The Motown sound is a musical style and genre that originated in the 1960s in Detroit, Michigan. It was primarily associated with the Motown record label, which was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959. Motown, short for "Motor Town," became a hub for talented musicians who created a distinct sound that blended elements of R&B, soul, pop, and gospel. The label was known for its polished and sophisticated productions, catchy melodies, intricate harmonies, and tight-knit rhythm sections. Many of the songs featured relatable lyrics about love, relationships, and everyday life.

Puppeteer behind ‘Hattie the Witch’, ‘Uncle Al show’ dies

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - A famous puppeteer and local legend passed away Monday at the age of 79.

Larry Smith fell in love with puppeteering as a five-year old boy and went on to entertain an entire generation of children with his famous characters, including Hattie the Witch, and Snarfie R. Dog.

Smith and his puppets appeared on every local television station in Cincinnati, including FOX19 Now, and on the famous Uncle Al Show.

In 1957, Smith first appeared on Cincinnati airwaves with his live show Puppet Time Morning. He also took responsibility for all of the puppet work on the Uncle Al Show, according to his obituary posted on funeral home Bolton and Lunsford's website.

"WXIX-TV 19 along with Larry's 'The Larry Smith Puppets' show premiered August 1,1968 and was an overnight sensation. Within six months Larry's five-day-a-week two-hour late afternoon show was the number one rated television show in it's time-slot, beating all other nationally syndicated and locally produced shows," Smith's mentee, Wayne Martin, wrote on Facebook.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 3 at Bolton and Lunsford Funeral Home, 3042 Harrison Avenue, Cincinnati. Family will receive friends from 1-3 p.m. prior to the service. Private interment.

In lieu of flowers, Smith's family is asking for a memorial gift to Media Heritage Museum (www.mediaheritage.com), Puppetry Guild of Cincinnati (www.cincinnatipuppetryguild.com) or Mercy Health West Park, 2950 West Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45238.

Copyright 2018 WXIX. All rights reserved.

First Look At Larry Smith Puppets Display At VOA

Snarfie R. Dog, Hattie the Witch, Teaser the Mouse, the Treehouse and the Castle… If you loved Larry Smith's puppets, you need to see the collection on display at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester Township.

Snarfie, Hattie, Teaser and Rudy were the centerpiece for Wayne Martin's talk about Larry Smith March 3 at the VOA.

Media Heritage's exhibit at the VOA has 46 puppets made and used by Smith, who died Feb. 19 at age 79.

The display opened Saturday March 3, following a discussion about Smith by Boston puppeteer Wayne Martin, a Cincinnati native who worked with Smith as a teen by performing inside life-size puppet costumes, and Mike Martini, president of the Media Heritage TV/radio archives.

The life-size Snarfie, Hattie, Rudy and Teaser greet visitors to the museum. Their hand puppet counterparts are displayed in front of the Castle set.

The collection also includes Smith's handmade puppets for his TV sponsors: Woody Sander Ford, the Pat & Joe's Furniture Store, and Fifth/Third Bank Lion that promised not to growl at you.

Smith's last public appearance was at the VOA in 2006, when he received a Founder's Award from Media Heritage. It was also the last public appearance by Al and Wanda Lewis, retired hosts of WCPO-TV's "Uncle Al" children's show (1950-85) which hired Smith at age 20 in 1957. (Bill Myers, former WLWT-TV announcer/weatherman and a local broadcasting historian, was presented a Founder's Award Saturday before the Smith discussion.)

Martin, who also attended the 2006 ceremony, said Smith decided that night he would retire. "He said, 'That's it! It's a nice way to go out,' " Martin said during the "Evening with Wayne Martin on Larry Smith Puppets" program Saturday.

With the help of Martin, who was mentored as a child by Smith, most of the master tapes of Smith's programs also have been donated to Media Heritage.

Smith, a Dayton native, worked for all Cincinnati TV stations (Channels 5, 9, 12, 19, 25 and 48) and Northern Kentucky's old Storer Cable (now Spectrum).

During his 54-year career, Smith did an estimated 6,319 hours of live TV. He hosted morning and afternoon children's TV shows, and an evening puppet show for adults called "The Contemporaries" in 1963-64, more than a dozen years before the "Muppet Show."

When WXIX-TV started broadcasting in 1968, Smith quickly became the station's biggest star. From 1968 to 1974, he did two hours of live TV plus commercials, and on weekends did two to four live shows during personal appearances, Martin said.

The Media Heritage displays also include Al and Wanda Lewis' "Uncle Al Show" costumes; Ruth Lyons' bouquet microphone; the rubber chickens married on the "Paul Dixon Show" on March 11, 1969; silky varsity-style jackets from WLW-AM, WKRC-AM, WSAI-FM, WUBE-FM and WGRR-FM; life-size cardboard cut-outs of Nick Clooney and Lyons; the 1950s radar used by WLW-TV (Channel 5); a 1980s TV station control room; old TV sets: and a photo gallery of 100 Cincinnati broadcasting greats.

