Puppeteer

A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or her own hands placed inside the puppet or holding it externally or any other part of the body- such as the legs. Some puppet styles require two or more puppeteers to work together to create a single puppet character.

This article is about the person who controls a puppet. For puppet master, see Puppet Master. For other uses, see Puppeteer (disambiguation).

Puppeteer with hand puppets.

The puppeteer's role is to manipulate the physical object in such a manner that the audience believes the object is imbued with life. In some instances, the persona of the puppeteer is also an important feature, as with ventriloquist's dummy performers, in which the puppeteer and the human figure-styled puppet appear onstage together, and in theatre shows like Avenue Q.

The puppeteer might speak in the role of the puppet's character, synchronising the movements of the puppet's mouth. However, there is much puppetry which does not use the moving mouth (which is a lip-sync innovation created originally for television where close-ups are popular). Often, in theatre, a moveable mouth is used only for gestural expression, or speech might be produced by a non-moving mouth. In traditional glove puppetry often one puppeteer will operate two puppets at a time out of a cast of several. Much work is produced without any speech at all with all the emphasis on movement.

The relationship between the puppeteer and the puppet-maker is similar to that between an actor and a playwright, in cases where a puppet-maker designs a puppet for a puppeteer. Very often, though, the puppeteer assumes the joint roles of puppet-maker, director, designer, writer and performer. In this case a puppeteer is a more complete theatre practitioner than is the case with other theatre forms, in which one person writes a play, another person directs it, and then actors perform the lines and gestures.

Puppetry is a complex medium sometimes consisting of live performance, sometimes contributing to stop frame puppet animation, and film where performances might be technically processed as motion capture, CGI or as virtual puppetry.

