All About Muppets

Jeny Cassidy is a Canadian actress, puppeteer, puppet designer/builder, and educator who has worked as an additional puppeteer on The Muppets Wizard of Oz in which she occasionally assisted for Bill Barretta, Allan Trautman, and Eric Jacobson. She also assisted in Turkey Hollow which was taped on location. I wonder why Jeny only assisted in 1 Muppet project and 1 Creature Shop project. I've read that Cassidy has trained in many types of puppetry including marionettes, hand and rod puppeteering, and animatronics (to name a few). Outside of the Muppets, she puppeteered in The Haunting Hour, Alien vs. Predator 2, Marmaduke, Falling Skies, and The Barbarian and the Troll. Her puppets have been featured in stage shows, on the web for Nokia, and in numerous independent films. Jeny Cassidy has also appeared as an actress in film and television productions such as Fringe, Paradox, and within theatre productions of Avenue Q, Robin Hood, and more. I wish that the Muppets would perform in Ca...

Mandy Travis is a British puppeteer and actress who has only assisted the Muppets on Muppets Most Wanted. I don't know why she only worked with the Muppets for one film. Travis could have assisted either the Muppets or the Henson Company during the times they filmed in the UK. She should have assisted with Mopatop's Shop or The Animal Show, maybe as a way in which she'll be good with kids as well as families. I've read that as an actress in theatre and television, her interest in puppetry began following visits to the Little Angel Theatre with her son. Mandy eventually started performing within the theatre in 1997. She also performs puppet shows with her own company Lost and Found Theatre, which was founded by her. Her TV credits include the role of Oink the pig on GMTV's MacDonald's Farm along with Michael Bayliss and Damian Farrell. The rest of her credits were mostly acting roles that's seen in episodes of The Bill, EastEnders, Birds of a Feather, and ...

Cheryl Bartholow is a puppeteer and puppet designer who served as an additional Muppet performer on The Muppets Take Manhattan. That was the only Muppet project she ever did. In 1974, Cheryl founded the Pangolin Puppet Theater where she did puppet shows in the Twin Cities between the late 1970s and early 1980s. Bartholow also set up an early puppetry newsletter called The Puppet Post, unfortunately it lasted for only two issues. It's a shame because a newsletter with puppetry could be interesting. Later in the years, she went to work as a designer for Poko Puppets (alongside Sal Denaro). Cheryl Bartholow also worked with Sesame Street's own Richard Termine who was one of the photographers within Poko Puppets. The company did several television shows, films, and symphonies over the years such as Peter and the Wolf, Welcome to Work, Carnival, and more. She must have felt excited to be one of those rare puppeteers to ever work for symphonies. I wonder if Cheryl still remembers wo...

Leif Tilden is a puppeteer, suit performer, choreographer, and director who's performed suit roles for several Creature Shop projects. His first work with the Jim Henson Company was playing Donatello in the first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films. Tilden soon did the body of Robbie Sinclair and others on Dinosaurs and received credit (with Bill Barretta) for choreographing the dance sequence in an episode. The only time Leif actually performed a puppet was on Muppets Tonight where he was an additional Muppet performer for one episode. His last two Creature Shop projects was performing the title character for Buddy and a Gorilla for George of the Jungle. What's a coincidence is that those 2 films had him wearing gorilla suits. I wonder if Leif Tilden was happier at puppeteering or doing suit roles. Either way he still did a great job working with the Muppets on a project. His outside work has included gorilla portrayals in Born to Be Wild and Ace Ventura: When Nature Call...

Matthew Brooks is a puppeteer and puppet builder who joined the Jim Henson Company in 1993. He built puppets for 3 films, Muppet Treasure Island, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, and Muppets from Space. Matthew also built puppets for many television series such as The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, The Animal Show, Bear in the Big Blue House, and Muppets Tonight. For the latter two, Brooks was also an additional performer, which means that he showed off both talents for the Muppets, Sesame Street, and the Henson Company. Outside of the Muppets, he has built and performed puppets on The Book of Pooh, Crank Yankers, Blue's Room, and It's a Big Big World. He later became a set dresser for Laika, Inc. for the animated films ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls and possibly more. Matthew Brooks seems to do a great job with building and performing the puppets for the shows he has worked on. He also had the chance to build at other puppet companies such as Shadow Character Design, Hairy ...

