age in her comedy.[12]
Silver appeared in the documentary Puppet Rampage (2008). In 2011, she went kayaking for the first time, with the NYC Friends of Clearwater.[13] She spoke at a fundraiser for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in 2016.[14] The Puppeteers of America offered a Bernice Silver Festival Grant, to fund senior attendees at the organization's national festivals.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Silver broke her hip and required a foot amputation in 2014;[12] she moved to the Lillian Booth Actors Home in 2016. That year, she commented on her delight in voting for a woman for president.[16] She died in April 2020, from respiratory failure with coronavirus, in Englewood, New Jersey. She was 106 years old.[1][17] In October 2020, a Virtual Puppet Con was held by the Puppeteers of America, dedicated to the memory of Bernice Silver, during the week of her 107th birthday.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Green, Penelope (2020-05-21). "Bernice Silver, Impish Puppeteer and Activist, Dies at 106". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "Bernice Silver, 106, New York, N.Y. - Enjoyed puppetry and people, dedicated to social justice". Chabad News. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Bell, John (2001). Puppets, Masks, and Performing Objects. MIT Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-262-52293-9.
- ^ "Our Town". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Palmer, Chris (August 11, 2013). "Puppets take over Swarthmore". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "Education and Propaganda". World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts. 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Chang, Julia (April 26, 2011). "NYPL Celebrates National Day of Puppetry". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ a b "Puppet Con 2020 – Western Massachusetts Puppetry Guild". Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Corwin, Lois (August 2011). "Festival Review" (PDF). Garden State Puppetry Guild: 6.
- ^ Kambhampaty, Anna Purna (December 18, 2020). "The Lives Lost to Coronavirus: Bernice Silver". Time. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Martin, Jo (1978-06-02). "Young Treats at Old Site". Daily News. p. 69. Retrieved 2020-12-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Andrew (2014-10-08). "Happy Birthday Bernice Silver". PuppetVision Blog. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Stein, Donna (July 25, 2011). "Bernice Silver, 97 Years Young Goes Kayaking!". New York Friends of Clearwater. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ Churnakoses, Anne (May 12, 2016). "Rock On to Clean the Hudson River!: A Fundraiser for Clearwater". Trash Talker. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "Bernice Silver Festival Grant". Puppeteers of America. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "Bernice". iwaited96years. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "RIP Bernice Silver" (PDF). The New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club Newsletter. 55: 3. June 2020.
