Rod Coneybeare

Rod Coneybeare was a Canadian puppeteer, voice actor, and writer who was best-known for performing both Jerome the Giraffe and Rusty the Rooster on The Friendly Giant. During the long run of the show, he got to meet two puppeteers who worked on Sesame Park, Bob Stutt and Nina Keogh. In addition, Rod also created a short-lived series called The Bananas and did a radio program called The Rod and Charles Show, with Charles Winter. Besides that, Coneybeare wrote numerous original radio dramas for CBC as well as original plays and the miniseries Royal Suite. It's a shame he never puppeteered on any other productions besides The Friendly Giant, though he was probably too busy on show doing his best characters. Other than puppetry and writing, he was a voice actor for several cartoons such as X-Men: The Animated Series, Babar, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, and even Jim Henson's Dog City. But if Rod Coneybeare did work on Dog City, then there should be sources for that. At least he worked with some Henson performers during his career and performed two legendary puppet characters on an old Canadian show. Sadly, his life came to an end as he died in September 2019. Several of Rod's co-workers and friends paid tribute to him and Keogh and Stutt probably still remember him to this day. Even though Coneybeare is gone now, he will never be forgotten by those who've seen or heard his performances. Whether it was puppetry, voice acting, or writing, he knew how to put some character in and be creative and formal in his scripts. He will always be a great performer to this day, even though he's gone now. Rod Coneybeare, you were wonderful as Jerome and Rusty on The Friendly Giant and as many cartoon character voices. I hope you'll continue watching everything up from heaven. And don't you worry, nobody will ever forget you for your work whether in Canada or other parts of the world. I hope everyone still remembers you today, Rod. Rest in peace and watch from heaven Coneybeare!

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