Robin Stevens is a British actor, puppeteer, writer, director, and producer who performed in Labyrinth as part of the goblin unit. I don't know why he only performed in one Creature Shop project and not in any projects featuring the Muppets. Robin had the chance to work with the Muppets anytime they were in the UK. But I guess Stevens was happier doing the puppetry he chose to do. Outside of his work in Labyrinth, he has been a key member of Ragdoll Productions, a British kids production company, for over twenty years. He starred on their first series, Pob's Programme as the title character. Robin Stevens later wrote, produced, and performed Jim on Rosie and Jim, working alongside Rebecca Nagan. He also wrote, directed, and performed Tom on Tots TV, the show had a similar format to Rosie and Jim since it was on-location. I wonder if he had difficulty puppeteering on-location with his characters Jim and Tom for those two series. Robin was probably in a variety of uncomfortable ...

Julia Frost is a British puppeteer and voice actress who has both assisted and performed various guest characters on The Furchester Hotel. I read Frost also got to be the lead assistant to Louise Gold. She's lucky to be chosen to lead assist the main puppeteer. Julia's most recent work was being an additional puppeteer on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance along with others. I do not know why she didn't do any projects with the Muppets. She could have assisted the Muppets in their latest film Muppets Most Wanted. Julia could have had the chance to work with Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, or Dave Goelz when they were in the UK. But I guess it what she chooses to do that makes her happy. Plus she must have been occupied with the filming of The Furchester Hotel. Her outside puppetry work can be seen on shows such as Jessy & Nessy, Becca's Bunch, and Strange Hill High. Julia's voice can be heard on Abby Hatcher, Lookers commercial, and several different corporate ...

Patricia Lewis is a Canadian puppeteer who performed additional characters in Follow That Bird and Basil Hears a Noise. I wish there was more information about her. Patricia could have also assisted on other projects by the Muppets or the Henson Company. Lewis could have worked on shows such as Fraggle Rock, The Christmas Toy, or The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years. It looks like she is yet another puppeteer to have only done very few projects with either the Muppets or Sesame Street. She seems to have very little info about herself, like what else does she do as a career. Patricia Lewis must do more puppeteering in her life, because it's not enough for her to be a well-known puppeteer unlike the other puppeteers she has worked with. She worked with famous ones like Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Caroll Spinney, all of which have been famous for their characters. There has to be some other project in which she can puppeteer on for more work. Patricia's puppetry should be seen on...

Tanya Haden is an artist, cellist, puppeteer, and singer who performed as a background puppeteer for The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted. I don't know why she did only two Muppet projects which was basically a film and a sequel. Tanya could have assisted the Muppets for their live shows in either the Hollywood Bowl or the O2 Arena or on the TV series The Muppets. Outside of her work with the Muppets, Haden has married Jack Black (who appears in the film) and have two children. It is amazing that someone who performed with the Muppets has married a famous movie actor and big rock star. Tanya also supplied the voice of the smitten bunny in Black's film Kung Fu Panda. I've also read that she is one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden, and is the co-creator of the puppet play called Imaginary Bear. At least Tanya got a chance at working with puppets outside her time with the Muppets. She is also an animator as evidenced in the short Lint People where ...

Brad Abrell is a puppeteer, voice actor, and radio host who has performed background characters on 2 projects, Muppets Tonight and Sesame Street's Elmopalooza. I don't know why he didn't perform in any other Muppet or Sesame Street projects. Brad would be great at puppeteering various characters for the Muppets whenever they were filming in California. Abrell would also be good at being a voice actor for animated segments of Sesame Street or he could just puppeteer on the show as well. Outside, he's done various shows in which he did the puppeteering or the voice acting. His TV puppetry is seen on Greg the Bunny, Jellybean Jungle, The Mr. Potato Head Show, and many more. As for film, Brad Abrell did both Men in Black I and II and helped operate Doctor Octopus's tentacles in Spider-Man 2. Other than puppetry, his voice can be heard in various shows, films, and video games. Shows include Spongebob Squarepants, Gravity Falls, Doc McStuffins, and Squirrel Boy, to name ...

