YouTube Puppets Have Cabin Fever

During this corona-virus pandemic, it's important to do your part in stopping the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible, including staying at home and sheltering in place . . . of course, that's not to say that doing such isn't without its cons and downsides as well - namely, when cabin fever starts setting in, as our YouTube puppet pals have become all too familiar with in a brand-new sing-along!


In addition to Steve, you can always check out his other puppet pals on their respective YouTube channels as well!

A Company of Fools (by Tai Jackson):
https://www.youtube.com/UCmO_sNCJ_cXVeBYEoJOeDMg

The Vaudeville Puppets (by Peter A. Cancilla):
https://www.youtube.com/Vaudevillepictures

Muley the Mule (by Kevin L. Williams):
https://www.youtube.com/kevinmule

YouTube Puppets Celebrating Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary

It isn't just simply amazing that 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the most iconic children's educational series in television history, but the fact that Sesame Street themselves encouraged fans across the world to join in on the celebration made it all the more special.

It's no secret that SESAME STREET has had a huge influence on me, mainly because of Jim Henson's Muppets, but clearly, other puppeteers out there have been inspired and influenced by Sesame and the Muppets for decades, thanks to Henson practically reinventing the art of puppetry as we know it. Ever since I and so many others started using YouTube as a platform to share our own work in puppetry with virtual audiences, some of us have expressed interest in doing collaboration videos that would combine our various different acts and characters into a single, fun project . . . unfortunately that wasn't a logistical possibility for many of us - particularly way back in the earlier years of our YouTube channels, when the tools many of us had were not that great (I certainly wasn't capable of chromakey or any similar visual effects).

But, as the years have passed, and a lot of us have, indeed, gotten better tools, better equipment, and have developed better sensibilities, the possibility of us collaborating on such a project had a higher likelihood - and with this being SESAME STREET's 50th anniversary, what better project to collaborate on than having our various characters get together for a sing-along of one the street's most treasured songs?

What you see here is not just Steve D'Monster, but other notable YouTube puppets such as Peter A. Cancilla's Allegra Longfellow and Professor Monster Johnson, Clyde Monster from Tai Jackson's A COMPANY OF FOOLS, Kevin L. Williams's Muley the Mule, Tim Kelly's Zook & Max, Marcelo R. Bottaro's new character Raspberry, and Matt (a.k.a. SchfiftyThree)'s pal Mike, singing along to the Joe Raposo classic, "Sing."


Don't forget to take the time to check out everybody's YouTube channels for yourselves; we could all use some subscribers!

Marcelo R. Bottaro (Marcelo Bottaro Cartoons):
http://www.youtube.com/MarceloRBottaro

Peter A. Cancilla (Vaudeville Pictures):
http://www.youtube.com/Vaudevillepictures

Tai Jackson (A Company of Fools):
http://www.youtube.com/UCmO_sNCJ_cXVeBYEoJOeDMg

Tim Kelly:
http://www.youtube.com/timkelly

Matt AKA SchfiftyThree:
http://www.youtube.com/MattAKASchfiftyThree

Kevin L. Williams:
http://www.youtube.com/kevinmule

Happy 50th anniversary, SESAME STREET! Thank you for your decades of service and education to generations of children, the young-at-heart, and of course us puppeteers!

HeartFelt

If you're already a puppeteer, or even aspiring to be a puppeteer, you have to see this wonderful short film by Ryan Sargent. The accuracy and relatability of this story hits so close to home that, of course, only those whose passion is in puppetry can truly comprehend and appreciate this.

