William "Billy" Bryan was born in Newport News, Virginia to an opera singing artist/engineer father who taught him to draw and sing, and a choir-directing, ball-of-fire preacher’s-daughter mother who taught him to pattern, to sew, and to smile. Inspired by Jim Henson and the Muppets, Billy started building and performing puppet shows while in High School. In 1976, after graduating from Syracuse University with a BFA in Metalsmithing, Billy hitchhiked