The VOA Museum of Broadcasting,8070 Tylersville Road, one mile east of I-75 in West Chester Township, is open weekends 1-4 p.m. Cost is $5 for adults, and $1 for children under 12.

Exhibits include the area's most comprehensive Crosley exhibit; the Gray History of Wireless antique radio collection; displays on VOA history; and the control room for the VOA Bethany Relay Station which operated there 1944-94.

Larry Smith, long-time puppeteer on WCPO, dies at 79

Larry Smith with Hattie the Witch and Snarfie the Dog in 2008.

CINCINNATI - A puppeteer who entertained Tri-State kids on WCPO and other TV stations for six decades died this week.

Larry Smith was familiar to generations as the voice, character and creator of Hattie the Witch, Rudy the Rooster, Teaser the Mouse, Snarfie R. Dog and others. He worked with the legendary Uncle Al on WCPO in the 1950s and 60s and had his own shows on WCPO and other stations from 1957 until he retired in 2006.

The Dayton, Ohio, native was 79.

Smith was one of a dozen local entertainers who had live TV shows in the mid-20th century. Other kid show hosts included Skipper Ryle and The Cool Ghoul. Smith was the last of the breed.

Former Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory proclaimed Larry Smith Day on March 15, 2008.

During his career, Smith did more than 6,000 hours of live TV, according to Boston puppeteer Wayne Martin, a protégé, collaborator and friend who eulogized Smith on his Facebook page this week.

“Apart from my mother and father, nobody has had a bigger influence on my life than Larry Smith. I was three years old watching a Cincinnati, Ohio based television program called The Uncle Al Show when I first saw Larry's hand-puppet character Hattie the Witch grab Uncle Al's hat from his head and fly off. The puppet mesmerized me and my life was changed forever,” Martin wrote.

Smith was just a teenager when he came to Cincinnati in 1957 to work on the weekday morning "Uncle Al Show," where he handled all the puppets, according to Martin. Smith also got his own one-hour daily live show, “Puppet Time Morning.” He built all of his own puppets with the help of a neighbor, Martin said.

Not only was Smith’s show a hit, he helped raise the popularity of the Uncle Al Show on WCPO, which had an unprecedented run from 1950 to 1985.

In 1960, Smith went to New York to work on the Broadway show, “Kukla, Burr and Ollie.” The show was short-lived, and Smith returned to Cincinnati, first at WKRC, then back at WCPO, where he rejoined Uncle Al and had his own afternoon show, “The Comedy Hour,” on Mondays through Fridays.

Smith also developed weekly primetime puppet show for adults called “The Contemporaries” that ran for two seasons (1962-1963), according to Martin.

Smith left WCPO in 1964 and went on to work WLWT, WCET and WXIX.

In 1968, WXIX premiered “The Larry Smith Puppets” show, which became such a hit that sports celebrities such as Johnny Bench and Pete Rose and music and TV stars including David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman and Tiny Tim made appearances, according to Martin.

When children’s programs started to disappear from local TV, Smith did a series called “The Magic Forest” on Northern Kentucky's Storer Cable and a year-long Sunday morning radio program called “The Great Kids Show” on WGGR.

All the while, Smith continued doing commercials and making personal appearances with his puppets and contributing countless hours promoting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

At age 63, Smith did his final television series on WBQC in 2001. That made Smith the only TV personality to have had a show on every station in town, according to Martin.

Smith donated some of his TV puppets to Cincinnati's Media Heritage Museum at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester, Martin said

The public is invited to see them and hear Martin talk about Smith in a special hour-long program entitled "Larry Smith and His Puppets" on Saturday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. at 8070 Tylersville Road, Suite B.

The hour-long event will include a tour of the new Larry Smith Puppets Exhibit. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children.

Earlier in the day, a 3 p.m. memorial service will be held at Bolton & Lunsford Funeral Home, 3042 Harrison Ave., Westwood. Visitation begins at 1 p.m.

Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Hattie Tom Chicken Witch Play by Dick Gackenbach (61 results)

Many of the songs featured relatable lyrics about love, relationships, and everyday life. Artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, and The Temptations were among the most successful acts signed to Motown. These artists, along with many others, helped popularize the Motown sound, which became immensely influential and had a significant impact on popular music.

Hattie, Tom, and the Chicken Witch: A Play and a Story

Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc.

Motown music crossed racial and cultural boundaries, becoming popular among audiences of all backgrounds. Its universal appeal helped to break down barriers and fostered greater acceptance and appreciation of African American musicians and their contributions to music. In addition to its musical achievements, Motown played a significant social role during the civil rights movement. Many of the label's songs, such as Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City," addressed social issues and advocated for equality and justice. The Motown sound continues to resonate and inspire artists and musicians to this day. Its influence can be felt in various genres such as pop, R&B, and hip-hop. The label's songs remain timeless classics and are still enjoyed by audiences of all generations. Overall, the Motown sound represents a significant era in music history, characterized by its innovative and infectious melodies, exceptional vocal performances, and meaningful lyrics. Its impact on popular culture is undeniable and continues to be celebrated and revered by music lovers worldwide..

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