The Renaissance Age of Puppetry *VIDEO EXTENSIVE*

This is something I've mentioned in passing before, but recently felt more compelled to write about it in greater detail. If you're familiar with TV Tropes (a site that has gone horribly downhill in terms of moderation and overall management), you're aware of a trope known as the Renaissance Age of Animation: this describes the period from the 80s up till the Turn of the Millennium, when the animation industry, in general, seemed to be in a real boom, from feature films (Don Bluth departing from Disney, the genesis of Pixar) to TV series (the Spielberg-produced toons, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, etc), and seemed to bring the medium out from its Dark Age (from the 50s and up till the 80s, when limited animation was the set standard). In comparison to this Renaissance Age of Animation, I've often felt that we've recently had a similar age with puppetry. As mentioned, one of the defining factors for the Renaissance Age of Animation was cable: granted, cable wasn't exactly new at the time, but it was really booming, and with niche channels aimed specifically at kids and animation buffs, we saw a string of really creative and imaginative new animated series that defined a generation - whether it was Nickelodeon juggernauts RUGRATS or HEY ARNOLD! to Cartoon Network smashes like DEXTER'S LABORATORY or THE POWERPUFF GIRLS - these shows really set new standards in television animation. Looking at that as a model, I would have to say that one of the main reasons I feel we've had a Renaissance Age of Puppetry is because of the internet: more specifically, YouTube. When YouTube first emerged in the mid-to-late 2000s, its sole purpose was to offer creators a virtual platform to showcase their original videographic work with the rest of the world (no, really, it was . . . and we ruined it, but that's another discussion for another day), and plenty of people turned to it for that very reason, including puppeteers of varying degrees of experience.

 

I began producing and uploading Steve D'Monster videos in 2007, though there were others already utilizing YouTube to showcase their puppetry before then; most notably, Kevin L. Williams's Muley the Mule, and Tim Kelly's Zook and Max. For both of these talented individuals, their respective creations had existed years prior to their YouTube debuts, both in illustrated and foam rubber form; Kevin and Tim are cartoonists and puppeteers, and Muley, Zook, and Max have appeared in comics and in puppet forms.

 

Not to mention around the same time, there was also TRANSYLVANIA TELEVISION, an adult-oriented horror-sendup comedy with surprisingly impressive production values that was also really popular at the time, with such characters as Furry Ackermonster, Dwayne Frankenstein, and Batfink.

 

And there was also Julio Robles's dysfunctional little troupe that make up the gang of ScrapsTV, which I always thought of as a puppet version of a tribute band, anchored by the likes of Freddy J. Frog and Kodiak T. Bear.

 

Around the time I began regularly producing and uploading Steve entries for YouTube, other puppet acts were coming forward with new videos on a regular basis as well, with perhaps one of the better-known (and longer-running) examples being Shane Keating's dry and sardonic green monster Fenwick, with his aptly-named sidekick Bob Blob.

 

Jordan Sibayan also brought his Colbynfriends characters (who - like Muley, Zook, and Max - also existed in both cartoon and puppet form) to YouTube as well; most notably are the two headfigures of the cast, the green ratillion Colby Hussir, and the deadpan canine Dumb Dog.

 

Angela Altomare also introduced a number of characters as well, including a series of puppet vlogs hosted by Carly Sanderson, and later Charlene Heart (neither of which, unfortunately, have any videos still available), and the delightful Roaring Twenties-inspired showgirl dog Harmony Barker.

 

A little while later, other acts began emerging as well, such as the now-defunct CHEEKTV, which featured the beanie-wearing, cockney-accented purple monster, Cheeky, who would often offer up commentary and parodies of celebrity news and gossip, viral videos, and current events.

 

Also later arriving to the scene was Casey the Muppet, an FAO-Schwartz Muppet Whatnot avatar of creator Casey Daron, the self-proclaimed World's Biggest Muppet Fan.

 

And those are just a few to name!

 

During this time as well, there was almost something of a cozy little brotherhood that was formed amongst those of us involved in this internet puppetry flux, so much so that it wasn't uncommon for some of us to begin actually making references to each other's videos or characters; Fenwick was bold enough to completely parody Steve's "'Snow' is a Four-Lettered Word" episode (which also instigated Fenwick and Steve's fictional and non-existent feud between each other):

 

Colby and Dumb Dog also made a crossover appearance in a DEAR STEVE entry:

 

PUPPET POWER even served to gather together many of these different internet puppets into one special (it even marked the triumphant return of Zook and Max, after disappearing for a while):

 

Much like the Renaissance Age of Animation bringing forward a slew of animated series that were unlike anything you had seen before in television animation, the puppets you found on YouTube were all unique and distinct in comparison to so many other puppet series found on television before them - which, because almost all of them had Henson people involved, evoked such a Muppety vibe, that it's almost hard not to generalize television puppetry as "Muppets." Each of the YouTube puppets brought their own brand of humor, commentary, satire, and other levels of entertainment that really distinguished them from others, yet they all maintained an appeal that you could easily watch their videos again and again, and never tire of them.

