All About Muppets

Emma Weaver is a British voice actress and actress who has not performed in any Muppet or Henson project whatsoever. She is known for being the voice and animatronic operator for Bella on Tweenies, taking over the role from Sally Preisig. Technically, Emma also did puppetry since each animatronic head was operated like a puppet, in a similar style to the Creature Shop. Other shows Weaver lent her voice to have included Jelly Jamm (as Mina) and Underground Ernie (as Millie/Sweet Millie). She has also acted in one TV movie called Daisies in December as a maid. On Tweenies she worked with Bob Golding, Justin Fletcher, Colleen Daley, and Sinead Rushe. I think Emma Weaver would have been a great puppeteer for the Muppets since each character was operated like the Gorgs of Fraggle Rock, only with more complex facial expressions. She should have done Mopatop's Shop, The Hoobs, or any other Henson Company show shot where Tweenies was filmed. Maybe someday she'll try puppetry again in t...

George McGrath is an actor, puppeteer, writer, and producer who is best known for his work on Pee-Wee's Playhouse as a writer and performer of various characters. Despite not doing Muppet work, he has worked with a few puppeteers like Alison Mork, Kevin Carlson, Gregory Williams, and Wayne White, three out of four of them are Muppet performers. George mostly did acting for shows like On the Television, Tracy Takes On... (also a writer), and Loosey Goosey & Fried Chicken. McGrath did more writing than acting as seen on Later, Riders in the Sky, and Big Top Pee-Wee, to name a few. He should have done puppetry in more shows since he did a great job doing it on Pee-Wee's Playhouse for five whole seasons. If not puppetry than he should show off his writing talents to the Muppets and then he might get his chance to work with them. George McGrath has also served as producer in a few of the shows mentioned above as well as Emeril and Union Square. I've read that he even perform...

Phillip Huber is a puppeteer and puppet designer who served as an additional puppeteer in John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together. He must have been pretty excited to work alongside the Muppets and country singer-songwriter John Denver back in 1979. Phillip later gained attention for his work on Being John Malkovich, where he both designed and performed the marionettes used by John Cusack's character with Lee Armstrong. Huber is the founder and head puppeteer of The Huber Marionettes, a company that did a whole lot of projects including screen, stage, and even live concerts. Some projects by his company includes Cabaret, Suspended Animation, Road to Hollywood, and Oz, The Great and Powerful, to name a few. He seems to have a lot of experience with marionettes much like several other performers that worked with the Muppets like Olga Felgemacher, Faz Fazakas, and Michael Earl. Could assisting the Muppets give Phillip Huber the inspiration to start his own company? Or mayb...

David Forman is an actor, suit performer, and stunt man who has done numerous suit roles for Creature Shop productions, most notably as Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His other Creature Shop credits include The Bear, The Flintstones, and The Neverending Story III. David has also worked on Muppet Treasure Island as a stunt performer for the human pirates. Forman got to perform alongside other performers like Michelan Sisti, Leif Tilden, and Josh Pais as well as facial puppeteers like David Greenaway, Mak Wilson, and more. I've read on his page that he represented England on the tumbling squad of the 1980 World Games before he was taken in as an actor. He acted, sans suit, in three films Nuns on the Run, Empire State, and The Golden Compass. David Forman appears to be well known in the stunt business as seen in Spies Like Us, Son of the Pink Panther, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. In his later years, he became stunt coordinator for the new Doctor Who series and assi...

Adrian Getley is an English puppeteer and technician who has done several projects with the Creature Shop. He worked in the foam department on The English Patient, did some prop modelling for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and did make-up/design for Farscape. As performer, Adrian has done a version of Alice in Wonderland by the Creature Shop, as the March Hare and one of the puppeteers for the Gryphon. Getley has not only did make-up on Farscape, he also did the body of Namtar in 1 episode during the 1st season. He got to perform alongside other puppeteers such as Rob Tygner, David Barclay, Sue Dacre, and Victoria Willing, just to name a few. I only wish he would have a self portrait within his page on the Wiki since the picture above is of his character Namtar. Outside, Adrian Getley has done a whole load of films such as The Borrowers, 28 Days Later..., Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and many more. He seems to be a pro at doing special effects and make-up designs when it c...

