French puppeteer, best known for his work in cabaret, music hall, and television where he performed musical numbers and stories with marottes. After an apprenticeship with Marcel Temporal, André Tahon founded the Compagnie des Marottes in 1950 as an amateur, turning professional in 1953. He performed his shows at L’Écluse, the Moulin Rouge, the Olympia, and toured the world gaining notable success with his character Papotin. He changed the name of his company to the Compagnie André Tahon in 1959, and his fame spread thanks to television, for which he created several series of shows such as Sourissimo (39 episodes, about a bunch of mice and their adventures, 1969-1970), and Ploom la chenille (Ploom the Caterpillar, 100 episodes, 1970-1985).

Music, with Pierre Brandt as musical director, played an important role in his art, always filled with choreographed movement and visual games, and the presentation of classics such as Pierre et le loup (Peter and the Wolf) by Prokofiev.

(See also France, Television.)