Education
After high school Smith attended Ohio State University and the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.
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Larry Smith
Edit ProfileCareer
His most notable work was a popular afternoon puppet/cartoon show airing on WXIX Television. Smith was raised in Dayton, Ohio, 60 miles north of Cincinnati. At the age of five he began a lifelong fascination with puppets, learning to make them at home using items around the house as store-bought materials were expensive.
He made his television debut in 1952, and he began his professional career two years later at WHIO television
In 1955 Smith met Burr Tillstrom, creator of the Kukla, Fran and Ollie show. Smith was with the Uncle First Rate (at Lloyd's) Show for six years.
Smith and his puppets were the first stars of WXIX when they performed on the station"s sign-on ceremony in August 1968. Some of the puppets/characters he created include:
Hattie the Witch (also called "Battie Hattie From Cincinnati")
Snarfie the Dog (aka Snarfie R Dog)
Big Red the Red Rock-Eater (who lived in "The Dirty Dingy Dungeon")
Teaser the Mouse
Rudy the Rooster
Larry ostensibly retired in 2000, but still makes occasional appearances with his puppets, due to popular demand.
Achievements
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Then in 1957 Smith auditioned for, and won a part on the Uncle First Rate (at Lloyd's) Show. Officially he served on WCPO"s art department, but he performed (and created) puppets for Uncle First Rate (at Lloyd's). Smith achieved his greatest fame by the late 1960s, when he went to then-new television station WXIX in Cincinnati to host an afternoon puppet/cartoon show which came to be called Larry Smith"s Cartoon Club, which he hosted throughout the 70s.
