Cora Baird

Cora Baird (January 26, 1912 – December 7, 1967), born Cora Eisenberg in New York City, was an American actress and puppeteer whose Broadway career spanned from 1931 to 1963. The youngest of eight children born to Morris and Anne Eisenberg, she grew up in a Jewish household where Yiddish was the primary language; her father had emigrated from Russia and her mother from Austria. Before entering professional performance, Baird attended Hunter College, studied dance under Martha Graham, and participated in the New York Group Theatre.

Baird began her stage career as an actress, appearing in Broadway productions under the stage name Cora Burlar from the age of 19. Her early credits included Noah and Dr. Faustus, among other productions. It was during the run of Dr. Faustus that she met puppeteer Bil Baird, who had been commissioned by the production to create and operate puppets representing the seven deadly sins. Baird was hired to voice the Envy puppet. The two married on January 13, 1937, four weeks after meeting, at which point Baird was 25 and Bil was 33.

Following their marriage, the couple established Bil and Cora Baird Marionettes, with Cora serving as a full partner in the enterprise. Baird transitioned from acting into puppeteering and went on to perform as a puppeteer in eight Broadway productions between 1943 and 1959, appearing under various credits including Cora Baird, Bil and Cora Baird Marionettes, Baird Marionettes, and Bil Baird Marionettes. Her Broadway puppeteering credits included Flahooley, the Ziegfeld Follies of 1943, and Man in the Moon, among others.

Beyond the stage, Baird performed as a puppeteer in more than 20 television productions between 1950 and 1963. The Baird Marionettes received coverage in Time magazine on December 29, 1958. Her most widely seen work came through the 1965 film The Sound of Music, released on April 1 of that year, in which both she and Bil Baird performed the puppet sequences for the song The Lonely Goatherd. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

In 1964, the couple opened the Bil and Cora Baird Theater at 59 Barrow Street in Greenwich Village, with their family living space situated above the venue. In addition to performing, Baird took on roles as creator, administrator, and front-of-house manager at the theater. She also kept her son Peter Baird involved in the family's work. Baird had two children: Peter, born in 1952 in New York City, and Laura Janee, born on April 30, 1955.

Baird died on December 7, 1967, in a New York City hospital at the age of 54. She continued performing until four days before her death, with her final performance taking place in a production of Winnie the Pooh.