Trivia

Mother of Mark Ritts

The Ritts Puppets a menagerie that originally included Geoffrey the Giraffe, Albert the Chipmunk, Calvin the Crow and Magnolia the Ostrich

• debuted on "In the Park," a Sunday family TV series on CBS from 1951

to 1953 starring Bill Sears. Mary Ritts supplied the voice for Magnolia the Ostrich, a quintessential Southern belle with long eyelashes and a soprano singing voice. Her husband provided the voices for the male puppets.