 

Eventually, though, that age of YouTube puppets did slowly begin to fade away and die down; although the aforementioned PUPPET POWER was inspired to be a puppet version of the Nicktoon KaBLAM! (bringing together different forms and styles of puppetry in one special), it was also sort of an attempt to give the Renaissance Age of Puppetry something of a booster shot. Unfortunately, by then, the old magic that permeated through the older videos had fizzled away. Although there are small number of these characters that still pop up on rare occasions (Muley being one of them), many of the others have stopped uploading new content quite some time ago, for a variety of different reasons.

 

It does appear, however, that there is some sort of renewed interest in internet puppetry. Recently, cartoonist and puppeteer Jonathan Brangwynne has been uploading a few humorous puppet shorts on Vimeo:

 

More recently, a new series debuted on YouTube called WILTON'S WORLD, featuring humorous insight on a variety of different current events and hot topics, as well as starring two of some of the most impressive internet puppets I've seen to grace YouTube since the days of TVTV:

 

I really could go on and on about this subject (even Blogger wouldn't allow all of the labels I wanted to tag onto this post), but I think that if you were a part of this so-called Renaissance Age of Puppetry, or just watched from the sidelines, then you probably remember those days well enough to know that the magic spoke for itself. I think, perhaps, the most significant thing about this age was that with such an incredible tool like YouTube, puppeteers across the board were able to express their art and creativity in a way that would otherwise not have been possible. That, and it certainly sparked something of a boom in the general interest of puppetry itself, and proved that there's more to puppetry out there than just Muppets.

Advances in Puppet Building: Are They TOO Perfect Now?

Trust me, these are not good puppets . . . and they're available at a Christian bookstore near you!

To be perfectly honest, I know that when it comes to puppetry, the actual building process is really one of my biggest weaknesses: I can perform a puppet, and I can certainly design a puppet, but to actually build one just isn't quite forte. However, I know good and bad puppets when I see them; we've certainly come a long way in the last sixty years or so in terms of puppet building: techniques and methods have improved and advanced, and in doing so, puppets can be built in ways that are absolutely pristine and flawless . . . perfect, even! But. . . . are puppets, perhaps, built a little too perfect now?

 

Showing how the Henson Stitch minimizes the appearance of seams on a puppet.

Before we get into that, we need to go over a little history lesson. When Jim Henson was bringing his Muppets into the world back in the 1950s, he wasn't just creating a bunch of wacky and goofy characters that we would come to love and adore, but rather, he was completely transforming the art of puppetry as we knew it: the true innovator that he was, Jim was pioneering a completely new style of puppetry that drew on earlier inspiriation from other styles of puppetry, combining them in ways to make puppets work better in many ways, especially the way they could be seen on film and television (the latter of which was also relatively new at the time). When being seen on television, a key to the Muppets' belief is that they appear as lifelike as possible; but they're puppets, so how is that possible? Remember, Jim was an innovator and pioneer: he developed methods of constructing and building puppets that minimized visible flaws and imperfections to help hide the fact they're puppets. One of the most talked about method of puppet construction that Jim developed is what's called "the Henson Stitch," this is a sewing technique that involves sewing into the edges of the fleece covering - it's a very painstaking method, but by sewing like this, you minimize the appearance of the seams. Of course, it also helps to have the right fabric as well: most professional puppet builders prefer to use a special kind of fleece known as Antron: Antron is a particularly fuzzy and frizzy fleece, so even after sewing, the fuzz of the fleece can be brushed over the seams to further minimize their appearance. In short: the fuzzier the fleece, the less likely you'll see seams.

 

Puppet builder extraordinare, Don Sahlin, gluing a foam pattern to create a puppet skull.

