Pittiplatsch
[8] In the beginning, he was accompanied by two live-action canaries Zwirnchen and Röllchen ("Little Thread and Little Bobbin"), who were replaced with puppet characters.
The puppeteer Heinz Schröder had the idea of a character based on the kobold, a sprite of German folklore, to serve as comic relief.
[2] In cooperation with the writers Ingeborg and Günther Feustel, the designer and sculptor Emma-Maria Lange created a first model.
[1] The work resulted in a black-skinned boy with full hair and long legs wearing patent leather shoes.
At the last minute, Schröder almost gave up and shouted "I can no longer" (Ich kann nicht mehr) with a squeaky voice.
However, thanks to a lot of support from children who protested against this decision by mailing to the East German television, Pitti was brought back.
[11] Pittiplatsch was a recurring character on the show Zu Besuch im Märchenland, originally Meister Nadelöhr erzählt.
He was later replaced by the newly created dog character Moppi, who debuted on April 3, 1976, and starred alongside Pitti and Schnatterinchen in more than 400 Abendgruß episodes.
[15][16] As with Meister Nadelöhr, Pittiplatsch and his friends also still starred alongside their human companion Fabian in some Abendgruß episodes.
Since 1993, there have been live performances featuring the original puppet characters, nearly only in the formerly East German states of Germany.
The puppeteers Heinz Schröder and Bärbel Möllendorf performed live along with the musician Henry Kaufmann, whose role was taken over by Helmut Frommhold in 2005.
[2][11][20][21] Many different Pittiplatsch articles were made in East Germany, such as dolls, stuffed toys, hand puppets, board games and sweets.
[23] A techno song titled Ach du meine Nase ("Oh you my nose", from Pitti's trademark phrase) was released in 1994, as part of the project Sandmann's Dummies.
Another song in a similar fashion based on Herr Fuchs und Frau Elster, also from East German television, was made as well.
[26] The Berlin-based ice hockey team Eisbären Berlin uses Pittiplatsch's phrase Ach du meine Nase as part of their song when scoring a goal during home games.
