Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Fozzie Bear (No, Really)

 Today's article was written by Tom Stroud.

FOZZIE BEAR

Puppet characters...

Chuckie, Smedley, Andy Ross (OK Go)

Not much is known about Fozzie Bear's life before the Muppets. He was raised by his beloved mother, Emily Bear. Although Fozzie and Emily do not practice hibernation, though his uncle does, and while hibernating, he left Fozzie his favorite car, his Studebaker. Shortly after receiving his Uncle’s car, he began to work at The El Sleezo Cafe, filling in for the El Sleezo Dancing Girls. His comedy act received bad reviews. It was at this job that he met his best friend, and founder of the Muppets, Kermit the Frog. Mr. the Frog saved Fozzie from the angry drunks at the cafe, and together they went to Hollywood, where they, along with several other people met on their journeys, founded the Muppets, and began work on their first project.

In 1976, The Muppet Show began and led to many successes for Fozzie. Working as a performer, he was most notably the resident comedian of the show. Although he is most known as a performer, he also worked as a puppeteer several times. First with a ventriloquist dummy named Chuckie, made to impress guest star Edgar Bergen. He started off with a rough patch, not understanding that one must talk for their puppet. Fozzie would not return to puppetry until November of 2007, a total of 20 years after his first puppet. Fozzie's new puppet Smedley, had a very short career ended in disaster, as Smedley erupted into flames, possibly to free himself from the horrors of Fozzie’s performance. One would think that after these disasters Fozzie would stick to his (albeit almost as bad) comedy routines, but the bear did not stop.

In the recent OK Go music video for their cover of "The Muppet Show Theme Song," our favorite comedian once again puppeteered alongside Kermit, Gonzo, and Animal. Fozzie performed a member of OK Go, Andy Ross, the guitarist and keyboardist for the band. The vocal performance was much better than his other puppet acts, mainly because the band members themselves dubbed the vocals. It is unknown when, if ever, Fozzie will return to puppetry. Perhaps as a member of The Moopets, he will perform in The Muppets this November, although it is unlikely. Whether or not this is for the better can be debated.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Noel MacNeal

Today's Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays piece was written by Tom Stroud.

NOEL MACNEAL

Born...

September 15, 1961

Notable Muppets...

Bear, Daddy Snuffle, Madam Chairbird, Mommy Snuffleupagus (1980’s-1990’s)

WHO IS NOEL MACNEAL?

Noel MacNeal was born in 1961, in Central Harlem, New York. As a kid, he watched the preview episode for Sesame Street, "This Way to Sesame Street," as well as The Great Santa Claus Switch and The Muppet Show. He liked the puppetry on the programs so much, that towards the end of high school, he decided that he wanted to be a puppeteer. He went to the Pratt Institute for college, attending their theater department, which had a puppeteering program, taught by none other than famed puppet builder and Henson legend, Kermit Love. At the time he was attending the institute, they were phasing out the theater department, and so at his graduation he would be in a class by himself.

Instead of attending his last year of college, Noel became Kermit Love’s assistant puppeteer wrangler on Sesame Street. By 1993, he became a puppeteer on the show, working mainly with the full bodied Snuffleupaguses. He was particularly interested in these full bodied characters due to their ability to walk around without the puppeteer being visible. And so he played many different Snuffleupaguses, including Mommy Snuffleupagus, whom he took over from Jerry Nelson, as well as Daddy Snuffle on the unaired, controversial divorce episode. He also performed in the film Follow That Bird, playing Madam Chairbird in the opening, as well as Big Bird in various wide shots. He has also worked with casting and training puppeteers for foreign Sesame Street productions in countries such as Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Jordan, Palestine, and India.

Noel's most known role was in the Henson produced Playhouse Disney show, Bear in the Big Blue House, in which he performed the title role of Bear. He got the part after auditioning for a children themed game show pilot the Muppets were doing, after which he received a call from Henson asking him to audition for a different character, a bear. The Monday after the audition he was told he had gotten the part. He also wrote three episodes of the show, and directed one as well. Bear proved to be extraordinarily popular, and made several appearances on other TV shows, including The Wayne Brady Show and Hollywood Squares. After the show ended, Noel came back to perform the character on the spin-off, Breakfast with Bear, in which Bear went to children’s houses to go through their morning routine with them.

He has also done several projects since Bear, including the non-Henson TV show Blue’s Room, in which he performed Blue, and A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, in which he performed Sweetums. He has also written a book, 10 Minute Puppets, which teaches children how to make simple puppets. Noel continues to do one hour Puppet Workshops, during which he will teach a group how to make the puppets in his book, and make two of them with him. 

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesday: Peter Linz

Today's Weekly Muppeteer Wednesday post was written by Tom Stroud.

PETER LINZ

Born...

June 28th

Notable Mupptes...

