David John Perry (born 9 April 1942),[1] commonly known as the Puppet Man, is a street entertainer from Wichita, Kansas, United States.
The American now resides in Great Yarmouth, whose performance consists of dancing with a range of puppets while singing along to pop songs played on a portable karaoke machine.
[4] He first started performing as the Norwich Puppet Man in the mid-1990s,[5] but in 1997 was forced to quit when his incapacity benefit was stopped because he was earning money through busking.
[5] While Perry's peculiar brand of entertainment has undoubtedly made him locally famous, the quality of the Puppet Man's performances remains controversial.
[4] In line with his varied public perception, Perry has not only been featured in local newspapers and on the internet but also become subject to abuse by some people and sometimes even violence.
[6] In January 2015, the announcement of Radio 1's Big Weekend in Norwich, Perry was featured as a cult figure in the city on the BBC Newsbeat website.