Jodi Eichelberger is a Brooklyn-based puppeteer, writer, director, and composer who has served as an additional Muppet performer on The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. I don't know why he only did one Sesame Street film and not other Sesame Street projects. IMDb also states that Jodi also performed on Bear in the Big Blue House (though he was probably uncredited for doing so). Eichelberger is more well known outside of Elmo in Grouchland, his best known show was LazyTown (as Stingy). He also puppeteered on The Book of Pooh and It's a Big Big World and also voice acted on an animated movie called The Fixies: Top Secret. As for theatre, he was a member of the original Broadway cast of Avenue Q as an ensemble/understudy performer with Peter Linz. Jodi Eichelberger has also performed and been involved creatively in many stage shows, though it's unknown which shows. He was even a member of two Portland-based puppet troupes known as Tears of Joy Theater and Other Hand Producti...

David Greenaway is a puppeteer who has puppeteered on many Creature Shop productions. His first work with the Creature Shop was on The Dark Crystal as one of the Mystics. David later went on to puppeteer some of the goblins for Labyrinth. He then worked on The Storyteller, puppeteering many animals including The Thought Lion, which the episodes were reused for The Jim Henson Hour. His other work for The Jim Henson Hour was on Monster Maker and Living with Dinosaurs. There just doesn't seem to be any Creature Shop project in which Greenaway didn't work on. His most notable Creature Shop project was Dinosaurs (as Spike, Ethyl Phillips on occasion, and the face of Roy Hess, amongst others). David's only Muppet credit to date has been assisting on The Animal Show during Season 2. His other Creature Shop film work can be seen on The Witches (as mice), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and it's sequel (as the face of Raphael), and Babe. It seems David Greenaway is more interest...

Denise Cheshire is a puppeteer, gymnast, stuntwoman, and suit performer who has only worked in 1 project featuring the Muppets and one Creature Shop film. She has performed background characters for It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, which was the only Muppet project she did. She was also a suit performer in the 1998 Creature Shop film Jack Frost, alternating with Bruce Lanoil. I don't know why Denise hasn't done any other projects with either the Creature Shop or the Muppets like a lot of puppeteers. She must be happier with doing gymnastics than puppetry. Outside of the Muppets and the Creature Shop, Cheshire has done a lot of film work as an on-screen actress. But her puppetry can be seen in Men in Black II operating the locker alien. Her suit performing is seen in the film Ed as the titular chimp and in Disney's Mighty Joe Young as a gorilla. All of her other films were mostly on-screen acting as seen in Under the Rainbow, Graduation Day, Amazing Ape, and ...

Sarah Wright is a British puppeteer and artistic director whose only work with the Muppets was being an assistant in Muppet Treasure Island. She has also puppeteered Vogons and other aliens in the 2003 Creature Shop-effects film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't know why Sarah hasn't been with the Muppets for The Muppets Christmas Carol or Muppets Most Wanted. Wright must be happy doing puppet projects that she is most familiar with doing. It would seem that she wasn't familiar with a lot of Muppet productions. Outside of Hitchhiker's and Muppets, she is a veteran theatre puppeteer and founder of the Curious School of Puppetry. Sarah Wright's stage credits include working with the Royal Shakespeare Company on The Tempest and directing various shows like Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, and The Adventures of Curious Ganz, to name a few. Her Curious School productions include The Little Mermaid, Planetarium Silo, LAT: Venus and Adonis, and more. As...

Mary Brehmer is a puppet and costume designer/builder who has joined the Jim Henson Company in 1992. She designed and built Muppets for various works like The Muppets Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, and Muppets Tonight. Mary was also an additional puppeteer for that show. She has also built costumes for various international Sesame Street co-productions. Brehmer could have also remained a puppeteer for the Muppets but whatever she does is her choice not theirs. She has also did a few Henson Company projects such as The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Julie's Greenroom and Bear in the Big Blue House. Two out of those three shows has given her 3 Emmy Award nominations for her work. I don't know why Brehmer hasn't done a lot of seasons on Sesame Street. It says Mary she has only designed and built puppets for the 46th season of Sesame Street. Maybe when Brehmer has a chance, she could ask Sesame Workshop if she can maybe design and build puppets for future seasons of S...

John Thirtle was a British puppeteer, producer, and puppet/set builder who has luckily worked on a few Muppet projects before his death. He was an additional puppeteer in The Muppets Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island which was taped before his death. John has also worked as part of a fabrication team on The Dark Crystal, though he was uncredited. I don't know why Thirtle has not worked with the Muppets when they filmed in the UK. He could have been an assistant on The Great Muppet Caper and Labyrinth, but it's up to what he does in his puppeteering career. Outside of the Muppets, he formed the company Playboard Puppets, alongside Ian Allen. John Thirtle's company started off doing stage shows until they branched out into television, most notably Button Moon and The Spooks of Bottle Bay. For the former and latter, he built and performed characters as well as produced and built sets for the latter show. He also worked as a puppeteer on Spitting Image, in one episode...

