All About Muppets

Dave Goelz is a puppeteer and puppet builder who was one of the main Muppet performers for over 50 years. He is best known for performing many characters like Gonzo, Zoot, Beauregard, and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew for the Muppets. Dave is also known for performing Boober Fraggle and Uncle Travelling Matt for Fraggle Rock. Goelz started out performing and building Muppets in their productions, before deciding to just puppeteer. He has also worked on Sesame Street during its 24th season and in their 2nd feature film, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. His other Henson Company shows include The Secret Life of Toys, The Animal Show, Dinosaurs, and has even guest starred on Bear in the Big Blue House. Sometimes, Dave Goelz has been paired with Steve Whitmire at times such as being the current performer of Waldorf and doing the duo until 2016. His latest puppetry works have included, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Muppets Now, Muppets Haunted Mansion, and The Muppets Mayhem. I just hop...

Eric Jacobson is a puppeteer who best known for being the current Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, & Sam the Eagle for the Muppets. He is also the current performer of Grover, Bert, and Oscar the Grouch for Sesame Street. Eric inherited all of those roles from Frank Oz and Caroll Spinney. Jacobson started working on Sesame Street in 1994 as an assistant before filling in for Bert and Grover in the late 1990s then taking them over completely. His only Henson Company show was on Bear in the Big Blue House where he initially doubled other performers' characters before given the role of Harry the Duck. Outside of the Muppets and Sesame Street, he performed on The Puzzle Place, The Book of Pooh, Jack's Big Music Show, and Once Upon a Tree. From background to principal, Eric Jacobson has done it all for millions of people around the world. Since 2002, he has been a core performer for the Muppets in all their productions. He also played various other characters with both Muppets ...

Steve Whitmire is a puppeteer who performed with the Muppets starting in 1978. At first he assisted the Muppets on The Muppet Show before getting his own characters, including Rizzo the Rat. Steve soon received his major characters on Fraggle Rock, playing Wembley Fraggle and Sprocket, as well as others. After Jim Henson's death in 1990, Whitmire inherited Kermit the Frog and Ernie (though not until 1993). He also took over the roles of Beaker and Statler after Richard Hunt died and Jerry Nelson left them in 2003. He also occasionally performed minor characters on Sesame Street as seen in home videos and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Steve Whitmire amazed me by the number of TV specials and films he did his characters on such as The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted, and Muppets from Space. His other Henson Company work was on Dinosaurs, The Animal Show, and Labyrinth. In 2014, he stopped performing on Sesame Street and Ernie was taken over by Billy Barkhurst till 2017. In 2...

Louise Gold is a British actress and puppeteer who is best known for performing various characters for the Muppets, most notably a pig named Annie Sue. She also did various characters on Sesame Street from Seasons 23-27. Louise is also one of those many left-handed puppeteers. Gold began working with the Muppets in 1977 on the 2nd season of The Muppet Show. She has also worked on Henson Company shows such as The Ghost of Faffner Hall, The Animal Show, Mopatop's Shop, and The Secret Life of Toys, to name a few. Outside of the Muppets, she has mainly been a singer and actress on stage in shows like Mamma Mia, The Waterbabies, Oliver, and more. As for puppetry, Louise Gold has only done two series, Spitting Image and The Spooks of Bottle Bay (Season 1). Her latest work with the Muppets was on Muppets Most Wanted with Annie Sue while her latest work with Sesame Workshop was on The Furchester Hotel as Funella Furchester and others. Her latest Creature Shop work placed her on The Dark C...

Kevin Clash is a puppeteer, director, and producer who is best known for performing Elmo on Sesame Street, as well as numerous others. He was also a regular performer for the Muppets on The Jim Henson Hour, Muppet Direct-to-Video, and Muppets Tonight, to name a few. Kevin's main Muppet character for most of those projects was Clifford. Clash started on Sesame Street in the 12th season uncredited before returning in 1984 and was given the role of Elmo. His other Henson Company projects included Dog City and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss while Creature Shop had him on Labyrinth, TMNT, and Dinosaurs. Outside of Sesame Street and Muppets, he performed on Captain Kangaroo, The Great Space Coaster, and Oobi. I've read that Kevin Clash also had a puppet company called Clash Puppets, responsible for the Wrinkles sets and The Puzzle Place puppets. There just isn't anything that he can't do for screen since he also served as puppet captain and co-executive producer for Sesame...

Fran Brill is a retired puppeteer, actress, and voice actress who was best known for performing Prairie Dawn and Zoe on Sesame Street, in addition to various others. She also performed with the Muppets many times, on The Muppet Show (pilot and Season 1), The Jim Henson Hour, and a Muppet Direct-to-Video, to name a few. Did you know that Fran was the first female puppeteer hired by Henson himself, outside of his wife Jane Henson? Brill was credited on Sesame Street back in 1970, but wasn't credited on the show again until the 21st season. Her other Henson Company projects included Dog City, The Land of Gortch, and The Great Santa Claus Switch (her first Muppet job). Outside of Sesame Street, she has acted on stage and films, such as Midnight Run and What About Bob?, the latter directed by Frank Oz. In addition to acting, Fran Brill has lent her voice to Courage the Cowardly Dog, Sheep in the Big City, and Doug, not to mention numerous radio and TV commercials. But no matter what s...

Richard Hunt was a puppeteer and director who was best known for performing the original Scooter, Janice, Beaker, and Statler for The Muppets. He also performed on Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock as various characters. I believe Richard's most notable characters were Forgetful Jones, Don Music, Gladys the Cow, and Junior Gorg. Hunt has also performed on Little Muppet Monsters, Puppetman, and The Ghost of Faffner Hall, not to mention three Muppet-type specials. From high-pitched meeps to low-toned mock laughter, he can do almost any voice for anyone. Within the late 1980's, he started directing several projects such as a Fraggle Rock episode, a direct-to-video production called Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along, and several Sesame Street segments during its 17th season. Other than puppetry, Richard Hunt is known for his accomplished singing voice and backstage personality when not filming. It seems there wasn't anything that could stop him, until 1992. In 1992, he died a...