But building puppets is more than just sewing pieces of fleece together, you have to create an inner shell before you do anything else: this is what gives the puppet its shape, it's essentially the skeleton of the puppet, and the fleece is the skin. There are many different methods and techniques to putting together a foam skeleton, whether you cut patterns from half-inch to inch-thick pieces of foam and glue them together for simpler puppets, to carving and sculpting from giant blocks of foam for puppets that have more distinct shape to them. Much like sewing fleece, putting together the foam skeleton can also be a painstaking process that requires a keen eye and attention to detail, otherwise, you could end up with a lopsided, misshapen mass of foam rubber.

 

Aah! Visible arm rods! My face is melting!

As the old saying goes, "practice makes perfect." Puppets have been built in these ways for the better part of the past sixty years, so it's only natural that over that span of time, not only would these techniques improve, but others would be developed to help further make building puppets even better. Jim Henson didn't just create a new way of building puppets alone, his apprentices carried on and in time also developed and introduced additional techniques since the inception of the Muppets, and as they spread, even more people can find ways to improve on these techniques. Nowhere is that more evident than the Muppets themselves, the true modern pioneers of an ancient artform, and with the Muppets now back in mainstream media after a lengthy bout of somehow obscurity, more than a few people are taking notice: the Muppets certainly look different than they did before. Obviously, the main reason is because since Disney now owns the characters, the Jim Henson Company no longer builds the puppets, but rather, a company known as Puppet Heap does; the Henson Company does still build the SESAME STREET Muppets. As mentioned above, a key to building puppets it to make them seem as lifelike as possible, but even though it's always been a painstaking process, it seems to have become even moreso in recent years; it's not just advancements made in building techniques, but advancements in production technology is also playing a factor. One of the first things you may notice about newer Muppet productions is a serious lack of rods. How can this be? Puppet hands and arms are operated by rods, so how can they disappear? Digitally. As opposed to the older days of 35mm film and videotape, in this day of high definiton, more and more details are being picked up by cameras, and as a result, rods that were once barely visible on screen are now so much so that they need to be digitally erased in post. And again, because HD gets so much detail, one has to go to great lengths in building puppets to ensure seams are invisible. While this certainly shows what a long way we've come since the days of Jim Henson and Don Sahlin, somehow, something seems off about the entire process.

 

Fozzie's evolution from Muppet to . . . plush toy?

The benefit of the doubt could be that we haven't seen too many Muppet projects between the time of the Disney purchase in 2004 to THE MUPPETS smashing through the silver screen in 2011, but since then, many people have been talking about how "different" the characters look now. A combination in the evolution of puppet building and the advancements of production technology is resulting in pristine, flawless-looking puppets . . . but as much as they've gained in building techniques, something else in being lost at the same time. In a sense, the more they try to make puppets look as lifelike as possible, the more artificial they appear to be looking in this day and age. One common complaint I've been seeing lately is that Fozzie Bear no longer looks like a Muppet, and looks more like a teddy bear, or a plush toy - part of the problem is because certain furs and fabrics are hard to come by, and in many cases are no longer being made or are no longer available.

 

An older Anything Muppet with visible seams.

Hey there, handsome stranger!

