All About Muppets

Mikey Brett is a British puppeteer and puppet builder who has performed various guests on the second season of The Furchester Hotel. He also served as an additional UK Muppet performer within Muppets Most Wanted, but he was uncredited for assisting. Mikey should have received credit for assisting since there might not be another Muppet production in the UK for a long time. I also think Brett should have assisted the Muppets when they performed live at the O2 Arena. But I guess he was too busy with other projects to do so. Mikey Brett's latest job with the Henson Company was on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, as an additional puppeteer. Outside of Sesame Workshop and Muppets, he has puppeteered in many projects such as Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Newzoids, and Strange Hill High, just to name a few. He also served as a puppet builder for Mongrels and visual effects puppeteer for Aladdin (2019). I believe that Mikey is the only puppeteer to work on something involving Pokemon. Bre...

Martin Anthony is a British puppeteer and actor who was one of the puppeteers for the Ultragorgon in the Jim Henson Hour special, Monster Maker. I don't know why he hasn't performed in other projects that featured puppets and/or creatures created by the Creature Shop. Martin first received his interest in puppetry in the West End production of Little Shop of Horrors from understudy to performer of Audrey II. Anthony is probably best at performing giant, complicated puppets. He ended up in the film version of Little Shop of Horrors for the ending. Not only did Martin Anthony got to work under the direction of Frank Oz, but he also met Brian Henson and was brought to the Creature Shop. In addition to Brian, he also worked alongside Michael Bayliss, Sue Dacre, David Greenaway, Marcus Clarke, and two more puppeteers while operating the Ultragorgon. Martin's last known puppetry work was in advertisements for Birds Eye, where he was in an incredibly heavy Dinosaur Animatronic. An...

Paul Rugg is a puppeteer, voice actor, improv performer, and writer who has performed in many works by the Henson Company. He served as a performer in Puppet Up - Uncensored since 2005 when it all started. Paul also served as a writer for Late Night Buffet with Augie and Del and appeared on camera as the captain in S.U.D.S. Rugg has even performed on No You Shut Up, Alt Reality, and created and directed a Henson web series named Sam Plenty. I think that he should go into movie making since he's great at writing, producing, and directing projects in and out of the Henson Company. Maybe someday, he will also assist on a future Muppet project. Outside of Henson, Paul Rugg has written and supplied voices for several animated projects such as Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Histeria, and Freakazoid, to name a few. He got to work alongside Michael Oosterom, Victor Yerrid, Allan Trautman, Julianne Buescher, and many more Muppet performers. In addition to puppeteers, he also worked alongs...

Len Levitt is a puppeteer, puppet/costume builder, and writer who has worked on various Muppet and Creature Shop projects. He performed a Toy Soldier on Muppet*Vision 3D and operated background characters on both Muppets Tonight and The Muppets (2011). Len also puppeteered the Brontocrane on The Flintstones, built the puppets for Brats of the Lost Nebula, and built character costumes for Sesame Street Live. Levitt should've also done Sesame Street as either a builder or performer, but he must have been happier in California than in New York where the show is taped. Outside, his film credits placed him in Batman Returns as both a builder and puppeteer, as well as an alien operator in Men in Black with James Murray, Peter Linz, Gregory Williams, and more. As for television work, he puppeteered on The Puzzle Place, Greg the Bunny, and The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin, to name a few. In addition to building and performing puppets, Len Levitt is also the creator and writer of two series e...

Kaori Takeda is a Japanese puppeteer and voice actress who was the puppeteer of Arthur and Grorie for Sesame Street Japan. She and the other puppeteers of the show were trained by Kevin Clash and Noel MacNeal. Kaori must have felt weird being under the frame while performing. Takeda should get more lessons on how to remain puppeteering for hours. Outside of Sesame Street Japan, her voice has been heard in anime shows like Chobits and End of the World, not to mention many video games. It appears that Kaori Takeda has done more voice acting work rather than puppetry. At least she got to work with other Japanese puppeteers such as Kenta Matsumoto, Hideki Tanaka, Satoshi Tsuruoka, and more. What if there was a show that combines anime with puppetry? There probably is one like that, but there could be more in development. Other than voice acting. Kaori has appeared in a Japanese infomercial for the Hollywood 48 Hour Miracle Diet and acted on a Japanese game show called Quiz! Hexagon II. Tak...

