Zoo Keys: Bruce Sedley's Aura (1925-2012)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Bruce Sedley's Aura (1925-2012)

Imagine one remarkable person touching the lives of millions of people with the invention of his novelty keys used at Fairyland and zoos across the country -- that is Bruce Sedley. In describing his dapper puppet friend, Bruce remarks on his biography page that King Fuddle "..has inspired love and affection in all that have had contact with him... It is my wish that he continue to entertain and meet people and spread his aura into their lives..."

Bruce Sedley's aura lives on in every child who clasps their Fairyland Magic Key with excitement and anticipation and smiles with accomplishment and glee as the Talking Storybook tells its secret tale. His legacy endures each and every time we use a zoo key to unlock the mysteries and greatness of the zoo animals that share their daily lives with us.

Here's to a lovely man who will always be inspirational and who's spirit will continue to infect our daily lives with genuine smiles, hearty laughter and fun memories. The angels are dancing with you and all of the animals -- including the human ones -- are jumping up and down for you!

2 comments:

JoeDr said...: I remember this wonderful man on TV with his characters, King Fuddle and Clarissa the Good Witch. I met him at one of his appearances at Children's Fairyland in Oakland, CA, and even shook King Fuddle's hand! Thank you Sir for the wonderful memories! You were - and are - the "King" ... though I didn't know it then when your lips would barely move!; April 14, 2012 at 11:21 AM
Anonymous said...: https://www.facebook.com/StoryBookZooKey/timeline/; September 18, 2015 at 10:41 PM

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Zoo Keys

Novelty plastic keys used in Talking Storybooks at zoos, parks and other exhibits. Children's entertainer and puppeteer Bruce "Skipper" Sedley invented the original tape-recorded-playback Talking Storybooks with their novelty keys in the early 1950s.

In 1958, Talking Storybooks operated by the Magic Key to Fairyland were installed at Children's Fairyland in Oakland's Lake Merritt Park. The familiar elephant-shaped key – Trunkey the Elephant – was created the following year for the San Francisco Zoo, and has been used at zoos & parks across America since the 1960s.