David Barrington Holt, who established and ran the first Creature Shop on the West Coast for The Jim Henson Company during his two-plus decades with the firm, has died. He was 78.
Holt died March 13 of complications from cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his son, Chris Holt, announced.
Holt started out with the Henson Co. in 1986 as deputy supervisor of its Creature Shop in the U.K. and was promoted to creative supervisor. He moved to Los Angeles in 1993 to set up a Creature Shop and produce the 1991-94 Disney-ABC series Dinosaurs.
In L.A., Holt had creative oversight of shop operations including puppetry, animatronics, effects, performers, administrative matters and R&D, with developments in the field of real-time 3D CG animation.
He was instrumental in the creation of the Henson Performance Control System, which allowed a single performer to operate complex, computer-driven puppets in the same manner as though they were physical.
As a creative supervisor, Holt worked on films including The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), The Phantom (1996), George of the Jungle (1997), Dr. Dolittle (1998), Jack Frost (1998), Snow Dogs (2002), Stuart Little 2 (2002), Cats & Dogs (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002) and The Country Bears (2002).
Born in England in June 1945, Holt received his B.A. in industrial design from London’s University of the Arts in 1963, then was recruited by the Royal College of Art and British Rail.
He owned and operated his own clothing boutique, working alongside famed British fashion designer Thea Porter and built a reputation as a designer, photographer, modelmaker and restorer of mechanical antiquities. His clients included the London Science Museum, the Greater London Council and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
In 1984, Holt founded Hero Models, which supplied models, miniatures and hero effects for TV shows, films and commercials. Around that time, he also returned to school to become certified as a psychological therapist and ran a practice until he was scouted by the Henson Co.
Even while devoting time to his psychotherapy education, he was commissioned by the London Science Museum to construct an operating model of a Thames flood barrier pier that remains on display to this day.
Following his 23-year run with Henson, he spent three years consulting for Walt Disney Imagineering R&D, where he assisted in the technical transfer of innovative animatronic characters into public exhibits. He then worked and consulted for such companies as the Chiodo Brothers, Insudung Media, 11:11 Creative and Reisman Models.
Holt “could design and build an animatronic rabbit that you would swear would take a carrot right out of your hand or a model train that, if you were much smaller, you could board and ride to the adventure of a lifetime,” his son said.
Survivors also include his wife, Svetlana, whom he married in 1990.