Neusa de Souza is a Brazilian puppeteer who performed Sivan (originally performed by Efrat Gonan) on the Brazilian co-production of Sesame Street, Vila Sesamo. From 2014-2016, she has done Sivan in the hosting segments of the series since it's mainly a programming block. Neusa appeared to be lucky to play an Muppet character originally from Israel. Souza got to work with two other Brazilian puppeteers while working on Vila Sesamo, Fernando Gomes and Magda Crudelli who must have been her closest friends. Outside of Vila Sesamo, she performed on Galinha ZAZA and Papagaio CACO, not to mention Cocorico with her puppeteer friends. I wonder how Neusa de Souza got selected to perform Sivan when the character moved to Brazil. The producers of Vila Sesamo must have seen her puppetry work on all of those shows. She probably wished she could have performed Sivan more when Vila Sesamo stopped production after 2016 and when the character got retired. Neusa is either puppeteering on other shows ...

Emma Cohen was a Spanish actress and filmmaker who did Caponata on Barrio Sesamo, the Spanish co-production of Sesame Street, Barrio Sesamo. Unfortunately, it was for a short time as Caponata was replaced by two new characters when the series returned in the 1980s. Emma was mainly an actress for television and feature films since the 1960's. Cohen's film work has put her in The Nights of Dracula, Bruja, mas que bruja, The Sea and the Weather, and Belle epoque, to name a few. As for her television work, she was placed in three shows called Estudio 1, El Picaro, and Delirios de amor (which she was a director). Emma Cohen was also a writer, producer, and director for Yo que se and Cuentos eroticos in which she should have also starred in. She continued to act in many Spanish films for decades until the 2000s when her film career was coming to an end. She mostly acted for films by her husband Ferman-Gomez who was way older than her. Emma's last acting credits were in the films ...

Gregory Williams is a puppeteer, puppet designer, and writer who has done a few Muppet stuff. He was a background puppeteer on The Muppet Movie, although he was uncredited. Gregory has also written two books starring the Muppets called Kermit & Cleopigtra and The Case of the Missing Hat alongside two illustrators. Williams seems to be the only Muppet puppeteer to also write two storybooks featuring them. Other than the Muppets, he has mainly worked at The Puppet Studio, a company creating puppets for many TV shows. Gregory Williams' film and television credits included Men in Black, Beakman's World, and Pee-wee's Playhouse, to name a few. Perhaps his best known work was being the author of the famous book or autobiography entitled The Story of Hollywood. He also performed with Bob Baker Marionettes across Los Angeles and at the Theater when he was only 15. Gregory is not the only one to perform with Bob Baker, another one is Adrian Rose. I've read that Williams curr...

Yves Brunier is a French puppeteer and puppet builder who a Muppet career from 1998-2007. He first played Chelli in Sacatruc, the French version of Big Bag until 2003. Yves later performed Yoyo on the French co-production of Sesame Street, 5, Rue Sesame. In November 2005, Brunier performed in the Muppet TV pilot, puppeteering characters to different voice tracks. He got to perform alongside other puppeteers such as Regis Fassier, Evelyne Scheigam, Charlie Bazire, and many more. Outside of all of those French shows, Yves Brunier is best known for the creation of an orange puppet dinosaur-creature called Casimir. Casimir was the main character of a famous French children's series named The Island of Children where he was the French children's TV icon. Yves also built various puppets for numerous projects that I don't know the names of. I wonder if Brunier ever got hot wearing the Casimir costume when performing him on The Island of Children. He was probably honored when he go...

James Rowley is a Canadian puppeteer, singer, and voice actor who was an additional puppeteer on The Muppets Wizard of Oz and the Creature Shop movie Turkey Hollow. He could have done other Muppet projects that were filmed in Canada, such as It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie or at a Just for Laughs event. James was probably more comfortable doing outside work like singing. Rowley has done various non-Henson puppetry works such as Stargate SG-1, The Santa Clause 2, and Scary Movie 3, to name a few. He got to work alongside other Canadian puppeteers such as Jeny Cassidy, Geoff Redknap, Robert Mills, and Gordon Robertson. He also has his own company called One Night Castle Projects, a theatre company designed for Japanese puppetry after studying for three years in Japan. James Rowley is also good at singing, but I wonder if he ever recorded songs for an album. He should also say on his website what animated shows he voice acted on. Personally, I think that anyone who has variou...

