Adam Kreutinger

Kreutinger, Adam

February 27, 2025

When George Takei and 35 million of his followers discovered the story of an art teacher who designed and sewed his wife's wedding dress in just 15 days, they learned what so many in Western New York already knew: Adam Kreutinger is one of the most talented and courageous artists who ever lived.

Adam passed into rest at 9:43 a.m. on Thursday, February 27, at Niagara Hospice, just a day short of his 37th birthday. He shared his last moments with his wife Maria and loved ones around him.

Adam occupied the eclectic center of many intersecting worlds of creativity, learning, and performance. As an art teacher for more than a decade in several Western New York schools, Adam inspired and empowered thousands of students. He drew on his passion for teaching, storytelling, illustration, and cinema to create memorable characters like Arlo, Hubble, and the Snoofs, who jumped from his classroom into YouTube videos and several children's books. He was also a beloved member of the Buffalo theater community, which knew him as an Artie-winning performer, set designer, playwright, and puppeteer.

But this last talent puppetry and puppet-making earned him the greatest worldwide renown. Adam believed puppetry was the most "complete" art form drawing on design, sculpture, storytelling, performance, video, and more. He performed with his own puppets in countless productions while his sought-after pre-made puppets and patterns appeared on stages and other performance venues all over the world, including the Food Network, Comedy Central, Adam Savage's Tested, and Broadway's Winnie the Pooh. Adam's talent, charisma, and infectious energy earned him the love of the global puppetry community his Puppet Nerd YouTube channel amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views, and with his friend Cam Garrity he regularly interviewed the industry's biggest stars on the Puppet Tears podcast.

Hailed for "guiding the puppetry community into the 21st century" by Torn Space Theater's Dan Shanahan, Adam found endless avenues for his evangelism, which expanded to include a worldwide summer Puppet Camp, the Nimalz Kids educational YouTube channel, and the all-ages book Puppetry 101. "Puppetry for Everyone," his career retrospective at Daemen University's Tower Gallery, showcases 45 of his puppets, costumes, stage sets, paintings, and more. The opening night saw record-breaking attendance and featured video remarks from former collaborators from Sesame Street, The Muppets, and Being John Malkovich. Adam appeared at the exhibition weekly to meet with fans.

On July 13, 2022, Adam experienced a seizure that led to a diagnosis of grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma. After receiving the news, Adam went immediately to his Kreutinger Puppets studio and hit record. Adam shared his diagnosis, talked about treatment options, and processed his feelings in real time for more than half a million viewers. In the months that followed he would intersperse his familiar lessons, interviews, and unboxing videos with updates on his surgeries, clinical trials, and rehabilitation. He slipped easily into the role of superhero, becoming a model of courage and indefatigable creativity: he built and filmed puppets from the ICU and his hospice bed barely more than a week before his passing.

The enormous community of family, friends, students, and fans who knew Adam will forever feel the gravitational tug of his personality and example; a calling to dream bigger, be better, have fun, and make it happen.

Adam leaves behind his wife Maria and children Winifred and Ernest. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Those wishing to attend may reach out to the family for details.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to https://www.gofundme.com/f/aid-for-adam-and-his-family