List of individuals

A puppeteer in old town Jakarta

• Anton Aicher - founder of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre[1]
• Gretl Aicher - artistic director of the Salzburg Marionette Theatre[2]
• Cosmo Allegretti - Captain Kangaroo's Mr. Moose and Mr. Bunny Rabbit[3]
• Cary Antebi - Sherlock the Squirrel in The Magic Garden[4]
• Pam Arciero - Grundgetta from Sesame Street (1984–present).
• Audrey Atterbury - puppeteer on Andy Pandy, the Flower Pot Men and The Woodentops, among others[5]
• Don Austen - English puppeteer who worked on Labyrinth and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace[6]
• Bil Baird - American puppeteer of the mid- and late 20th century.[7]
• Bob Baker - 400 movies, first puppeteer on TV – Los Angeles KHJ in 1939.[8]
• Greg Ballora - Emmett from The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth, Baloney from The Mr. Potato Head Show.
• Billy Barkhurst - Sesame Street puppeteer who took over the role of Ernie
• Jennifer Barnhart - Cleo Lion from Between the Lions, Mama Bear from Sesame Street, Bad Idea Bear from Avenue Q, replaced Fran Brill as Zoe beginning in 2015.
• Phil Baron - puppeteer best known for being the voice of Teddy Ruxpin
• Bill Barretta - Pepe the King Prawn, Bobo the Bear, and Johnny Fiama from Muppets Tonight. Rowlf the Dog, The Swedish Chef (since 1996), Dr. Teeth (since 2005), and Phil Phillips.
• Marjorie Batchelder McPharlin (1903-1997) - American puppeteer and authority on the puppet theater.
• Trace Beaulieu - Mystery Science Theater 3000's Crow T. Robot
• Marek Bečka - founder of Buchty a Loutky ("Cakes and Puppets") and lecturer in puppetry, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
• Edgar Bergen (1903-1978) - Best known as a ventriloquist and for the character Charlie McCarthy
• Pady Blackwood - marionettist and lead puppeteer for It's Howdy Doody Time. Founder of Pinocchio's Marionette Theater in Orlando, Florida
• Cheryl Blaylock - Mona Monster from Sesame Street, Eureeka from Eureeka's Castle, Bubbles Gum from The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth
• Camille Bonora - Muppet performer and voiceover actress
• Richard Bradshaw OAM - one time director of the Marionette Theatre of Australia, and master shadow puppeteer
• Brigitte Brideau - performer of Wimzie from Wimzie's House.
• Fran Brill - Zoe, Prairie Dawn, Little Bird, Roxie Marie from Sesame Street.
• The Chiodo Brothers - Stephen Chiodo, Edward Chiodo, and Charles Chiodo have used their company Chiodo Bros. Productions Inc. to create puppets for specific films which they also performed in. They are also known for performing the puppet for Dr. Colosso from The Thundermans.
• Forman Brown (1901–1996) - puppeteer and gay novelist. He was a member of the Yale Puppeteers and the driving force behind Turnabout Theatre.
• Warrick Brownlow-Pike - Dodge T. Dog, Oucho T. Cactus, Gonger from Sesame Street
• Lisa Buckley - Ms. Fluffé from Dog City. She built Noodle McNoodle from Noodle and Doodle.
• Simon Buckley - British TV and film puppeteer[9]
• Julianne Buescher - Potato Bug from The Mr. Potato Head Show.
• Sarah Burgess - Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz in The Furchester Hotel
• Ronnie Burkett - Canadian puppeteer, creator of Street of Blood, Tinka's New Dress, Happy (Memory Dress Trilogy), Provenance, 10 Days on Earth, among others)
• Tyler Bunch - longtime puppeteer for PBS and The Jim Henson Company.
• Lou Bunin - 20th-century puppeteer, artist, and pioneer of stop-motion animation
• Kevin Carlson - Mr. Potato Head from The Mr. Potato Head Show and Warehouse Mouse from Imagination Movers. Carlson helped Dina Fraboni and James Murray to create The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth where he performed the title character.
• Leslie Carrara-Rudolph - Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street.
• Dave Chapman - Dougie Colon from That Puppet Game Show, Otis the Aardvark, Scratch from Nuzzle and Scratch.
• Kevin Clash - Elmo from Sesame Street, Clifford from The Jim Henson Hour and Muppets Tonight, Baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs
• Frankie Cordero - "Rudy" from Sesame Street, replaced Steve Whitmire as Wembley Fraggle in 2020
• Lola Cueto - María Dolores Velázquez Rivas, better known as "Lola" Cueto (1897 – 1978) Mexican painter, printmaker, puppet designer and puppeteer.
• Mireya Cueto - (born 1922) Mexican puppeteer, writer and dramaturg. Cofounder of the national marionette museum Museo Nacional de Títeres (MUNATI)
• Paul Currie - street performer, comedian, and puppeteer for Jim Henson's Pajanimals
• Yoni Chen - (1953-1995) Israeli actor, dubber and original performer of Batz the Turtle from Parpar Nechmad.
• Stephanie D'Abruzzo - Curly Bear from Sesame Street, Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut from Avenue Q, replaced Fran Brill as Prairie Dawn beginning in 2015
• Dorien Davies - frequent puppeteer for The Jim Henson Company
• Ryan Dillon - replaced Kevin Clash as Elmo beginning in 2013