Hanne Dahle is a Norwegian puppeteer who is perhaps known for performing Alfa on Sesam Stasjon, the Norwegian co-production of Sesame Street. She is another person who wasn't interested in puppetry from the start until she met Mona Wiig, the experienced Norwegian puppeteer. Hanne was taught how to perform a puppet by Kermit Love when production began in 1990. Dahle has worked alongside other Norwegian puppeteers such as Geir Borresen, Asmund Huser, and Christine Stoesen. Alfa guest starred on the special Sesame Street Stays Up Late where her voice was dubbed by either Pam Arciero or Joey Mazzarino. Outside of Sesam Stasjon, Hanne Dahle performed other puppets for non-Muppet related kid shows on NRK. Shows like Huset med det rare i, Kalle og Molo, and Kometkameratene. I've read that she has also done various puppet theater shows across Norway and possibly around the world. It would appear that she's gone from puppet hater to puppet lover. I also read that Hanne has now got h...

Filipa Melo is a Portuguese puppeteer and journalist who did Tita on Rua Sesamo, the Portuguese co-production of Sesame Street. The wiki said she only did the voice of Tita while Paula Pais puppeteered her, it's something that needs proof of her work. Filipa is probably the only puppeteer so far to also be a journalist. Melo should be interviewed and questioned if she did the puppetry and voice of Tita or just the voice of the character. Her character also appeared in the Sesame Street special, Sesame Street Stays Up Late, in which her voice was dubbed by voice actress and singer Ivy Austin. Filipe Melo is probably doing journalism today in Portugal, writing down articles for the news. I hope that she will remember how much fun she working on Rua Sesamo. I still think there should be evidence of her only doing the voice of Tita on the wiki. How did the producers of the show prepare for Tita for her guest appearance in the Sesame Street New Year's Eve special? Filipa should have...

Sima Sultani is an Afghan puppeteer who performs or voices Zari in Persian language on the Afghan co-production of Sesame Street, Baghch-e-Simsim. She also performs her brother Zeerak which I'm not sure on how they interact as both are performed by the same puppeteer. Sima appears to be talented at doing siblings on a Sesame Street international project. Sultani should have puppeteered other Baghch-e-Simsim characters, but there was no material. Her characters were dubbed in the English version by Haley Jenkins and Frankie Cordero when making appearances in the US. I hope she is still performing the two siblings in Afghan since their isn't a lot of new material on Baghch-e-Simsim. I hope that in the future, there will be more Afghan Muppets so Sima Sultani will have more people to work with. Also  Sangya Ojha would perform her character in India while Mansoora Shirzad did the Pashto language. I believe that there are other international Sesame Street characters that have differ...

Adam Kronenberg is an Australian puppeteer who has performed on three Henson Company projects; Bambaloo (as Fidget), Five Minutes More, and Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. Since he performed a character on a Henson Company show, that would technically make him a Muppet performer. Adam should have his own page on the Muppet Wiki so people will know all about him and what other stuff he does. Kronenberg should have also assisted the Muppets in for The Jim Henson Retrospectacle Live since it took place in New Zealand. Outside of the Henson Company, he has performed on various other projects such as Raggs, Feral TV, Pipsqueaks, and The Wolverine, to name a few. He did it all, from kid shows to adult films, both as a puppeteer. Adam Kronenberg got to perform with many puppeteers like David Collins, Emma de Vries, Rosalyn Oades, and more. I hope he is still puppeteering today because one of the projects mentioned earlier his latest project and probably his only film so far. He also did so go...

Vincent Ortola is a Spanish puppeteer who mainly played Gaspar within the Spanish co-production of Sesame Street, Barrio Sesamo from 1996-2000. I don't know why his character didn't receive popularity like all of the other past characters. Vincent could have done other Spanish Muppets on Barrio Sesamo, but he was probably happier performing one character for 4 years. Ortola has also puppeteered on many other Spanish television series such as Pol & Cia and Los Lunnis, and that's only two. He also worked with Black Theater of Prague and with Chinese and Turkish shadows. He seems to be another puppeteer to work with shadows for theater. Vincent Ortola isn't the only one, others have included Jon Ludwig, Sue Dacre, Matthew Brooks, and Melissa Creighton. It's a shame that Barrio Sesamo didn't find Gaspar very popular along with the other characters he interacted with. He seemed to be the only known man to perform a character. Other than Vincent, most of the chara...

