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To speak of Norman’s cartoonist style, my guess is that he was influenced by European animated films of the late
1940s to 1950s (UPA Studios esp.), along with French and American children’s picture books of the 1950s to early
1960s.
With regards to the materials and methods by which Norman made his puppets; from memory Mr Squiggle is
about 850mm high and strung for short strings. His clothes are machine and hand sewn, with hands/gloves and
shoes stuffed with wadding. His body is a shell so as to accommodate an extendable neck, and I believe his head is
wooden. His hair is made from dyed sheep wool. Mr Squiggle’s nose – I think I can reveal this now – is a black oil
crayon. As to other puppets seen on Mr Squiggle and Friends or in Norman Hetherington’s (live) Puppets shows,
unlike the current trend for complex figures that boast wig hair lacing, or rely on triggers and mechanisms;
Norman used fabric, shaped styrene covered with paper towel mache, acrylic paint and coloured plastic tubing.
Throughout the 1960s to 1980s television producers and puppeteers from around the world sought to understand
the “trick” that enabled Mr Squiggle to draw with his nose. But why: the trick was not a technical feat but a
philosophical one. The magic of Mr Squiggle was that Norman Hetherington imbued his creation with the qualities
of a blessed child: kindness, vulnerability and resourcefulness.
Moreover, for thirty years the Hetherington’s were indefatigable. Aside from keep-ing up with the demands of
television rehearsals and recording, Norman produced and performed one-man Christmas shows at Grace Brothers
retail store (then at Broadway, Sydney), and was artist in residence at Frensham Ladies College in
New South Wales. If this was not enough the Hetheringtons gave any spare time to morally support “Puppet
Tragics” at home and abroad, just as Richard and Margaret Bradshaw, Richard Hart and Julia Davis and others
have done.
But what of Norman: what sort of person was he? Thinking back on the discussions that I had with him, not a
word dealt with politics of the day, the economic state of things, religious or gender-based issues. Rather, if you
wished to talk philosophy, English literature, history and the ancient world - Peggy was the one. This is not
to say that Norman was unthinking or unaware of life’s deeper issues. Far from it, he just absorbed these concerns
and filtered them through a dreamy, child-like imagination. Socially, Norman may have fashioned the persona of a
wise, doddery, avuncular puppet master to deal with his public notoriety. But I believe underneath he was just as
over-whelmed by the callous and relentless bustle of daily life, as Squiggle.
If we the baby boomer generation were fortunate to have been Mr Squiggle and Friends’ audience, Norman
Hetherington was fortunate to have worked at ABC television when it was staffed with committed people who
were rewarded for innovation, open-mindedness, experimentation and risk taking. To some people
the golden years of ABC television and Radio were the 1960s-1970s. In my view, all this changed from about
1980, when the “bean counters” moved in and dumbed down much of arts programming to the lowest common
denominator. In the future the ABC may continue to assign money and effort to its news and current affairs
programs. But sadly, I think the days of innovative and memorable children’s entertainment and drama have gone.
Australian artist Norman Hetherington passed away on 6 th December 2010: he was eighty-nine. For all the years I
knew Norman he puzzled at artists who aspired to intellectual significance, at the expense of straightforwardness
and simplicity. After all, as he always said, ‘I just want to have fun’. And he did.
Happy moonbeams Norm’.
Peter Solomon
Asmodeus Films