• Alice Dinnean - writer and puppeteer for The Jim Henson Company and Sesame Street
• Barnaby Dixon - puppeteer and comedian who performs on YouTube
• Ronnie Le Drew - British TV and Film Puppeteer[10]
• Jeff Dunham - Peanut, Walter, Melvin the Superhero Guy, Jose Jalapeño on a Stick, Bubba J, Sweet Daddy Dee, Achmed the Dead Terrorist
• Tommy Duren - Washington DC puppeteer
• Michael Earl - Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street (1978-1980)
• John Eccleston - lead puppeteer on Farscape, Yves St. La Roache from Jim Henson's Animal Show
• Terry Fator (born 1965) - American ventriloquist, impressionist, comedian, and singer
• Wayland Flowers - Madame
• Dina Fraboni - helped Kevin Carlson and James Murray create The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth where she performed Ms. Sweetie.
• Paul Fusco - creator of ALF
• Christine Glanville - One of Gerry Anderson's lead puppet operators
• Dave Goelz - Gonzo the Great, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Beauregard, Waldorf (since 1992) from The Muppet Show. Boober Fraggle and Uncle Travelling Matt from Fraggle Rock.[11]
• Louise Gold - Fughetta Faffner from The Ghost of Faffner Hall, Bunnie Bear and Rhonda Rat from Jim Henson's Animal Show, Annie Sue from The Muppet Show.
• David Greenaway - England-based puppeteer for Jim Henson's Creature Shop
• Alex U. Griffin - American puppeteer and cinematographer. Curator of the Handmade Puppet Dreams film series.
• Sue Hastings (1884–1977) - American Puppeteer and puppet creator
• Andy Heath - British puppeteer known for his work on the BBC
• Brian Henson - The Storyteller's Dog from The Storyteller, Sal Minella from Muppets Tonight. He is the son of Jim and Jane Henson and the brother of John Henson, Lisa Henson, Cheryl Henson, and Heather Henson.
• Heather Henson - youngest daughter of Jim Henson and Jane Henson. Owner of IBEX Puppetry and Handmade Puppet Dreams.[12]
• Jane Henson (1934 – 2013) - was the wife (later widow) of Jim Henson where she helped out in some of his early projects.
• Jim Henson (1936 – 1990) - Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Link Hogthrob, Waldorf, The Swedish Chef, and several others from The Muppets. Ernie, Guy Smiley, and several others from Sesame Street. Convincing John and Cantus the Minstrel from Fraggle Rock. Jim Henson is one of the best known of modern recent puppeteers who with his associates Jerry Juhl and Frank Oz developed The Muppets for television. Jim Henson's work has entertained children for decades on television series such as Sesame Street and the adult oriented The Muppet Show.
• John Henson (1965 – 2014) - was trained by Richard Hunt to perform Sweetums. He is the son of Jim and Jane Henson and the brother of Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, Cheryl Henson, and Heather Henson.
• Rachel Herrick - puppeteer and YouTube personality known as Adorkable Rachel. She is a frequent puppeteer for "Swazzle" stage shows and reviews Muppet films on her YouTube channel.[13]
• Phillip Huber - puppeteer on Being John Malkovich
• Richard Hunt (1951 – 1992) - performed Scooter, Janice, Beaker, Sweetums, Statler, and several others from The Muppets. Also performed Placido Flamingo, Gladys the Cow, Sully, Don Music, Forgetful Jones, the Two-Headed Monster, and several others from Sesame Street, as well as Junior Gorg and others from Fraggle Rock.
• Max Jacob - founder of the Hohnsteiner Kasper Theatre in Germany in the 1920s.
• Eric Jacobson - Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam the Eagle, from The Muppets, replacing Frank Oz beginning in 2001. Also replaced Oz in the roles of Sesame Street's Bert and Grover beginning in 1998 (However, Oz still occasionally returns to Sesame Street to perform these characters (and Cookie Monster) for fun). The understudy for Oscar the Grouch since 2015 and full-time since Caroll Spinney's retirement in 2018.
• Patrick Johnson and brother Sean Johnson own the puppet company "Swazzle" and partook in Puppet Up! and other projects of The Jim Henson Company.
• Helen Haiman Joseph (1888 – 1978) - known as the "grandmother of American puppetry", master of marionette puppets and author of several books on puppetry.[14]
• Jerry Juhl (1938 – 2005) - worked as a puppeteer during the early parts of Jim Henson's career with his Muppets. Jerry later became a writer for The Muppet Show.
• Alex Kahn - giant puppet creator for New York's Village Halloween Parade
• John Kennedy - Occasionally performed Dr. Teeth of The Muppets from 1991 to 2003. Also briefly performed the Muppet Animal from 2002-2003, and Floyd from 2005-2006. Performed Kermit the Frog for most of the Disney Cruise Lines' Muppets Ahoy!, in the absence of Steve Whitmire.
• Donna Kimball - replaced Kathryn Mullen as Mokey Fraggle beginning in 2016; frequent puppeteer for The Jim Henson Company
• William Kincaid and Doug Kincaid - creators of TV's "DB. Doorbell", "Grouchie Gator", and other "Kincaid Karacter" Puppets
• Mary Robinette Kowal - award-winning American author, puppeteer and cast member of Writing Excuses podcast. Worked on children's program LazyTown for two seasons.