Thomas Holesgrove is an Australian actor and suit performer who performed on Farscape as various aliens. Nearly a dozen characters were played by him between the second and third seasons. Thomas was mainly under prosthetics or Creature Shop suits while his dialogue was dubbed. Holesgrove must have felt a little weird performing many aliens. He must have worked opposite of puppeteers such as John Eccleston, Mat McCoy, and Graeme Haddon, and that's only a few. Outside of Farscape, he not only performed as a classical stage actor, but also as a trained bulresque clown and with the Flying Fruit Flu Circus. It would appear that Thomas Holesgrove is another Creature Shop performer to work as a clown. Others include Genevieve Flati, Sue Morrison, Ian Thom, and many more. His other TV credits include Water Rats and All Saints and Breakers in which he guest starred. As for Thomas' stage credits, they were mainly Shakespeare portrayals as seen in MacBeth, Richard II, and A Midsummer Nigh...

Catherine van Woerden is a Dutch puppeteer who is best known for performing Ieniemienie within the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street, Sesamstraat. She has performed the mouse since the character's debut in 1980. Catherine must be so proud to be the main performer of one of the characters. Woerden does the head of Ieniemienie while Marike Koek or Lindai Boogerman did the arms. She also got to perform alongside other Dutch puppeteers such as Bert Plagman, Daphne Zandberg, and Erik J. Meijer (to name a few). She has also puppeteered on various shows outside of Sesamstraat such as Bereboot, Koekeloere, and WaWa which must have featured some of her friends. I wonder why Catherine van Woerden didn't operate both the head and arms of Ieniemienie. Hand-rod puppets are mostly operated with the puppeteer doing the head and both arm rods. She probably wanted her character to have freer movement. Catherine should receive awards from her performance of Ieniemienie because she's done ...

Parvin Paru is a Bangladeshi puppeteer who performs additional characters (such as AMs, sheep and chickens) on the Bangladeshi co-production of Sesame Street, Sisimpur. I don't know why she hasn't done a main character while working on the series. Parvin probably didn't feel ready to be one of the main performers then. In 2014, Paru began performing Raya when she appeared in Bangladesh. Raya appears to have three different puppeteers for different regions. The other two being Jennifer Barnhart and Sangya Ojha. Parvin Paru was probably much more comfortable performing a character that was created by Sesame Workshop for health related things. Outside of Sisimpur, she acted on-screen in a Bangladeshi film called Made In Bangladesh. She was probably participating in a film that relates to problems in Bangladesh. Parvin got to perform alongside other Bangladeshi puppeteers such as Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed, and others yet to be written about. If Paru is still working on Sisimpur, she...

Uta Delbridge is a German puppeteer, actress, and writer who performed Finchen on Sesamstrasse, the German co-production of Sesame Street from 1992-1999. She also played her for an uncredited guest appearance on the New Years Eve special, Sesame Street Stays Up Late. Uta along with a couple other international Sesame Street performers should have received credit for that one special. Delbridge could have also performed other characters on Sesamstrasse during her time there. Outside, she has appeared on many German series such as Inga Lindsrom, Here Comes Kalle (which she also a writer), and three Katie Fforde romance TV movies, and that's only a couple. She could have also wrote on Sesamstrasse in addition to being Finchen. I don't know why Uta Delbridge left the series after 1999. She must have been more interested in acting on film and television rather than puppetry. I've read that she also teaches yoga, like Star Townshend of Dinosaurs. I wonder if Uta ever travelled in...

Erik J. Meijer is a Dutch puppeteer who performed Pino on the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street, Sesamstraat from 1980-1984. His most famous line of Pino was "Huuuuh?!" which was used on most of his record albums. Erik has also appeared in several Dutch films like Because of the Cats and The Fourth Man while television landed him in The Machinist and Medical Center West. Meijer could have operated other characters during his time on Sesamstraat. His performance on the series ended in 1984 after arguments with the director. I've read that he took the Pino puppet with him and used it without permission for opening malls. I believe that would be considered copyright infringement since Erik J. Meijer does Pino for other uses without asking. Luckily the real Pino was taken over by two additional Dutch puppeteers. He got to work alongside others like Catherine van Woerden and Bert Plagman, to name a few. Erik is now running his own film production studio alongside his wife, ...