David Barrington Holt, longtime manager of the Jim Henson Company’s Creature Shop in L.A., died March 13 of complications from cancer, his son, Chris Holt, announced. He was 78.
After receiving a BA in industry design with honors from London’s University of the Arts in 1963, Holt began his illustrious 30-year career as a creator, quickly building his reputation as a skilled photographer, designer, engineer and model maker.
In 1986, Holt began collaborating with the Jim Henson Company, a partnership that would span over two decades. He started in the U.K. as deputy supervisor of the Creature Shop before being moved up to creative supervisor. In 1993, he moved across the world to Los Angeles to assist in starting the Henson Company’s first creature shop on the West Coast in preparation to produce the characters for Disney’s 1991 jurassic sitcom “Dinosaurs.” At the Creature Factory, Holt oversaw creative oversight of shop operations, which included animatronics, puppetry, special effects, talent, administrative matters and research and development, including in the realm of real-time 3D CG animation.
Holt was essential in the creation of the Henson Performance Control System, which allowed puppeteers to instinctively operate complex, computer-powered puppet systems as if they were physical. His credits with the Henson Company include “George of the Jungle,” “The Phantom,” “Indian in the Cupboard,” “Dr. Dolittle,” “Jack Frost,” “Scooby-Doo,” “Snow Dogs,” “Stuart Little II,” “Cats and Dogs” and “The Country Bears”.
After his time at the Creature Shop, Holt spent three years as an imagineer at Disney, where he worked on the technical transfer of innovative animatronics for public exhibits. He then spent the rest of his career as a consultant for various companies, including the Chiodo Brothers, Insudung Media, 11:11 Creative and Reisman Models.
Holt is survived by his son and his wife, Svetlana.
