How did the puppet work?

[MR. Littwack]

AT LAST!!!!!!!!

After painstaking research, this is the most complete explaination i have found regarding the inner workings of our beloved fury alien pal. I found this a few minutes ago. I don't know how to make this a link, so I will just cut and paste and hopefully you all can do the same.

http://puppet.wikia.com/wiki/ALF_Sitcom

Just in case there are any problems doing that, I will paste the relevant info below

***Paul Fusco was the primary puppeteer. He used one hand to control ALF's mouth leaving the other free to control one of the puppet's arms. A second puppeteer, Lisa Buckley, accompanied Paul under the stage and wore ALF's other hand (the hands were basically furry gloves) to control it. Together, with a third person (Bob Fappiano), who controlled ALF's facial and ear movements via an RC controller offstage, they worked in concert to make ALF's movements fluid and believable.

During tapings Paul would wear a "halo" which was used to record his voice for the ALF character. All of this made for a painstaking process and there were countless mistakes and retakes. To avoid unnecessary wear-and-tear on the principal ALF puppet, the performers rehearsed with a battered, early version of ALF. They nicknamed him "Ralph." Often during rehearsals, Mr. Fusco would just substitute his hand for the puppet. ***

Obviously we already knew or guessed some of this. If you take into account the size of the puppet used, this seems a very difficult thing to pull off. think of just how cramped it would be for two people to try and work that way, even if it is just there arms in there. I would still love to see a pic or diagram showing exactly how this all fit together.

Also, I still wonder if they might have had monitors below the stage for the operators to see for scenes where they had to pick up a prop or otherwise use ALF's arms to interact with something/someone. Honestly though, I am happy to have found this info. I don't know why it never came up in any of my previous searches. I thought I had looked everywhere, lol.

[MR. Littwack]

wow, I guess I managed to do the link right after all. Anyway, I just noticed that there was another portion I forgot to paste explaining the mechanics of ALF. this part we already covered here but I wanted to include it just to be thorough.

***In total, 102 episodes were made and ran from 1986 to 1990. Cast interviews since the show ended have revealed a few details about making the series: to make room for the puppeteers, the entire set was built on a raised platform with dozens of trapdoors in the floor. The trapdoors had to be reset multiple times, sometimes during a single scene, forcing them to shoot each episode over the course of several hours and without a studio audience. ****

[ALFanatic]

MR. Littwack,

Your link is super find that supplies much additional insight into the workings of the ALF puppet.

Good work,

Mike

[ALFan]

Great Link,Thanks.

[ALF]

***In total, 102 episodes were made and ran from 1986 to 1990. Cast interviews since the show ended have revealed a few details about making the series: to make room for the puppeteers, the entire set was built on a raised platform with dozens of trapdoors in the floor. The trapdoors had to be reset multiple times, sometimes during a single scene, forcing them to shoot each episode over the course of several hours and without a studio audience. ****

This is interesting since I haven't been able to find any interviews from Paul Fusco, Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson, or Benji Gregory anywhere. Can anyone be of assistance here?

[twangle]

twangle,

You have been advised of Forum Guidelines pertaining to "bumping", and your repost of another member's post is most definitely "bumping". Entire text of this post has been deleted.

ALFanatic - Asst Admin

[ALF]

...Why did you just repost MR. Littwack's post?

[twangle]

twangle,

Your reason for "bumping" not satisfactory. Entire text of your post has been deleted.

ALFanatic - Asst Admin

[ALF]

In that case, you would say you like it, or state that you agree with it. By reposting the original message (without even using the "quote" feature), other users have no idea what the intent of your post is.

[ALFanatic]

ALF,

"twangle" appears to be a very, very slow learner. Hopefully, he will eventually learn that his antics are not going to be tolerated.

ALFanatic - Asst Admin

[ALF]

Thanks, Mike.