• Rollie Krewson - helped to build some of the Muppets for The Muppet Show and other Muppet-based projects. Rollie has also occasionally performed some minor Muppet characters in some of Jim Henson's projects.
• Sid and Marty Krofft - worked separately (Sid touring with Ringling Brothers Circus and Judy Garland, while Marty used Sid's older puppets to earn money) before forming a partnership in the late 1950s. They created such series as H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, Lidsville, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters to name a few.
• Caroline Astell-Burt - Started as Yorkshire's Punch and Judy Lady, has become known for her work in the art of Puppetry in Education and Therapy. She and Ronnie Le Drew started the first professional training for puppeteers in 1987 which became the London School of Puppetry.
• James Kroupa - Nicky Napoleon from Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters, Batly from Eureeka's Castle
• Erik Kuska - animator, writer, and puppeteer. Has worked on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and The Pee-wee Herman Stage Show: The Return.[15]
• Roberto La Morticella and John Connell - made giant street theater puppets during the Summer of Love.
• Tim Lagasse - Crash from Crash & Bernstein
• Scott Land - the lead puppeteer in Team America: World Police, The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
• Bruce Lanoil - notable works include The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
• Ronnie Le Drew - stage and television puppeteer from Canada
• Ralph Lee - theatrical event creator, often utilizing giant puppets and masks.
• Trish Leeper - puppeteer and puppet builder. Known for Fraggle Rock
• Libby Letlow - theatrical puppetry teacher and coach/performer for DOMA Theatre Company's Avenue Q show.[16] Puppeteered in Big Little Lies.
• Shari Lewis - Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy, Wing Ding, and others.[17]
• Peter Linz - Theo Lion from Between the Lions, Tutter from Bear in the Big Blue House, Ernie and Herry Monster from Sesame Street (both since 2017), Robin the Frog, Walter, Link Hogthrob, Statler, and Lips from The Muppets (all except Walter since 2017)
• Kermit Love (1916 – 2008) - American puppeteer, costume designer, and actor noted for work with The Muppets.
• Amy Luckenbach - American who lived in Italy, founding member of Burattini A Spasso, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are
• Darci Lynne - American ventriloquist and singer.
• Rick Lyon - created the puppets for the Tony-award-winning musical Avenue Q and starred in the original Broadway cast as Trekkie Monster and Nicky.
• Noel MacNeal - Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House.
• Jim Martin - Gary Gnu and M.T. Promises from The Great Space Coaster.
• Drew Massey - Men in Black and Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Joey Mazzarino - Murray Monster, Colambo, and Papa Bear from Sesame Street.
• Mat McCoy - Farscape
• Paul McGinnis - worked on Sesame Street and The Muppets
• Paul McPharlin - Detroit puppeteer and innovate theatre puppet maker Paul McPharlin Collection at the Detroit Institute of Art[18]
• Randal J. Metz - puppet theater director at Children's Fairyland's Open Storybook Puppet Theater in Oakland, California and owner of The Puppet Company in California.
• Dan Milano - Greg the Bunny
• Rob Mills - puppeteer on such shows as Fraggle Rock and The Big Comfy Couch, the title character on Ruffus the Dog
• Basil Milovsoroff - in 1983, he received the President's Award of the Puppeteers of America.
• Alison Mork - Chairry, Magic Screen, Chicky Baby and Chandelier from Pee-wee's Playhouse.
• Sue Morrison - performed Mrs. Robin, Didi the Woodpecker, Katrina the Whale, Rosie the Skunk, and others on The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon.
• Brian Muehl - performed various characters on Sesame Street throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including Barkley (1978-1984), Brushman Bill, Clementine (1979-1984), Telly Monster (1979-1984), Elmo (1979-1984), Dr. Nobel Price (1979-1984), and Grundgetta (1980-1984).
• Kathryn Mullen - Mokey Fraggle from Fraggle Rock.
• Kevin Murphy - Mystery Science Theater 3000's Tom Servo.
• James Murray - helped Kevin Carlson and Dina Fraboni to create The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth where he performed the Cavity Goon. James Murray has also performed Canny, Dr. Fruitcake, Johnny Rotten Apple, and Mr. Giblets from The Mr. Potato Head Show.
• Russell Nauman - actor and puppeteer for Panic! at the Disco and Jane Henson's Nativity Story.
• Jerry Nelson (1934 – 2012) - Dr. Julius Strangepork, Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Camilla the Chicken, Robin the Frog, Thog, and Uncle Deadly from The Muppets. Count von Count, Herry Monster, and Biff from Sesame Street. Gobo Fraggle, Pa Gorg, and Marjory the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock.