Walter, Tutter, Pip

Peter Linz began puppeteering at the early age of three, with his first performance at the age of 8, for a group of friends at a birthday party. He attended the University of Georgia, not for puppetry, but Psychology.

He eventually ended up working on Sesame Street, pemforming numerous minor and background characters. He would end up working on the Street for 17 seasons. However, he would not receive his first major role until he worked with The Jim Henson Company on their new Disney Channel show, Bear in the Big Blue House. Performing Tutter, a constantly nervous mouse, and Pip, a fun loving Otter, and cousin of fellow otter Pop. The show hit it big, becoming incredibly popular with pre-schoolers, and lasting for four seasons, over six years.

He also has done several projects with the classic Muppets. In Muppets from Space, he performed Shakes, a minor rat, as well as several other background characters, including a cameo as a Beach Hippie. He also performed background characters in the recent TV special, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. His most major role will come this November, when he performs new character Walter in The Muppets, a major Muppet fan who tries to reunite them to save the Muppet Theater.

He has also worked on several non-Muppet projects, including Avenue Q, Blue’s Room, The Puzzle Place, It’s a Big Big World, and Between the Lions, as Theo Lion, in every season except for Season 3.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: David Rudman

Today's Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays post was written by Tom Stroud.

DAVID RUDMAN

Born...
June 1, 1964

Notable Muppets...
Baby Bear, Cookie Monster (2001-), Right Head of the Two Headed Monster (1992-), Sully (1992-), Scooter (2008-), Janice (2008-)

WHO IS DAVID RUDMAN?
David Rudman first worked with Muppets as an intern with the Muppet Workshop in the summer of 1981. After he graduated from high school, Richard Hunt helped him get a job as a Muppet performer, beginning with background characters in The Muppets Take Manhattan. He also began working on Sesame Street, beginning mainly with background roles.

After years of background roles, he finally got his first major role in the early 1990’s, with his new Sesame Street character Baby Bear. Around that time he also took over some of the late Richard Hunt’s characters, namely Sully and the Two Headed Monster’s right head. Although Sully was eventually dropped from the show, the Two Headed Monster and Baby Bear continued to be popular characters, and still are today. However, neither of them are as popular as David’s most recent role, Cookie Monster, which he took over in 2001 after Frank Oz’s formal retirement from performing.

David has performed with the classic Muppets as well, performing background characters in Muppet*Vision 3D, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, and Muppets Tonight. He also worked on The Muppet Christmas Carol, where he performed Peter Cratchit and the Swedish Chef. Recently (first in Studio DC: Almost Live!), David has taken over two of Richard Hunt’s most popular Muppet characters, Scooter and Janice. He performed Scooter and Jaince in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, and presumably performed them in The Muppets as well.

He has also created a few non-Henson TV shows with his brother, Adam Rudman. Adam and David have created both Bunnytown, a Playhouse Disney show which David also produced and directed, and Jack’s Big Music Show where he played the appropriately named main character, Jack.

Rudman continues to work with both Sesame Street and the Muppets as one of the main Muppeteers. His work as Baby Bear and Cookie Monster means that David's work can be seen and heard in nearly every episode of Sesame Street and now that he has taken over Richard Hunt's characters for the Muppets, Rudman is heavily involved in almost everything they're doing as well.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Kathy Mullen

(Note from the British Correspondent: AH-HA! I have once again found my way back to the control room of the Muppet Mindset and today I am posting...oh...Ryan already has a post ready to go...fine...I shall post that for today, but I will be back! Just keep a weather eye open...Hmm...should probably spice up this article with some pictures though... - TBC)

KATHY MULLEN

Notable Muppets...
Mokey Fraggle, Cotterpin Doozer, Gaffer the Backstage Cat, Wanda (Season 4)

Kathryn Mullen did not originally want to be a puppeteer, but rather aspired to be an actress. However, a visit to the Muppet Workshop changed her mind, and joined the Puppeteers of America. She first worked with the Muppets on The Muppet Movie in 1978, playing background Muppets. After the movie was done, she joined the cast of The Muppet Show, becoming the third full-time female puppeteer. On The Muppet Show, she played mainly one-time and background characters, most notably Gaffer the Backstage Cat and Wanda in her only 4th season appearance. She also puppeteer characters in several other Muppet projects, including The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan, the later which she performed Jill the Frog.

After The Muppet Show, she began to puppeteer more major characters, such as Kira in The Dark Crystal. However, her most major roles were in Fraggle Rock, where she performed Mokey Fraggle and Cotterpin Doozer. Mokey was one of the 5 main characters on the show, and Kathryn also performed her in A Muppet Family Christmas, and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson.

