Irving Phillips

Irving Phillips (1918-2002) was a prop man and stagehand who worked on Broadway shows, in New York television, and on Sesame Street from 1969 to approximately 1987.Facebook comment by Sandra Phillips. May 3, 2021. His duties included taking the street set apart and "putting it back together like an erector set" and "hoisting Snuffleupagus up and down the rafters." He also devised exploding clocks as well as Oscar's car.2002 Official Bulletin of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada. "Remembering Irving Phillips" by Sandra Phillips. p. 47. The Anything Muppet character Irving was named after him. Richard Hunt, in a dramatization of a typical day on the show in the Season 18 wrap party, greets a stagehand (portrayed by Joe Baer) with "Hi, Irving!" 
Phillips was a carpenter and began as a set builder for CBS and NBC. He moved from there to working as a stagehand and propman on Broadway, eventually becoming propmaster at the Broadhurst Theater late in his career. He worked backstage during the original productions of Man of La Mancha, Amadeus, the Bob Fosse revue Dancin', and the female version of The Odd Couple, as well as versions of Death of a Salesman (with Dustin Hoffman) and Long Day's Journey Into Night.
TV credits included Howdy Doody, Captain Video, and The $10,000 Pyramid (flipping categories), as well as handling the watch which is dunked underwater for the famous Timex outboard motor "torture test" commercial with John Cameron Swayze and even moving Liberace's piano around for his TV series.
==Sources==
==External links==
*Playbill obituary
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Category:Miscellaneous Crew