Kevin Yamada

Kevin Yamada is an actor and puppeteer who is most well known for being one of the original hosts on the PBS Kids Sprout block (now Universal Kids). He originally hosted The Sunny Side Up Show while paired with Chica, while Forrest Harding and Brendon Gawel alternated with the puppetry. Kevin also performed Ricky, one of the puppet hosts on The Sprout Sharing Show, working with Gawel, Harding, and Kelly Vrooman. While on Sunny Side Up, Yamada interacted with characters (and performers) from Sesame Street whenever they made guest appearances. I saw in an interview that he even visited the set of Sesame Street itself one time, which must have been exciting for him. Apart from Sprout, he acted in several films and TV series over the years since 2004. Some of the films Kevin Yamada did include Old Dogs, The Winter Butterfly, How to Be Single, and Press Play, to name a few. As for television, he did Street Fighter: The Later Years, Hawaii Five-0, and guest appearances on various other shows. His latest podcast interview shows that he still remembers his career on Sprout, which is something I doubt he'll forget because he did it for a couple of years. I wonder if Kevin received puppeteer training from one of the professionals since he did puppeteer Ricky on one of the Sprout blocks. Yamada must have felt very uncomfortable keeping his arm in the air for a while. Wikipedia mistakenly credits him for performing on Caillou when he wasn't involved with the show in anyway. It goes to show that information sites are not always correct, unlike personal interviews. Kevin Yamada, you've done really well acting on all of those TV shows and films and you still are doing wonderful today. Keep on acting for TV and film and never forget being one of the original hosts of Sprout. You sure know how to perform, whether it's on camera or behind a stage holding a puppet. Excellent performance Kevin. I bid you aloha Yamada!

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