• Sergey Obraztsov - (1901–1992) - He was frequently cited as the father of artistic puppetry, was highly skilled in finger puppeteering, but also extended the range of the form by exposing the manipulation techniques involved.
• Carmen Osbahr - Rosita from Sesame Street.
• Kids on the Block - Educational Puppet Troupe, Sindy DeBenedictis, London Ontario
• Frank Oz - Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Animal, Sam the Eagle, and many other Muppet characters until his retirement in 2002. Performed Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster, Lefty the Salesman, and Harvey Kneeslapper from Sesame Street until his retirement in 1998 to work on his film directing. However, Oz still occasionally returns to Sesame Street to perform his characters for fun. Performed Yoda of Star Wars. Frank Oz helped Jim Henson develop the Muppets. Jim Henson and Frank Oz also frequently worked in film, including directing and puppeteer work in the 1982 film The Dark Crystal and the 1986 film Labyrinth. Frank Oz is also well known to have directed movies such as the musical Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob?, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Indian in the Cupboard.
• Eren Ozker - performed Janice, Hilda, Wanda, and others during the first season of The Muppet Show.
• Ramdas Padhye - a ventriloquist, puppeteer and puppet-maker from India. His ventriloquist dummy Ardhavatrao, and Bunny (the rabbit that starred in the commercial Lijjat Papad) are well known on the sub-continent. His son Satyajit Padhye is also a Ventriloquist and Puppeteer who is carrying this art of Puppetry to future generations.
• Pantopuck - was the first puppeteer on television. He is the author of "The Magic Tower and other Plays" and "Modern Puppetry."
• Bob Payne - Mirinda Craver in the Mirinda commercials. Bob Payne was also the one who built some puppets for The Muppet Show and built the original Telly Monster puppet for Sesame Street (where Bob Payne was also the first performer of Telly Monster).
• Frank Paris - creator of Howdy Doody, puppets modeled after Carmen Miranda and Sonja Henie. "Stars On Strings".[19] NY Times Obituary.[20]
• Faizan Peerzada - Pakistani artist, puppeteer, theater director.
• Nigel Plaskitt - Moosey Mouse from Mopatop's Shop.
• Count Franz Pocci - founding director of the Munich Marionette Theatre, shadow puppeteer and writer of countless puppet plays
• Karen Prell - Red Fraggle from Fraggle Rock
• John Hopkins - founder and marionette builder for Le Theatre de Marionette
• Dadi Pudumjee - Indian puppeteer, founder of The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust.
• Farooq Qaiser - Pakistani journalist, puppeteer, TV director. Famous for his puppet Uncle Sargam introduced in 1976 in children's television show Kaliyan.
• Mike Quinn - known for Labyrinth and Nien Nunb in Star Wars
• Pietro Radillo - 19th-century Italian master of the marionette.
• Mark Rappaport - Lead puppeteer and Owner of Creature Effects, Inc.
• James Rankin - Stacks and Eco in Groundling Marsh. Sammy, Mr. Robin, Grandpa Robin, Dodo, and others in The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon (James Rankin also built the Dudley costume). Performed Buttons the Bear in Puppets Who Kill.
• Dan Redican - performed Hegdish in Groundling Marsh.
• Gord Robertson - performed Lindbergh on The Jim Henson Hour and Galileo in Groundling Marsh, frequent puppeteer on Fraggle Rock, the title character on Zoboomafoo.
• Martin P. Robinson - Telly Monster and Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street, designed Audrey II for Little Shop of Horrors.
• Fred Rogers (1928-2003) - the puppets from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ("Neighborhood of Make-Believe" segments)
• Albrecht Roser - German master puppeteer based in Stuttgart, famous for his puppet Grandmother
• David Rudman - Baby Bear from Sesame Street. Replaced Frank Oz as Cookie Monster beginning in 2001. In 2008, he began performing Scooter and Janice and replaced both Richard Hunt and Steve Whitmire as Beaker in 2017. He also performed Miss Poogy of the Moopets in the 2011 film The Muppets.
• Paul Rugg - Puppet Up! and other Henson Alternative projects.
• Don Sahlin (1928 – 1978) - Muppet designer and builder whose creations included Rowlf the Dog, Bert and Ernie, Grover, and Cookie Monster
• Kobbo Santarrosa - puppeteer of La Comay, hostess of SuperXclusivo, the highest rated TV show in Puerto Rico
• Tony Sarg - German American Puppeteer and Illustrator
• Peter Schumann (b. 1934) - Peter has also been a highly influential puppeteer. Schumann formed Bread and Puppet Theatre in 1963, using puppetry as a form to campaign politically and educate socially as well as entertain. His work has also been formally experimental, and influenced a wide range of theatre practitioners including Julie Taymor.
• Bruce Schwartz - puppeteer, sculptor, and clown
• Peter Scriven - founding artistic director of the Marionette Theatre of Australia. His Tintookies and Little Fella Bindi toured all over Australasia.
