| Birth: | Jun. 16, 1946
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania, USA | | Death: | Dec. 7, 2009
La Canada Flintridge
Los Angeles County
California, USA | 
Entertainer, Puppeteer. Fondly remembered for his role as Lester the lab rat on the popular 1990s children's educational series "Beakman's World". Born into a family of entertainers, his parents were puppeteers Paul and Mary Ritts (The Ritts Puppets). Beginning in the early 1950s, they appeared on Philadelphia-area television programs and later national shows including "The Tonight Show with Jack Paar" and "The Ed Sullivan Show". Raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Ritts received a BA degree in English Literature from Harvard and furthered his studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He began his career during the early 1970s working alongside his parents on the Saturday Morning series "The Pink Panther Show". In addition, he operated and provided his voice for 'Kino, the puppet' on the Emmy Award nominated PBS children's series "Storytime". He also worked behind the scenes for many years on several other series and documentaries as a producer, writer and director. He was married to jazz vocalist and actress Teresa Parente. He died from cancer. (bio by: C.S.)
Search Amazon for Mark Ritts | | | Burial:
Unknown |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: C.S.
Record added: Dec 10, 2009
Find A Grave Memorial# 45288689 |
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