Puppeteer Bob Baker dies

Bob Baker operates his Don Tortilla marionette on June 6, 2012.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In October 2012, Bob Baker joined some friends in the party room at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater just west of downtown Los Angeles. The marionettes: Hansel and Gretel, left and right, and the Fairy Godmother.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Bob Baker in November 2008 with some of his marionettes.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Gavin Badzey, 2, of Pasadena, gets a close-up view at a Halloween puppet show this year at Bob Baker Marionette Theater.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Puppeteers Victor Munoz, left, and Suziey Block perform a Halloween puppet show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

And ... the crowd reacts at this year’s Halloween puppet show at Bob Baker Marionette Theater.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Marionette puppeteers Cain Carios, left, and Victor Munoz perform a Halloween puppet show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles on Oct. 31, 2014.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Nathan Palat, then 5, left, and his sister Ava, then 4, make their way toward the Bob Baker Marionette Theater for “Halloween Hoop-de-Doo” on Oct. 26, 2012.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Puppets dance during a performance of “Fiesta” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles on June 6, 2012.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Children get up close and personal with a puppet during a performance of “Fiesta” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles on June 6, 2012.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Puppeteers Alex Evans, left, and Adrian Rose Leonard take the stage during a performance of “Fiesta” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles on June 6, 2012.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Children lean toward approaching puppets during a performance of “Fiesta” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles on June 6, 2012.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Skeleton marionettes glow in the dark during a performance of “Halloween Hoop-de-Doo” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 26, 2012.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Nathan Palat, then 5, of San Marcos gets an up-close look as puppeteer Adrian Rose controls a marionette during a performance of “Halloween Hoop-de-Doo” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 26, 2012.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Adrian Rose, left, controls a marionette during a performance of “Halloween Hoop-de-Doo” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 26, 2012.   (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

On June 3, 2009, puppeteer Steve Meltzer walks a marionette through the Los Angeles City Council chamber in support of historic cultural status for the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Students from Carver Elementary School in Compton watch a performance of “The Nutcracker” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles on Nov. 20, 2008.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Then-third grade student Issac Swor from Manzanita Elementary School in Covina gets a close-up view of puppet known a Pepe the Skunk at a 2004 performance of “Enchanted Strings” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)