She later worked on several other Henson projects, including the first season of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, in which she performed recurring characters Morton the Elephant Bird, Little Cat A and Junior Kangaroo. She also performed Joy Buzzer in The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, Grouches in Follow That Bird, and Apple in A Christmas Toy.  She also began to write and direct, writing episodes of Little Muppet Monsters and the Fraggle Rock animated series, and co-directing several episodes of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.

She has also worked outside of Henson, helping to create Between the Lions, assisting fellow Muppeteer Frank Oz with Yoda in The Empire Strikes, and performing Allegra, the main character in the Nick Jr. TV show, Allegra’s Window. She has also worked with her husband, former Creative Director for Jim Henson Productions Michael Firth, and No Strings International to create and perform an educational Puppet Show for Afghanistan children.






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Leslie Carrara-Rudolph

As always, today's Weekly Muppeteer Wednesday was written by Tom Stroud.

LESLIE CARRARA-RUDOLPH

Notable Muppets...
Abby Cadabby, Spamela Hamderson, Prairie Dawn’s Mom, various Anything Muppets and monsters

WHO IS LESLIE CARRARA-RUDOLPH?

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph grew up as a Muppet fan, and, like many other Muppeteers, made puppets when she was young. She started out in small theater companies, playing roles such as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. One day a friend of hers recommended Leslie to Kirk Thatcher, her boyfriend at the time. She was invited to an audition, which was incredibly crowded, and took two days.  Bill Barretta was judging her audition, where for her monologue she did The Wizard of Oz in two minutes, a trick of hers. Before she could sing, Barretta stopped her, and told her she didn’t need to sing, and asked her about herself instead. She made it down to the last two people at the audition, after which she was hired.

Her first role was on Muppets Tonight, playing "Bay of Pigswatch" character Spamela Hamderson, who soon expanded beyond the sketch, being used as a "bimbo" pig character whose seemingly only value was her attractiveness. It was on the set of Muppets Tonight where she met her future husband, Assistant Musical Director and friend of The Muppet Mindset, Paul Rudolph. She later worked on the second season of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Suess, where she played roles such as Little Cat A and Morton the Elephant Bird, as well as Animal Jam, where she played Edi the Zebra.

She first heard about the character of Abby Cadabby from Kevin Clash, who convinced her to audition for the fairy character that they were developing for Sesame Street. She went to an audition, and had to perform a puppet that looked like Kermit with braids wearing a dress. This is where she first used Abby’s voice and personality. That night, Kevin called her to tell her she got the part, and she was, of course, overjoyed to hear it. She has been performing Abby since season 37 of Sesame Street, and little girls everywhere have falen in love with the character, who has also earned her own weekly segment on the show, "Abby’s Flying Fairy School."

Leslie continues to work on Sesame Street, both as a main performer with Abby Cadabby and a background performer of various Anything Muppets, monsters, and animals. She also continues her work with her original puppet character Lolly, who she designed and originated herself.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Karen Prell

 Today's Weekly Muppeteer Wednesday is written by Tom Stroud.

KAREN PRELL

Born...
7/31

Notable Muppet Characters...
Red Fraggle, Yolanda the Rat, Deena (Sesame Street) The Ghost of Christmas Past (Puppeteer), The Junk Lady (Puppeteer), The Worm (Puppeteer)

WHO IS KAREN PRELL?

Karen Prell was born on July 31st in Florida. She moved around quite a bit, and ended up spending most of her childhood in Seattle. In high school, she became interested in both animation and puppetry, both of which influenced her future careers. She began to make her own puppets, and put on puppet shows for her neighbors. She made a connection with someone working with the Muppets, and sent a tape of her and her puppets to Henson, who hired her for Sesame Street. She first worked on Sesame Street in 1979, beginning with small roles. Her most known Sesame Street character is Deena, a pink monster who appeared with her caretaker Pearl in season 12. She later flew to England, and worked on the final season of The Muppet Show, playing minor parts, including the Robin in "Rockin’ Robin."

Her most known character is Red Fraggle on Fraggle Rock. Jim Henson had just begun planning for Fraggle Rock soon after The Muppet Show ended, and called several puppeteers, including Karen, to audition, to see what they could bring to the show. Although she originally wanted to be Mokey, whom she believed matched her personality better, she ended up getting the role of Red. Although she was worried about preforming Red, she ended up loving the character, and the craziness it brought out in her. Red Fraggle and Fraggle Rock are the things that Karen Prell is best known for.

After the end of Fraggle Rock, she worked on Labyrinth, as the principal puppeteer of The Junk Lady and The Worm. Labyrinth is also where she met her future husband, fellow puppeteer Mike Quinn. She also worked on The Muppets Take Manhattan where she played Yolanda Rat, The Muppet Christmas Carol, where she puppeteered The Ghost of Christmas Past, and Muppet Treasure Island, her last major Henson production.