• Jason Segel - was trained in performing a puppet by Michael Oosterom and the other puppeteers that worked with him in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
• I Made Sidia - Balinese wayang puppeteer.
• Josef Skupa - (1892 – 1957) Czech puppeteer, created Spejbl and Hurvínek.
• Katherine Smee - puppeteer on Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
• Robert Smigel - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
• Colleen Smith - performs in several projects from Henson Alternative
• Larry Smith - a Cincinnati-based puppeteer
• Van Snowden (1939 – 2010) - credits included the H.R. Pufnstuf and Crypt Keeper characters. Former head of the puppeteer division of Hasbro and Tiger Electronics.[21]
• Zdar Sorm - is in charge of technological design of puppets for animated films at Barrandov Studio, Prague, Czech Republic
• Caroll Spinney (1933-2019) - Big Bird (1969-2018), Oscar the Grouch (1969-2018), Granny Bird (1969-2018), Bruno the Trashman (1979–1993), Sam the Robot (occasionally), and Lefty the Salesman (occasionally) from Sesame Street. Prior to working on Sesame Street, Caroll Spinney created the cat duo Picklepuss and Pop for the Boston broadcast of "Bozo's Big Top" back in 1967 where the two characters appeared in Muppet forms for the Play-Along Video titled "Wow, You're a Cartoonist".
• Andrew Spooner - Furgus Fuzz from The Furchester Hotel.
• Neil Sterenberg - Nuzzle from Nuzzle and Scratch, Harvey P. Dull on the second season of The Furchester Hotel.
• Scotty Swan - puppet maker, puppeteer
• Johan Swanevelder - current puppeteer and owner of Petrus Productions in South Africa
• John Tartaglia - did some puppeteer work in Sesame Street, Avenue Q (where he performed Princeton and Rod), and Johnny and the Sprites, replaced the late Jerry Nelson as Gobo Fraggle beginning in 2013.
• Burr Tillstrom - creator of Kukla, Fran and Ollie[22]
• William Todd-Jones - Welsh puppet designer and performer
• Winston Tong - 1978 Obie Award winner for Puppetry
• Allan Trautman - actor, puppeteer and educator
• Miroslav Trejtnar - Czech master puppeteer and teacher of puppetry
• Jiří Trnka - master puppeteer and animator.
• Basil Twist - Broadway muppet master.
• Willie Tyler - Lester
• Matt Vogel - In 2008, he began performing Uncle Deadly, Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Camilla the Chicken (all taken over from Jerry Nelson), Robin the Frog (2008-2017), Sweetums (who was previously performed by Richard Hunt and John Henson), and Kermit the Frog (who was previously performed by Jim Henson and Steve Whitmire). The understudy for Big Bird beginning in 1998 and full-time since Caroll Spinney's retirement in 2018. In 2013, he began performing Count von Count following the death of Jerry Nelson.
• Michael Vogel (German puppeteer) - Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel
• Eka Vogelnik - Slovene puppeteer and illustrator with numerous puppet performances for theatre and TV
• Walton and O'Rourke - (Paul E. Walton and Michael O'Rourke) Cabaret puppeteers, founded the Olvera Street Puppet Theatre
• Wende Welch - original performer of Mrs. Robin, Katrina, and Didi during the first season of The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon. Also performed on Groundling Marsh.
• Julie Westwood - English puppeteer and voice over artist
• Señor Wences - Johnny, Pedro, many others
• Steve Whitmire - performer of Muppet characters Rizzo the Rat (1980-2016), Bean Bunny, Lips (1980-2016), Kermit the Frog (1990-2016), Beaker (1992-2016), and Statler (2002-2016), as well as Sesame Street's Ernie (1993-2014).
• Mark Bryan Wilson - Ham Monster from The Mr. Potato Head Show.
• Mak Wilson - Farkus Faffner from The Ghost of Faffner Hall, Harvey P. Dull from The Furchester Hotel, face puppeteer for Earl Sinclair on Dinosaurs.
• Paul Winchell (1922-2005) - Jerry Mahoney and others. Also an inventor of artificial heart components.
• Brock Winkless (1959-2015) - lead puppeteer on Chucky
• Michael Winsor - Apollo on Jim Henson's Pajanimals.
• Victor Yerrid - Squacky on Jim Henson's Pajanimals.
• Tamao Yoshida 吉田 玉男 - (1919–2006) Japanese puppeteer.
• Bryant Young - provided the movement of the Mr. Snuffleupagus' rear end in Sesame Street since 1979.
• Noreen Young - (born 1952) Canadian producer and puppeteer
• Chandni Zala[23] - puppeteer from India, Ahmedabad. Member of UNIMA-India.[24] Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Awardee. Puppeteer of 'Meher' - The Troupe.[25] founded/headed by her father & master puppeteer Mr. Mansinh Zala.[26] The group was formed in the loving memory of most veteran, renowned and legendary puppeteer, late Meher Contractor (1918-1992).
• Mansinh Zala[26] - master puppeteer from India. Co-founder & member of UNIMA-India.[24] founder of 'Meher' - The Troupe.[25] The group was formed in loving memory of the late Meher Contractor, the lady who brought Indian puppetry to the international platform.
• Paul Zaloom - Beakman's World
• Nikolai Zykov - Soviet and Russian actor, director, artist, designer, puppet-maker, master puppeteer.

Notable individuals associated with the genre

• Sophie Taeuber-Arp (member of the Swiss Dada movement)
• Margaret Eleanor Atwood (Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist)
• Gustave Baumann (American printmaker and painter)
• Michael Ian Black (American actor)
• Bertolt Brecht (German poet, playwright, and theatre director)
• Peter Brook (British theatrical producer and director)
• Alexander Calder (American artist)
• Bob Clampett (American animator)
• Jean Cocteau (French writer and filmmaker)
• Edward Gordon Craig (English actor, director and scenic designer)
• William Addison Dwiggins (1880 - 1956) American type designer, calligrapher, and book designer
• Craig Ferguson (Scottish-American television host)
• Stan Freberg (American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director)
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German artist, scientist and writer)
• Edward Gorey (American writer and illustrator)
• Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian playwright)
• Alfred Jarry (French writer)
• Lindsay Kemp (British Theatre and Film artist son of a Punch and Judy man)
• Paul Klee (Swiss German Painter)
• Meyer Levin (American novelist)
• Ted Milton (British poet, performer and musician)
• Chikamatsu Monzaemon (Japanese dramatist of bunraku and kabuki)
• Mike Nawrocki (American animator, director, co-founder of VeggieTales)
• Alwin Nikolais (American choreographer)
• Odetta (American folk, blues and jazz singer and musician)
• Oskar Schlemmer (German Bauhaus artist)
• Pete Seeger (American folk singer)[27]
• Brian Selznick (American author)
• Howard Stern (American radio host)
• Jon Stewart (American comedian)
• Julie Taymor (American film and theatrical director)
• Phil Vischer (American animator, director, author, co-founder of VeggieTales)
• John Waters (American film director)[28]

See also

• Adult puppeteering
• Dhalang
• Machinima creators call themselves puppeteer
• Puppet
• Puppetista
• Puppetry
• UNIMA
• World Puppetry Day
• Kenya Institute of Puppet Theatre (KIPT)
• Sockpuppet (Internet)

References

1. Moser, Mag. Gerhard. "The Sculptors : Salzburger Marionettentheater". www.marionetten.at. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14.
2. PASLES, CHRIS (14 March 2000). "Knowing How to Pull Some Strings". Archived from the original on 5 October 2015 – via LA Times.
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External links

• Media related to Puppeteers at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of puppeteer at Wiktionary
• Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA) - International organization of puppeteers and puppet enthusiasts
• Puppeteers of America - Non-profit producer of the Puppetry Journal and regional and national puppetry festivals
• Puppeteers UK - Directory and news on puppeteers and puppetry in the UK
• The Puppetry Homepage - Links to information on puppeteers and all styles of puppetry
• World Encyclopaedia of Puppetry Arts - Articles to preserve the world heritage of puppetry arts