Cathy McCullough is a puppeteer, puppet designer, and costumer who hasn't really worked on Sesame Street but has worked with several people that worked on Sesame Street. For TV, she worked on The Book of Pooh, Oobi, and Blue's Room, puppeteering in the former and doing crew work in the latter two. Cathy has served as one of the Puppeteers of America in 2001 for Glass Wings Puppetry playing something a little mystic. McCullough also performed in 2004 at The Jim Henson Foundation where she did a show called Orphan Train basing it off of actual orphan train riders. Glass Wings Puppetry is the company she founded, which helped supply puppet eyes and costumes for Oobi while Hairy Edge Productions designed and made the eyes for that series. If Cathy McCullough has performed with many Sesame Street performers, then why hasn't she worked on the show itself when she had the chance? She was probably more interested in performing for special puppet events then on television. Personall...

Kathy MacLellan is a Canadian puppeteer and writer who has done more than many people think she did in her life. She worked as an additional puppeteer on the Sesame Park special, Basil Hears a Noise which featured her friend Bob Stutt. Kathy has served as a writer for children shows such as Under the Umbrella Tree, Theodore Tugboat, and Mr. Dressup. MacLellan has mainly performed for Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre, a company that toured throughout North America since 1978. Her husband John Nolan (Jackson on Crazy Quilt) has also served as additional puppeteer on Basil Hears a Noise, and maybe on Under the Umbrella Tree too. Some other puppeteers she worked with include Bob Dermer, Patricia Lewis, and Karen Valleau, just to name a few. I never knew Kathy MacLellan did more than anybody ever expected and without telling anyone about it until an interview with MASC earlier this year. That would explain why there's no page about her on Wikipedia or the Muppet Wiki. She should get in tou...

Steven Ritz-Barr is a puppeteer and puppet builder who did background characters on Muppet*Vision 3D and Muppets Tonight. He got to work with Jim Henson in the former and Frank Oz as well. I have read that Steven is the president of Metropolitan Puppet Authority, a non-profit entity dedicated to the puppetry arts. For film, Ritz-Barr puppeteered in Men in Black, Batman Returns, and Team America: World Police which featured many puppeteers. He has also done filmmaking for his own puppet stuff such as Quixote, The Legend of Joan of Arc, Lorelei, and even a music video performed by They Might Be Giants. Other puppeteers he worked with include Len Levitt, Joe Selph, and Mark Bryan Wilson. It appears to me that Steven Ritz-Barr is most familiar with marionettes rather than Muppet-type puppets, at least that's what it says on IMDb. He is probably the only puppeteer to be president of a non-profit entity as well as the Metropolitan Puppet Authority being the only entity dedicated to puppe...

Jeff Sweeney is a Canadian puppeteer, writer, composer, and puppet builder who is known for working on projects by the network Treehouse TV. His credits include Treetown, 4 Square, The Bittles, and Wee 3, just to name a few. Jeff only worked with the Creature Shop on one project, Brats of the Lost Nebula along with Ian Petrella, Sue Morrison, and James Rankin. Sweeney has also worked alongside other puppeteers on those shows mentioned above; mainly Helene Beaulieu and Trish Leeper. His writing was seen on My Big Big Friend, Toopy and Binoo, and Colin and the Thumpies. It's a shame he didn't do any other Creature Shop projects or even ones by Henson. At least Jeff Sweeney got to perform with a couple Muppet performers on Brats of the Lost Nebula. According to the internet, he's still a writer today on shows such as PAW Patrol. I wonder if he ever considered doing puppetry again someday, he would have been great to work on Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock or even do scripts. I ...

Drew Allison is a puppeteer and puppet builder who served as an additional Muppet performer on The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. He also did an on-screen cameo as a snow cone vendor within that film. Other than that, Drew is the creator and owner of Grey Seal Puppets responsible for several stage and on-screen credits, like building puppets for the film The Eyes of Tammy Faye. It would appear that Allison didn't have a lot of info or even a page about himself until he got interviewed for the Under The Puppet podcast. Grey Seal Puppets not only creates puppets but also costume characters, such as sport mascots, and I've read on their website that one of their clients were the Muppets. Drew Allison should be proud to own such an amazing company. Some of his stage credits include The Nightingale, Bathtub  Pirates, and The Emperor's New Clothes, just to name a few. Not only does he have the costume/puppet making skills but he also knows how to run a company, despite that he...