![]() The Cast | The Filmmakers | The Puppeteers | About The Production | Credits
THE PUPPETEERS
Dave Goelz - (Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf,
Zoot, Calico Jack)
DAVE GOELZ - (Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf,
Zoot, Calico Jack)
STEVE WHITMIRE - (Kermit, Rizzo, Beaker, Bean Bunny) Sixteen years ago at the age of 19, Steve Whitmire finished his first session of THE MUPPET SHOW. Then he headed to Hollywood for THE MUPPET MOVIE, the culmination of a passion for the Muppets which started with his earliest memories of SESAME STREET. His enthusiasm for the Muppets was so strong that he had, already forgone college in favor of performing puppets in an Atlanta Theme Park. His break with Jim Henson Productions eventually came on his meeting SESAME STREET regular Carol Spinney (Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch) at an Atlanta puppetry festival. An introduction to Jim Henson followed. After THE MUPPET MOVIE, Whitmire returned to the United Kingdom for seasons four and five of THE MUPPET SHOW and to perform in the feature films, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER and DARK CRYSTAL. New York and THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN followed, then Canada to perform the characters Wembley Fraggle and Sprocket the Dog for Jim Henson's award-winning series, FRAGGLE ROCK. Whitmire's other major film credits include DREAMCHILD, LABYRINTH and THE WITCHES. Whitmire's first MUPPET SHOW character was Miss Piggy's poodle, Foo-Foo, while he also performs the teenage son, Robbie, and the menacing B.P. Richfield on ABC's hit show, DINOSAURS. On THE JIM HENSON HOUR, Whitmire performed Bean Bunny, Flash and Waldo C. Graphic, the first computer generated character on network television. His most famous associates are Kermit the Frog, whom he took over on the death of Jim Henson, and Rizzo the Rat, first introduced by Whitmire on THE MUPPET SHOW.
FRANK OZ - (Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Animal) Oz is Vice President of Henson Associates and has been involved with Jim Henson Productions for over thirty years. He first met Jim Henson in l963 while a 17-year-old freshman at Oakland City College. At 19, Oz gave up his ambition to be a journalist to join Jim Henson in New York, where he went on to create some of the Muppets' most memorable characters including Cookie Monster, Grover, Bert, Animal, Fozzie Bear, and last but not least, the inimitable Miss Piggy. He serves as Executive Producer on this, his fifth feature film involvement under the Henson banner since co-directing and performing in THE DARK CRYSTAL, co-producing and starring in THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, starring in "The Muppet Movie" and writing, directing and performing in THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN. Oz was also a creative force and star performer in THE MUPPET SHOW and SESAME STREET. Outside the Muppets, Oz performed Yoda in both George Lucas' THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and THE RETURN OF THE JEDI. As an actor he has appeared in John Landis' THE BLUES BROTHERS, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, TRADING PLACES, and SPIES LIKE US. As a director, Oz's credits are LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, WHAT ABOUT BOB?, HOUSESITTER (starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn), and AN INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD.
JERRY NELSON - (Statler, Floyd, Robin, Blind Pew, Mad Monty) From the nasal twang of Jack Benny on the radio to the moos and oinks of animals on a farm, sounds have always fascinated Oklahoma-born Muppet performer Jerry Nelson. They eventually led him to a career built on his own voice box, which has produced such creations as Floyd Pepper, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Herry Monster, Count von Count, Robin the Frog, Lew Zealand, Gobo Fraggle, Beard and other characters on SESAME STREET, THE MUPPET SHOW, FRAGGLE ROCK, and THE JIM HENSON HOUR. He first performed in a kiddie review on a local radio station in Washington D.C. at the age of nine. From there he started his collection of voices, many inspired by the serials and comedy shows of radio heyday, until at the age of 14, he made his first disc, of farmyard animal noises on a neighbor's oldtime recording machine. Originally trained as an actor, Nelson began his stage career with the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. then at the Gateway Theatre on Long Island and in numerous films. He also performed on records and TV commercials. He learned about puppets working for Bill and Cora Baird and in l970, began his permanent association with the Muppets. When his Muppet chores permit, Nelson can be found recording songs he has written in his other capacity as a country music performer in a friend's band, and musical plays for radio, the medium which helped nurture his famous characters. He had a cameo part in MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND when he played the very English Butler for the house of Squire Trelawney.
KEVIN CLASH - (Polly, Spa'am, Black Dog, Real Old Tom) Kevin Clash began building puppets when he was 10 years old. It was not until much later in his career, when he was 12, that he began performing. Kevin did puppet shows in his neigborhood and eventually worked his way up to shows at Baltimore's Harbor Front. His first work in television was for Baltimore's CBS affiliate, Channel 2, where he performed puppets for two children's television shows. One of the shows was screened at a children's television convention in New York and caught the attention of Muppet designer, Kermit Love. It was Kermit Love who introduced Kevin to the Muppets and Kevin soon began performing on SESAME STREET. Kevin has also performed and designed puppets for CBS' CAPTAIN KANGAROO and he worked as Associate Producer of Puppeteers as well as puppeteer for the long-running syndicated children's show, THE GREAT SPACE COASTER. In l986, Kevin travelled to England to perform several characters and serve as Assistant Puppeteer Coordinator for Jim Henson's fantasy film, LABYRINTH. He won an Emmy, recently, for his work on SESAME STREET as Elmo, Hoots and Natasha. He performed Leon and Clifford on THE JIM HENSON HOUR, a prime-time series on NBC and played Splinter in both the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 1 and 2 feature films. Currently, Kevin serves as the Muppet Captain on SESAME STREET. In addition he performs canine animator Eliot Shag on JIM HENSON'S DOG CITY airing on the Fox Children's Network as well as the character of Baby Sinclair on ABC's hit show, DINOSAURS. He also acted as Muppet coordinator on MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND. The Cast | The Filmmakers | The Puppeteers | About The Production | Credits
(c) Disney. All rights reserved. Muppet characters (c) Jim
Henson Productions, Inc.
Jim Henson, the Jim Henson signature logo, MUPPETS, |
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Aladdin and the King of Thieves
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