In 1997, she started working with Pixar, following her other high school interest, animation. She first worked on the short film, Geri’s Game, and later worked on A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2.  She also did animation for Frank Oz’s The Stepford Wives and the Disney film, Enchanted. She has not forgotten her puppeteering roots though, according to her website, Karen performed various background characters for The Muppets, which, as we all now, premieres this November. Karen has made a few recent appearances as Red Fraggle at the Manhattan debut of Fraggle Rock merchandise as well as appearances as ComicCon and Free Comic Book Day give aways.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Brian Henson

Today's Weekly Muppeteer Wednesday post was written by our friend Tom Stroud.

BRIAN HENSON 

Born...
November 30, 1962

Notable Muppets...
Sal Minella, Dr. Phil van Nueter, Seymour, Hoggle, Storyteller's Dog

Brian Henson was Jim and Jane Henson's third child, born in November of 1962. He made several cameo appearences on Sesame Street as a young boy, most notably in the "Number Song Series" where he can be seen counting three peas and eight ping-pong balls. He was also the builder of the original Muppet penguin for an episode of The Muppet Show. As he aged, he began working more and more with the Muppets. In The Great Muppet Caper he was instrumental in the carrying out of the bicycle sequence, creating and operating the special rigging device used to allow the Muppets to ride bicycles. He also spent a summer working at Sesame Place, where he met future Muppeteer Bill Barretta, in a story that has become almost a kind of legend in Muppet fandom.

During the 1980's, Brian began to work outside of  The Jim Henson Company, preforming Jack Pumpkinhead in the film Return To Oz and Audrey II in the Frank Oz directed Little Shop of Horrors. Brian worked often with the Creature Shop, preforming Hoggle in Labyrinth and the reccuring role of the Dog in The StoryTeller. He also appeared in The Christmas Toy, as Cruiser, a taxi-driver toy, and appeared occasionally on Dinosaurs.

After Jim Henson's death in 1990, Brian took over The Jim Henson Company as president, chairman, and CEO in 1991. Brian's work with the Muppets grew as well, directing The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, as well as various episodes of Muppets Tonight. When reruns of The Muppet Show aired on the Odyssey network he recorded  several introductions that were played in front of them.

On Muppets Tonight, he also became one of the core Muppet performers with characters such as Dr. Phil van Nueter, Seymour, and Sal Minella, his most popular character. These characters have not appeared for some time, although Sal did have a cameo in "Bohemian Rhapsody," but he was not performed by Brian. Brian also performed Scooter, Janice, and the Newsman in a few appearances in the early 2000's.

In recent years, Brian's role with the Muppets and Disney has dissipated as he focuses most of his energy on projects with The Jim Henson Company. He is currently executive producer of the Henson-produced Sid the Science Kid and has directed several episodes, but his brainchild is the popular Henson Alternative series Puppet Up! and Stuffed and Unstrung which features Brian and many Henson puppeteers as they put on improvisational shows live in front of an audience.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Weekly Muppeteeer Wednesdays: Martin P. Robinson

MARTIN P. ROBINSON

Born...
March 9, 1954

Notable Muppets...
Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Slimey the Worm

Martin (Marty) P. Robinson was born in 1954 in Michigan. He later moved to Brookfield, Wisconsin, and attended Brookfield East High School. He was a very talented actor and musician, even at that age, and he preformed in several musicals, most notably as Fagin in Oliver, and Bernardo in West Side Story.

Marty got into puppeteering so that he could play a wider variety of characters than he could have if he was an actor in TV, movies, or stage, where your looks play a role in the roles you play. Because of this, he got his start in puppeteering by joining the Bill Baird Puppet Company. He began working with the Henson Company in 1980 on Sesame Street where his talent was quickly discovered.

courtesy of Rick Lyon

He soon took over the roles of Mr. Snuffleupagus and Slimey from Michael Earl Davis. A few years later he became the puppeteer for Telly Monster, after his previous preformer, Brian Muehl, left the Muppets in order to spend more time with his family and pursue his own puppetry career. Marty evolved Telly over time, creating a stronger emotional range than before.

Marty has also worked on several other Henson productions, including Tale of the Bunny Picnic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and season two of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Suess, where he played The Cat in the Hat.

In recent years, Marty has continued to be a major part of Sesame Street. In 2007, he proposed to Sesame Street writer, Annie Evans, and they were married on the steps of 123 Sesame Street at the Kaufman Astoria Studios, where the show is filmed. Evans scripted the wedding, which included Oscar the Grouch heckling Marty and his bride. Together, Marty and Annie run the official Sesame Workshop blog, "Sesame Family Robinson." On the blog they share production stories and home videos of Telly interacting with their twin daughters.

On Sesame Street, Mr. Snuffleupagus continues to be a big part (no pun intended) of the show and Slimey still appears periodically. Telly Monster remains Marty's biggest role, still appearing frequently in numerous episodes every season.

Check out Marty's official website for more information!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier