Peter Linz

Peter Linz (born June 28, 1967) is an American puppeteer.[1] His most prominent role is being the performer for the character Walter who was introduced in the 2011 feature film The Muppets.[2][3] Since 1991, Linz has performed on Sesame Street, where he later took on the roles of Herry Monster and Ernie on Sesame Street in 2017.[4] Linz recounts receiving the role of Walter as his favorite; "Apart from my wedding day and birth of my children, being cast as Walter was one of the greatest moments of my life. I was beyond happiness."[5]

Peter Linz
Linz at the 2011 Dragon Con
Born	(1967-06-28) June 28, 1967 Decatur, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation	Puppeteer
Years active	1989—present
Spouse(s)	Marlene E. Rudy ​ ( m. 1993; died 2016)

He has performed many characters on children's television shows: perhaps some of his best known performing roles are Snook in It's a Big Big World, Tutter and Pip in Bear in the Big Blue House, Pooh in The Book of Pooh, Tizzy on Squeak! (season 1), and Theo Lion in Between the Lions, though he has also performed in Blue's Room, Sesame Street,[3] and The Puzzle Place. Following the departure of Steve Whitmire, he took over the roles of Statler, Link Hogthrob and Lips.

Linz also performed in the Broadway musical Avenue Q,[6] and he also did the voice of Moz in the English dub of Sheep and Wolves.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1991–present	Sesame Street	Alistair Cookie (assistant) Honkers Osvaldo, el Gruñón (1990s) Yo-Yo (puppetry only) Additional Muppets Bif Herry Monster (2015–present) Ernie (2017–present)
1993	Sesame Street Stays Up Late!	Additional Muppets
1994	Muppet Sing-Alongs: It's Not Easy Being Green	Goldfish
1994	Sesame Street: A New Baby in My House	Princess Azalea
1994–1998	The Puzzle Place	Skye Nuzzle
1996	Aliens in the Family	Varch Elder the Nertron Galactic Federation Yukkles Others
1997–2006	Bear in the Big Blue House	Tutter Pip Jacques the Beaver Luna (puppetry only) Shadow (puppetry only) Ray the Sun (puppetry only) Big Old Bullfrog
1997	Sesame Street: Kids' Guide to Life: Telling the Truth	Additional Puppeteer
1998	Elmopalooza	Additional Puppeteer
1998	Sesame Street: Grover's Travels	A Twiddlebug Girl
1999	Muppets From Space	Miss Piggy (puppetry only) Shakes Beach Hippie (on-screen cameo) Additional Muppets
2000–2010	Between the Lions	Theo Lion Heath the Thesaurus (2001–2002) Announcer Bunny Gawain
2001–2004	The Book of Pooh	Winnie the Pooh (puppetry only)
2003–present	Avenue Q	Additional Puppeteer
2004–2007	Blue's Room	Polka Dots Doodle Board
2007–2011	WordWorld	Bug Pig Monkey
2006–2010	It's a Big Big World	Snook Oko
2008	Sesame Street: Count on Sports	Additional Muppets
2008	Abby in Wonderland	Additional Muppets
2008	A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa	Additional Muppets
2008	Lomax, the Hound of Music	Lomax Various humans
2011	30 Rock	Additional Muppet Puppeteer
2011	The Muppets	Walter Droop (behind-the-scenes) Singing Food in "Me Party" number Mutation Hippie (voice) Human Walter (voice) Nigel Snowth
2013	Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map	Phantom Parrot (puppetry only) Gnarlybeard (puppetry only) Stu Stukowski (puppetry only) Lighthouse Lou (puppetry only)
2013	Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase	Elmo (voice only, grand opening ceremony)
2014	Muppets Most Wanted	Walter Manolo Flamingo Finger-snapping prisoner in "The Big House" number Baby
2015–2016	The Muppets	Walter (presentation pilot) Angel Marie (presentation pilot) Happy Yellow Creature (presentation pilot) Gloria Estefan Droop Snowth
2016	Sheep and Wolves	Moz[7]
2017	The Muppets Take the Bowl	Walter Robin the Frog Statler Link Hogthrob Lips Snowth	Live show at the Hollywood Bowl, Sept. 8–10
2018	The Muppets Take the O2	Walter Robin the Frog Statler Link Hogthrob Lips Snowth	Live show at the O2, July 13–14
2020	Muppets Now	Joe the Legal Weasel Walter Link Hogthrob Statler

References

1. Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (2009-07-05). Kermit culture: critical perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets. McFarland. pp. 187–. ISBN 9780786442591. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
2. Barnes, Henry. The Muppets - review", The Guardian, 26 January 2012.
3. Sam. Blu-ray, DVD Release: The Muppets, DiscDish.com, 19 January 2012.
4. Ryzik, Melena (April 13, 2020). "How to Get to 'Sesame Street'? These Days, It's by Video Conference". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
5. Hiskey, Michele. "Atlanta Muppeteer Peter Linz fulfills quest for identity with Walter's fame". Saporta Report. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
6. King, Randall. "Muppet man: Jason Segel livin' large starring with fuzzy legends in film he wrote". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
7. "About Movie". sheepandwolvesmovie.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

External links

• Peter Linz on IMDb

Preceded by None	Walter (Muppet) 2011 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Tyler Bunch	Performer of Herry Monster 2015 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Steve Whitmire	Performer of Statler 2017 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Matt Vogel	Performer of Robin the Frog 2017 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Steve Whitmire	Performer of Link Hogthrob 2017 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Steve Whitmire	Performer of Lips 2017 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Billy Barkhurst	Performer of Ernie 2017 – present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Richard Hunt	Performer of Captain Vegetable 2019 - present	Succeeded by None
Preceded by Joey Mazzarino	Performer of Horatio the Elephant 2019 - present	Succeeded by None