Thom Stanley

Thom Stanley is a puppeteer, puppet builder, and choreographer who served as a "Right Hand Man" for Muppets from Space, choreographing arm movements and assisting. A native of Atlanta, he trained with the Henson Company around the '90s proposed Disney merger, where he studied under Steve Whitmire and Kevin Clash. Thom also worked with Peter Linz when he did his first paid puppetry project, which was a video for the United Way. Outside of the Muppets, Stanley both built and performed puppets for many short films and pilots like Maiden to Monster, Magic the Gathering: The Musical, and Freestyle Love Supreme, to name a few. I've read that he even choreographed puppets on the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2007. He was also seen as a regular performer in the Puckin Fuppet Show, part of the National Puppet Slam Network. Thom Stanley seems to be more well known outside of the Muppets since he only assisted in one feature film. In addition to the ones mentioned above, he also worked with Rowell Gorman, Jay Tyson, Kristina Donnelly, and Lisa Sturz. Other than building and performing puppets, he works as a freelance art director and producer in the advertising and marketing industries. I only wish Thom would've done more projects featuring the Muppets since he does so well choreographing arm movements. Stanley was probably more occupied with doing freelance work to do more Muppet projects. At least he got work alongside several Muppet performers throughout the 1990s. I wonder if he still remembers helping out on Muppets from Space today since he did so well on being "Right Hand Man." Thom Stanley, you've done such a great job on that one Muppet film. You also do so well on your freelance productions. Keep up the wonderful work in the world and you'll be remembered always. You know how to be "handy" Thom. Ta-ta Stanley!