[Gordo]

***In total, 102 episodes were made and ran from 1986 to 1990. Cast interviews since the show ended have revealed a few details about making the series: to make room for the puppeteers, the entire set was built on a raised platform with dozens of trapdoors in the floor. The trapdoors had to be reset multiple times, sometimes during a single scene, forcing them to shoot each episode over the course of several hours and without a studio audience. ****

This is interesting since I haven't been able to find any interviews from Paul Fusco, Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson, or Benji Gregory anywhere. Can anyone be of assistance here?

Yes, search for the People Magazine, "Where Are They Now" type article, probably found at Stephans ALF Page.

And Yes, the crew did have monitors. They have it in all TV puppetry.

[ALFan]

Wow,I did not know it had monitors.Thanks for the info.

[puppet_guy]

I was shocked to see how so many people could not tell how Alf was operated. - Must be because everything is CG these days.
You can tell by Alf’s movements that he was a hand puppet with radio controlled eyes, brows and ears. An extra puppeteer
obviously operated his other hand through Alf’s elbow. Thats why you never see below his elbow.
You'll find it always stands out where they had the full body double, as the movement is completely different - typically how‘little people’
walk.

[Admin]

puppet_guy,

Welcome to the forum!

[puppet_guy]

puppet_guy,

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks.
I've always wondered how many Alf puppets they used?
I know
1. Full body ALF For still shots or photos.

2. Full body walking costume.

3. Above waist hand puppet.

But now I'm guessing....

4. One could be a waist up puppet with only one working arm only, because a few shots I've noticed Alf has one 'stuffed arm" with only one working.

5. And would one have legs attached or if they just attach the legs for certain shots.

The other option is they just attach the same puppet head to 3 different bodies when needed?

[puppet_guy]

sorry I didn't read that article before commenting.

Nice article MR. Littwack. I don't know why they just didn't have the puppeteers lie on a trolley for walking scenes. I guess he didn't leave the house that much though, probably easier for them to build a whole set like that seeing its used all the time.

The thing I can't figure out is how the person operating the arms fit into the puppet without being visible and still operate the arms so easily. Was it a child or little person? Whichever it was their head would almost have to be in ALF's chest. But watch his movements closely. The person inside would be at an extemely weird angle to operate and move the arms as freely as they did.

No one is 'in' the Hand puppet, only their hands are. One hand is in the head entering through ....erm..... well underneath!
And the hands to operate his arms enter through Alfs elbows.

[Gordo]

puppet_guy,

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks.
I've always wondered how many Alf puppets they used?
I know
1. Full body ALF For still shots or photos.

2. Full body walking costume.

3. Above waist hand puppet.

But now I'm guessing....

4. One could be a waist up puppet with only one working arm only, because a few shots I've noticed Alf has one 'stuffed arm" with only one working.

5. And would one have legs attached or if they just attach the legs for certain shots.

The other option is they just attach the same puppet head to 3 different bodies when needed?

There were many, many waist up ALF's .... but a puppeteer uses one main master puppet for most things usually as you get used to them. Obviously they do have stand in's and special versions for effects and stuff, and the old ones would have degraded over time. I think the current ALF design changed around the time of the movie, he looks a lot more modern and groomed now.

[puppet_guy]

puppet_guy,

Welcome to the forum!

The other option is they just attach the same puppet head to 3 different bodies when needed?

There were many, many waist up ALF's .... but a puppeteer uses one main master puppet for most things usually as you get used to them. Obviously they do have stand in's and special versions for effects and stuff, and the old ones would have degraded over time. I think the current ALF design changed around the time of the movie, he looks a lot more modern and groomed now.

Kewl thanks.

I was just watching Alf, his head could easily be detachable - you couldn't tell with so much fur. It appears to turn without moving his body much.
If it was, It would save on replacing the whole puppet for different shots, and repair. I would say the head is the most expensive to build, with the remote controls etc for the face and ears, but being latex would wear out first too. The bodies probably last a long time being mainly fur.

I know the muppets all have detachable heads to fit in different costumes and bodies easier and to save building whole new puppets. Even kermit - hence his frill. But we won't talk about M#pp*ts here

[puppet_guy]

I hope this doesn't offend anyone. Its a clip of the Alf puppet being performed. It does have some slight bad language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QdKZwnh8NA