Kay Bradshaw (also known as Kaefan Shaw) is a British puppeteer, suit performer, and writer who did many Muppet and Creature Shop projects. She puppeteered Firey 4 on Labyrinth (with Steve Whitmire and Cheryl Henson), did Bark Troll on The Neverending Story III, and was the suit performer for both the Sugar Puffs ads and The Country Bears film. Kay was also an additional Muppet performer for The Tale of the Bunny Picnic and The Muppets Christmas Carol (assisting the main characters). Bradshaw even did the French version of Fraggle Rock assisting Mike Quinn on Croquette. From 1984-1988, she has been credited as a male (Kevin Bradshaw) though it's unknown why she was credited by that name during those years. Outside of the Creature Shop, she was both principal puppeteer and sketch writer on Spitting Image for 16 series, even the pilot. Other projects Kay Bradshaw performed and wrote for have included Round the Bend, Panic Station, several computer games, and Hoyle Classic Games. Lat...

Colin Purves is a British puppeteer who was one of the three people in London selected from a 1994 Muppeteer Workshop to join the Jim Henson Company. He assisted and has performed background characters on Muppet Treasure Island. Years later, Colin returned to serve as an additional puppeteer on Muppets Most Wanted. I don't know why he didn't perform with the Muppets in between those 2 films he both assisted and played background characters. Purves not only was an assistant puppeteer on the British Sesame Street co-production The Furchester Hotel, but he also played occasional guest characters. If he performed guest characters on that show, then why doesn't he receive the credit of a Muppet performer? It's probably because he hasn't performed a character for the Muppets. As for his Creature Shop work, Colin Purves worked in a Flymo commercial and more recently, as an additional puppeteer for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Colin got to work alongside a lot of...

Misty Rosas is a stuntperson and suit performer who has mostly been associated with projects by the Henson Digital Performance Studio. She was the motion capture performer for various digital shows such as Sid on Sid the Science Kid, TJ in TJ Bearytales, and Lulu in Word Party. Misty also operated the body of Beary Barrington in The Country Bears with effects provided by the Creature Shop. Rosas has also worked on Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge where she was one of the performers for the first episode. I wonder if she ever considered doing regular puppetry in her life since it would make life easier for her not to wear a hot suit. Outside of the Henson, she has done many stunt works for many films such as Jingle All the Way, Van Helsing, Practical Magic, and the motion-capture feature Monster House, to name a few. Other roles Misty Rosas did included gorilla portrayals in Congo and Instinct, an alien in Altered, and various roles on The Mandalorian, her most recent project. ...

Star Townshend is an actress, suit performer, and yoga instructor whose only Henson Company show was on three seasons of Dinosaurs. She occasionally filled in as Charlene Sinclair in episodes of the third season when Michelan Sisti was not available. Other than serving as a utility additional dinosaur performer from the second season onward, Star also performed the bodies of various characters, such as Caroline Foxworth and Mindy in several episodes along with one-timers. Townshend was later one of the several performers for the title character in Buddy. I think performing in all of those costumes has made her very hot and tired. Wearing a character costume can be very heavy and it can get really hot in those suits. Star Townshend must be really glad she never has to perform in another costume after working in Buddy. Outside of Dinosaurs, Townshend's only film work was in a Bill Murray film called Larger Than Life where she did a bit part as a clown. I wonder what made her stop ...

Arlene Lorre is an actress, puppeteer, and suit performer whose only work with the Henson Company was on Dinosaurs. She performed Charlene Sinclair's body in the first episode and then puppeteered additional characters in later episodes. How come Arlene never performed in any other projects either by the Henson Company or those featuring the Muppets? She must be more comfortable with acting on-camera than puppeteering so she could rest her arms whenever. Lorre could have been an assistant puppeteer for Muppets Tonight, The Muppets (2011), or other Muppet projects filmed in LA. But it's probably best for her to do what she feels more comfortable doing in her life. Outside of Dinosaurs, she has mostly been an on-screen actress acting in feature films such as Another Chance, Traxx, The Big Picture, and Blind Date (to name a few). Arlene Lorre has also guest starred on TV shows such as Full House and Night Court, being a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. I never knew there would be a...

