We are saddened to learn that Lyle Conway, a prolific puppet designer and sculptor, has passed away.
Conway got his start in the puppetry world right away with Jim Henson, hired to work in the Muppet Workshop during the fifth season of The Muppet Show as the sculptor for Miss Piggy. At the same time, he was sculpting Piggy for The Great Muppet Caper.
He also sculpted minor characters like the Dodo and Lyle the Dog (who was named after Conway).
On The Dark Crystal, Conway was the design and fabrication supervisor, working on Aughra and the Skeksis and Urskeks. He developed the cable and radio control systems that helped bring the puppets to life.
While not a Henson film (but sort of Henson-adjacent, due in part to the participation of Brian Henson), Conway led the design team for Return to Oz, creating characters like Jack Pumpkinhead, Billina the chicken, and the Gump, for which he also provided the voice.
Conway returned to the Jim Henson Creature Shop for films such as Dreamchild, where he oversaw the shop, and Where the Wild Things Are, which featured his sculpts for the monsters.
Most famously perhaps, Conway worked with Frank Oz on his solo directorial debut, Little Shop of Horrors, co-creating the impressive Audrey II puppet. According to Wikipedia, Oz wanted the puppet to look cute, while Conway wanted it to look terrifying, and the final product we see in the film is a compromise between the two. Conway also utilized his skills from The Dark Crystal puppets to develop the cables and hydrolic pumps that allowed Audrey II so much natural movement. His work on this film earned him many accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
Thank you, Lyle Conway, for bringing so much of your talent to the worlds of the Muppets. Truly an unsung hero who breathed life into these characters through creativity and ingenuity.
Click here to help us remember Lyle Conway on the ToughPigs Discord!
by Joe Hennes – [email protected]
