Mark Ritts Biography

As published on the Web by Sony

Mark Ritts moons, we mean stars, as Lester, an incorrigible actor dressed as a lab rat who, with his sarcastic attitude, reluctantly aids Beakman with his experiments.

Ritts (no relationship to the cracker) began performing and puppeteering with his parents, Paul and Mary Ritts, creators of the Ritts Puppets, in the '70s. He appeared with them on numerous network programs, including "The Tonight Show", "Merv Griffin", NBC's "Pink Panther Show" and "Me Too", a daily series for pre-schoolers. He was associate producer, music director and puppeteer for the NBC children's special "For the Love of Fred", which won Christopher and Gabriel Awards for Best Children's Special of the Year.

Ritts was lead puppeteer for the TV series "The Candy Apple News Company", "Starstuff" and "The Real Adventures of Sherlock Jones and Procter Watson". Additionally, he was lead puppeteer for a number of children's specials for CBS, including "Yipe!", starring Stan Freberg, which won IRIS and Ohio State awards.

A graduate of Harvard University, Ritts has won numerous awards as a writer, producer and director. He was a Rodent Scholar. Ritts has written and produced 20 films for NBC as well as vignettes for PBS "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." From 1989-92, he was creative director for the New York production house Aniforms, Inc. From 1903-1922, he wasn't born.

In 1993, Ritts won a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for "Best Series Host" (puppeteer) for the KCET-produced "Storytime", now airing nationally on PBS. He is also one of the show's writers and he produced the prime-time special that kicked off the series featuring Charles Dutton, Jamie Lee Curtis and John Goodman.

A little know fact is that Ritts is also the puppeteer for "Herb", one of the "Beakman's World" puppets.

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