James Murray is a freelance puppeteer, voice actor, filmmaker, and singer. He has occasionally done work for various Henson/Muppet productions. For the Muppets, James was an additional puppeteer on Muppets Tonight, Muppet Classic Theater, Muppet*Vision 3D, and The Muppets (2011). Murray's job with Henson includes Dinosaurs (playing refrigerator creatures and members of the hearing board) and Telling Stories with Tommie dePaola (playing the Rabbit). He seems to assist the Muppets more than on occasion the same with Henson. He has even worked on the Henson Alternative production Late Night Buffet where he assisted Tyler Bunch. Outside of the Muppets, James Murray co-created, produced, wrote, directed, and performed on The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth. His other puppetry credits can be seen on Greg the Bunny, The Mr. Potato Head Show, The Crayon Box (which he also wrote), and Mack & Moxy, to name a few. I'm amazed that there is another puppeteer to have done over a hundred d...

BJ Guyer is a puppeteer, puppet designer/builder, and producer who worked on some Muppet projects and a couple Sesame Street videos. His first Muppet job was Floyd's costume performer in the Here Come the Muppets show. BJ later assisted in The Muppets at Walt Disney World, Muppets from Space, Studio DC: Almost Live, and The Muppets (2011). Guyer even served as one of the puppet builders for The Muppets Wizard of Oz, which I personally think he should have performed on too. He only did two projects on Sesame Street, both were Christmas productions starring Elmo. Outside, he is more well known for performing on various shows such as The Book of Pooh, Pahappahooey Island, Videogame Theater, Mack & Moxy, and Crank Yankers (also coordinating producer). BJ Guyer also did numerous films like Team America: World Police, Willy's Wonderland, and The Curse of Bridge Hollow, to name a few. Despite not doing any characters for the Muppets, he did get to work with Jim Henson when he did...

Damian Farrell is an Irish puppeteer, animator, and director who assisted with the Muppets, Sesame Workshop, and the Creature Shop. He served as an additional puppeteer on The Furchester Hotel in the first season and in Muppets Most Wanted. As for his Creature Shop work, he puppeteered Lore and The Heretic for the Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Damian seemed to have done more principal work when he worked with the Creature Shop than he did for Sesame Workshop and the Muppets. Farrell started out as an animator in the 1990's, including a gig with director Don Bluth in two of his many films The Pebble and the Penguin and Thumbelina (as an inbetweener and doing rough breakdowns). When he shifted to puppetry, he built and performed characters voiced by impressionist Mario Rosenstock on Special 1 TV and worked on Captain Abercromby. I've read that Damian has directed scripted-comedy, puppet series, animation, hidden-camera, and documentaries, not to mention co...

Robin Walsh is a puppeteer, designer/builder, writer, and director who has worked with almost every kind of puppet for many years. She's a recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Workshop Grant, & has performed her work in Henson's Puppets for Puppetry benefit. Robin's Henson projects included Bear in the Big Blue House, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and Slumberkins. Walsh was mainly an assistant puppeteer and puppet builder for those projects. She has a much larger career outside and has travelled around the world and performs for audiences of all ages. Outside of Henson, she's best known for designing, building, and performing on various theatre, film, and television projects. For TV, Robin Walsh worked on Spongebob Squarepants, The Book of Pooh, Whoopi's Littleburg, Crank Yankers, Oobi, and more. Her film credits placed her in Men in Black, Team America: World Police, & Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, to name a few. Her best known work was withi...

Marilyn Sokol is an Emmy and Obie award-winning actress and voice actress who voiced a number of Muppet characters, most notably Alice Otter in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. Her first work with Jim Henson was in The Great Santa Claus Switch, where she actually puppeteered characters. Marilyn didn't puppeteer in later productions because she was bad at puppeteering. Other than Emmet Otter, the voice of Sokol can be heard on Sesame Street as various Anything Muppets and could also be featured in albums, cartoon, and film inserts. Also on Sesame Street, she appeared on-camera in 1982, where she guest starred as Aunt Mae at Camp Echo Rock for five episodes. She should've been lucky to have co-workers such as Jane Henson or Frank Oz to puppeteer her characters to her voice. Marilyn Sokol has appeared as an on-screen actress for numerous TV shows, commercials, films, and plays throughout the years. Some of her television credits include Law & Order, Van Dyke and Company,...