Melvyn Helstien; Emeritus Professor of Theater at UCLA

Melvyn Helstien, 70, emeritus professor of theater at UCLA and a puppeteer whose research involved the leather puppets of South Asia, where he traveled to collect artifacts and other historical information. He was an internationally recognized expert in his field and served as head of the U.S. branch of the Union Internationale de la Marrionette. Over the years he taught theater, children’s theater and stage direction while also producing puppet shows both on and off the UCLA campus. Some of his creations have been displayed at the Museum of the City of New York and in other prestigious art centers around the country. In West Los Angeles on March 6 of the complications of a stroke.