Full Text of SR0522 95th General Assembly
SR0522 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
Bruce Frederick Newton of Aurora, who | 4 |
| passed away on November 6, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Bruce Newton was born in Saginaw, Michigan on | 6 |
| December 21, 1926; and
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| WHEREAS, Bruce Newton was a graduate of Arthur Hill High | 8 |
| School; after graduation, he joined the United States Navy and | 9 |
| was assigned to the USS Planter; he attended Bay City Junior | 10 |
| College and then enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, | 11 |
| where he met his future wife, Claire, whom he married in 1948; | 12 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Bruce Newton had a long and distinguished career | 14 |
| in the art of puppetry; he delighted children for 54 years by | 15 |
| performing throughout the Chicago area with as many as 150 | 16 |
| puppet shows a year; and
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| WHEREAS, Bruce Newton's career in television began in 1949; | 18 |
| his wonderful characters soon gained great popularity, with his | 19 |
| shows being featured on WBKB in 1953 and the late-night | 20 |
| Saturday program "Shock Theater" in 1956; he and his wife also | 21 |
| worked on such shows as Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Mr. Wizard, and |
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| Wide World of Sports; he also assisted in the creation of | 2 |
| WCIU-TV in 1964; he retired from television in 1976 and started | 3 |
| his own company, West Park Productions, which put on | 4 |
| tele-puppet revues throughout the Chicagoland area; and
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| WHEREAS, Bruce Newton's most famous puppet was Garfield | 6 |
| Goose, the self-proclaimed "King of the United States" on the | 7 |
| "Garfield Goose and Friends Show", which aired on WGN from 1952 | 8 |
| until 1976; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, In April of 2004, Bruce Newton and his wife were | 10 |
| inducted into the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame; on March 15, | 11 |
| 2000, former Mayor David Stover declared "Bruce and Claire Day" | 12 |
| in recognition of their contributions to the city; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Bruce Newton was preceded in death by his wife and | 14 |
| his daughter, Darry Heenan; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Bruce Newton is survived by his children, Sandy | 16 |
| Bailey and her husband, Bill, Kim Newton and his wife, Lynne, | 17 |
| Robin Newton Iacono and her husband, August, and Tammy Katus | 18 |
| and her husband, Bob; his seven grandchildren; and his three | 19 |
| great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 21 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with |
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| his family and friends, the passing of Bruce Newton; and be it | 2 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 |
| presented to the family of Bruce Newton as an expression of our | 5 |
| sympathy.
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