Figure maker
Glen Cargyle
The Hollywood maker who built the twin Danny Kaye figures for Knock on Wood in 1954.
Cargyle created the twin dummies made to resemble Danny Kaye for the 1954 film Knock on Wood, and that is what he is remembered for. He made and sold figures in Hollywood through the early 1950s.
He was a heavy user of mannequin heads, over-sculpting an existing head rather than carving from scratch — a practice the collection is at pains to point out is not new. He also carved in wood and in plastic wood. His figures are not seen often.
The mechanics
Slot jaw with side-to-side moving eyes, sometimes a winker. Papier-mâché bodies and hands with a trap door for access to the mechanics, and fishing bobbers used for the eyes with the irises hand painted.
The figures
6 photographs across 1 cataloged object. Each object is one entry in the register — where a character name covers two physical figures, they stay two entries, because the character outlives the object more often than the record admits.
Cargyle 01 6 photographs
- Size
- 42"
- Materials
- papier-mâché
- Movements
- slot jaw / moving mouth; side-to-side eyes
