Puppets on the Happy Show

Scouting for talent and staging performances was a skill Denzil had honed since his youth, through his days in the army and later in radio. It proved useful for sustaining Channel Nine’s daily hour long childrens’ programme, The Happy Show, which required a constant flow of new ideas.

The work of two young puppeteers, Robert Fidgeon and Ross Campbell, became a regular presence. “Candy Cat” featured a recurring stable of marionette characters around which stories were concocted. The puppet plays were performed live using a taped soundtrack that was often prerecorded after hours at Denzil’s home recording studio.

In this publicity photo (circa 1959?), Happy Hammond, Ross Campbell and Denzil pose with some puppets. Note the ubiquitous background of a set of curtains (“tabs”) that was to be found in early TV studios.