Jump Jump Marionette
date: label: Date made
content: 1950
name: label: user
content: Hickox, Harry
label: user
content: NBC
label: user
content: Hickox, Mary
label: maker
content: Kelly, Bob
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This elf marionette, with moveable eyes and mouth, was the star of a popular radio program called <i>Jump Jump of Holiday House</i> that first aired on a New York City radio station in 1940. World War II interrupted its continuation but in 1948 a series of 65, 15-minute vignettes premiered on KFI radio in Los Angles. CA. Created, written, and performed by husband and wife team Mary McConnell and Harry Hickox, the series featured the adventures of Jump Jump a mischievous little red haired elf with pointy ears, an upturned nose and dressed in a red and white striped jumper with a red pointed hat topped off with a pompom.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The voice of Jump Jump, performed by Jim McGovern, was recorded at 33 rpm and played back at 77 rpm, thereby producing the elf's familiar high squeaky pitch.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Jump Jump was joined by a cast of friends that included the host Miss Mary, played by Mary Hickox, and fellow puppets Achi Paggli, Sleepy Slim, and Sir Rhyme a Lot, all performed by Harry Hickox.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The popularity of the children's radio show was easily transformable to television and the visual concept of Jump Jump was created by Mary Hickox using fabric, pipe cleaners, and a little paint. The show ran from 1950-1954. The new media of television allowed the Hickox's to develop the stories and characters and use them to teach life lessons. Jump Jump enacted every day events familiar to all children and used the stories to teach tolerance and understanding. For several years the program received awards for the best children's program on television.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The popularity of Jump Jump took on a new dimension and promotional advertising of the character appeared on numerous types of merchandise, including t-shirts, pajamas, cards, dishes, placemats, paint books, and even a doll.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California
topic: label: Subject
content: Children's television programs
label: Subject
content: Puppetry
label: Subject
content: Radio and television broadcasting
label: Subject
content: Television broadcasts
label: Subject
content: Television
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Puppets
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Harry Hickox
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1988.0519.01
label: catalog number
content: 1988.0519.01
label: accession number
content: 1988.0519
objectType: label: Object Name
content: puppet
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: felt (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plaster (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: string (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 16 in; 40.64 cm