Axel Rathgeber

Axel Rathgeber is a German puppeteer and puppet builder who only performed in one Muppet project and one Henson Company project. He has mainly puppeteered on The Secret Life of Toys where he and two other German puppeteers were selected out of 40. Axel said that it was a dream come true working along with Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, and Jerry Nelson for 6 months. Rathgeber has also worked as a supporting puppeteer on Muppet Treasure Island, but he was uncredited for doing so. He made friends with the other two German puppeteers that made it onto The Secret Life of Toys, Jurgen Tombers and Marcus Hubner. He should have been credited on Muppet Treasure Island, because that was perhaps the only time in which he assisted the Muppets. Outside of those two projects, Axel Rathgeber puppeteered on the German version of Spitting Image and also designed and built the puppets. I've read that he was influenced at an early stage by Sesame Street and The Muppet Show broadcasted on German TV. Axel's dream of working with Muppet performers came true on The Secret Life Toys. Rathgeber is currently living in Germany and has his own creative studio for entertainment and television companies. Seems that he is yet another puppeteer to have his own studio outside. I wonder if his studio makes puppets for entertainment and television companies. James Kroupa, Olga Felgemacher, and James Godwin's studios have made puppets so why doesn't Axel's? Axel Rathgeber, you're another lucky person to have his or her dream of working with the Muppets come true. I want you to keep working at your creative studio and maybe reveal to the world whether it makes puppets or not. You've done a great job on The Secret Life of Toys, so you should try your hand at puppetry again someday. I wish you luck Rathgeber!

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