John A. Hardman, puppeteer, dies at 80

By | November 6, 2015

DALLAS, Texas — John A. Hardman, the voice, heart and wit behind Dallas mall NorthPark Center’s annual Scrooge Puppet Theatre as well as World on a String at the State Fair of Texas and Six Flags Over Texas Argyle the Snake puppet show, died Wednesday of cancer in hospice at his home in Dallas, surrounded by family and friends. He was 80.

Fatal tumors had been discovered the night the fair opened, but the show went on with the help of his loyal puppeteers, including his stepdaughter Doran Garrett, Tina Gromova and Will Schutze. Hardman, who loved performing, was planning his annual Christmas shows for NorthPark Center from his bed.

Hardman was born in Gordon, Texas, and moved to Wichita Falls, Texas, when he was 4. His road to puppeteering began on Christmas morning when he was 9. As he eagerly tore open his present from his father, he was surprised to find Little Red Riding Hood marionettes. It was a very cold Christmas that year, too cold to go out of the house. So he sat and played with them. “And the more I played with them, the more I thought, ‘This is kind of fun,’” he said in a 2008 interview.

His dad helped him build a little stage in their garage and he staged shows for kids in the neighborhood. Years later when he was a Marine at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, a friend taught him a Punch and Judy routine and sold him the puppets. He used them to create a show for Six Flags Over Texas in 1963. He had puppeteered ever since, amassing a collection of more than 1,000 puppets along the way.

His cantankerous Scrooge delivered a 10 to 15-minute curmudgeonly riff at members of the audience. The first time he voiced Scrooge at NorthPark, he aimed his zingers at a man in green plaid pants. After his performance, Hardman learned his target was none other than Raymond Nasher, NorthPark Center’s owner and Hardman’s new boss. “I said, ‘Oh, gosh,’” Hardman recalls, “but a few minutes later, he cornered me, laughed and said, ‘Welcome to the family.’”

Scrooge grew out of his Six Flags routine with Argyle the Snake, a grouchy snake made from an argyle sock that shot water pistols at the audience and complained a lot. Argyle was a favorite of Jay Johnson, the Tony Award-winning ventriloquist who attended Richardson High School.

The puppet shows were family affairs. His wife, Patti Hardman, a retired Woodrow Wilson High School theater director, voiced the opera singer in Santa’s Toy Shoppe Puppet Theatre show. His stepdaughters helped with puppeteering. Puppeteers such as Schutze were treated like family, too. Schutze, son of The Dallas Morning News’ former gardening editor Mariana Greene, describes him as “the best teacher, mentor, director and friend” he’s ever known.

On his first day on the job, “He took me to a room behind the stage and showed me the marionettes,” Schutze recalls. “He picked one off the rack, made it do a graceful dance, then handed it to me and said, ‘Go play!’ with a kind smile on his face. My life has been a wonderful dream ever since.”
Last year, Hardman was hospitalized with pneumonia during his NorthPark run. It was the first time he’d missed a performance. Schutze filled in as Scrooge, but Hardman returned to his post as soon as he was released from the hospital.

He is survived by his wife; a son, John Christopher Hardman; stepdaughters Devon Caldarera, Doran Garrett and Bronwyn Garrett; a sister, Rosemary Chardukian; grandsons Robin, Tim and
David Hardman; and a niece, Indigo Kretzchmar.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Pediatric Center at Texas Oncology. Details for a funeral service are pending.

John A. Hardman
Argyle the Snake-1977-1R