Mooney, Michael

The Little Players, a puppet theater, was created and produced by Francis J. Peschka (Frank) and W. Gordon Murdock (Bill) who came to New York from Ohio in 1952 and started giving puppet shows in their living room on Central Park West. Jerome Robbins discovered them and got them funding so they could quit their day jobs and start doing puppet shows full-time. The Little Players' puppet productions, which delved into classical material and were aimed at adults rather than children, soon established a following among prominent actors and other entertainment professionals. In 1982 the men returned to Ohio with their theater. Michael Mooney, a songwriter and the donor, was a friend and supporter of the theater in New York.