In going to great lengths to improve the appearances of puppets on film and television, much of the puppets' charm is being lost at the same time. Building puppets to look good on film and television has always been a major facet of the entire artform, but what really makes or breaks the character is the performance: whether you have a beautifully crafted puppet, or an ugly mess put together with tape and chewing gum, it's all about the personality, and the life that's breathed into the character from the puppeteer performing it. Nowhere is that more evident than the number one frog himself, Kermit: as most people know, Kermit was not a frog when he was first created in 1955, he was simply an abstract character; he wasn't built using professional materials or high-quality fabrics - he was built from an old spring coat, and his eyes were made from a ping pong ball that was cut in half. In spite of the simplistic materials used to create the original Kermit, the personality was still intact, whether sitting on a wall and eating worms that turn out to be the noses of large monsters, or donning a little wig and lip-syncing to popular novelty records, this little vaguely lizard-like character was oozing with personality, which is what a puppet really needs in order to engage and appeal to audiences. Back in the 60s and 70s when the Muppets were really starting to find their footing, obviously they weren't perfect: sometimes heads were lopsided, sometimes fleece wasn't smooth, sometimes features were crooked or misshapen . . . but again, these characters had such wonderful and great personalities that you still loved them irregardless - it's similar to how Rocky and Bullwinkle had such incredibly smart and witty writing that the humor was enough to win you over the incredibly limited and lackluster animation. So what if you could see a rod here and there? So what if maybe a certain puppet was built in a hurry and you saw seams? There was still a warmth and realness to these characters just the same. In this day and age with puppets looking so pristine and flawless, while their endearing personalities are still intact, they're still losing that warmth and edge that they once had, making them seem a little cold and impersonal. I've said it before that sometimes advances in technology aren't necessarily so advance . . . could the same be said for puppets? Could the advances in puppet building actually be doing more harm than good? I think it's up for debate, from speaking for myself (from two perspectives: as a puppeteer and a puppetry afficianado in general) and other fans out there, I think perhaps the good is a little less.

 

Fleecy, pilly Bert, or silky smooth Bert? You be the judge.

 

'P' is for Puppet

I happened onto this rather interesting little article/interview with Cheryl Henson, about some of the stigmas that seem to be placed on puppeteers about their work,  some of the same kind of "stock" responses they get from people when they're told what they do, and even why some don't even like the term, "Puppeteer" (in fact, in reading Jim Henson: The Biography, I learned Henson himself disliked the term, "Muppeteer", and prefered to refer to himself, and his colleagues, as "Muppet Performers").

 

'P' is for Puppet: It's Good Enough for Me by Leslie Strongwater

 

You can read it for yourself, but I have to be honest, I've actually been on the receiving end of some of these stigmas myself, such as... why is AVENUE Q the go-to puppetry reference people seem to keep dropping? And, in my own, honest, humble opinion, for a puppeteer to do children's birthday parties is pretty much the puppetry equivilant of working in fast food if you're trying to climb the corporate ladder.



Jane Henson Has Cancer **UPDATE*

I was rather saddened to hear this, but as of yesterday, it was revealed by Cheryl Henson, via Facebook, that her mother, Jane, has been diagnosed with cancer.

Even sadder still is from the looks of things, Mrs. Henson is not doing too awful well right now, aside from still retaining a high spirit.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Jane, as well as the Henson family.

 

UPDATE APRIL 2, 2013: Well, unfortunately, it would appear that Ms. Henson has succumbed to her cancer, as she has passed on today. Sad loss, really sad.

Why Matt Vogel is the Man

Has anyone seen what turned out to be Sesame Workshop's "Top Secret" video on YouTube was for them reaching 1-billion views?

This marks the debut of Matt Vogel taking on the character since the passing of the late and great original Muppeteer, Jerry Nelson.

This isn't the first of Jerry's characters that Matt has taken on; when THE MUPPETS (2011) came out, Matt took on the characters of Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Robin the Frog, Uncle Deadly, and other of Jerry's characters. In addition to that, for over the past decade, Matt has also been Caroll Spinney's understudy performer for Big Bird (of which Caroll remarked was a good sign, as "Vogel" is the German word for "Bird").

I just have to say, that Matt is an absolutely awesome performer: not only has he had some tremendously large shoes to fill, but also, he performs some characters of his owns, if only as one-shot, or supporting characters, and his performances are so flawless, and he is an incredibly versatile performer; as a puppeteer, you have to admire a person like that, who went from being a "Puppet Geek" as a kid (haven't we all?), to being quite an important asset to the greatest company of puppets the entertainment industry has ever produced.

Matt never ceases to amaze me with his performances, and while I, like many others, was saddened by Jerry Nelson's passing, I also had no doubt that, after his performances in THE MUPPETS (2011), Matt would do an outstanding and excellent job as Count Von Count - I'm sure Jerry would be proud.

Kevin Clash Scandal **UPDATE AGAIN**

As a puppeteer, one of my own is in trouble, and I wish to express my support, as he faces a scandal that is sure to rock the world, if it hasn't already.

When I got up this morning, I was met with the news of allegations made against Muppeteer Kevin Clash (whom is best known for performing Elmo, on Sesame Street, but also has an array of other characters as well, such as Clifford the Catfish, Polly Lobster, among others) by a young man, who claims that Mr. Clash did some rather unpleasant things to him when he was sixteen years of age (the man is twenty-three now). Needless to say, not only did these allegations spread like wildfire (THANK you, TMZ), but now, the information has some different (and some uncited) sources, that it's hard to tell just what exactly is fact, and what exactly is fiction; one thing that does seem consistently clear throughout all of this, is that Kevin Clash has taken a temporary leave of absense from Sesame Street to sort this situation out.
So far, there really is no evidence from the accuser that justifies his claims, Sesame Workshop has even contacted the accuser more than once, asking for evidence to back up claims, with so far, no response. However, a number of sources quote Kevin as saying that he denies the allegations made against him, but that there was a consensual relationship between the two of them, when the accuser of legal age of adulthood.

In this day and age, it's difficult to determine just what is real and fake, and it certainly is hard for many people, including myself, to believe that any of these claims are true, with some even comparing it to the previously similar allegations made against Michael Jackson. It would be awful if all of this turned out to be true, but even if it isn't, the claims alone are not only hurting Kevin, but they are also hurting Elmo, Sesame Street, and puppeteers in general (considering that there is a stereotype that has been placed on puppeteers that they are pedophiles) - I can't even imagine how parents are reacting to all of this, if they have even heard anything at this point, but I am sure there would be some outrage, to say the least.

Whatever the outcome, myself, and other Muppet Freaks out there, are standing by Kevin, and showing their support during this dark and difficult time. In my opinion, this entire situation sounds less and less believable as more sources report the same story thoughout the day, with different details and citations. Nevertheless, Kevin Clash is a hero of mine, I respect him like crazy, I have trouble believing any of this, so I stand behind him 100%. I hope that this will all blow over soon, and that order will be restored to the world, and of course, everybody's favorite street.

UPDATE November 13, 2012
As it turns out, the accuser who made these allegations against Kevin has now recanted his claims, stating that the relationship was, indeed, consensual - which only goes to prove the one thing that was running through a bunch of people's minds: this character was simply crawling out of the woodwork to try to extort some money from Kevin. Nevertheless, while I am personally glad that these ridiculous allegations are all over, unfortunately, damage has been done, and I know a lot of people will have trouble looking at Kevin, Elmo, and possibly Sesame Street the same way again, however I still stand behind Kevin, and send him my support that he will rise above this scandal, and that time will heal all wounds.

Banner created by, and courtesy of James V. Carroll

UPDATE November 20, 2012
Looks as if this situation has taken a much sadder turn now: in the wake of the scandal, the accuser (who has now been identified as actor/model Sheldon Stevens) is now recanting his recant, saying that he was pressured into doing so, despite standing by his claims, that he is now throwing back out there, and wishing to continue in pressing charges... this, while, at the same time, we now have a devastating blow to contend with: Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Street. Sad. Sad, sad, sad. A gifted and talented man's name and reputation forever smeared, the most famous street in the world losing one of it's key fixtures, and now a beloved red monster has lost his best friend.

R.I.P. Jerry Nelson

How sad is it that you go to sleep one night, without worrying about any significant problems, other than your own personal ones, and then wake up the next morning to learn that one of the greats has passed on? Well, that's pretty much what has happened, I was deeply saddened at the news I read when I woke up this morning, that the puppetry world has just lost one of the greatest puppeteers that could ever be produced.

 

Unless you're completely emersed into puppetry like I am, you may know his characters, and you certainly know his voice, but you may not know his name: Jerry Nelson. Growing up, a lot of us got to know the numerical vampire Count Von Count, the bumbling but ever persistent magician The Amazing Mumford, the big but lovable monster Herry, and even the clueless detective always on the hunt for clues Sherlock Hemlock from Sesame Street, elsewhere on The Muppet Show, we rocked with Sergeant Floyd Pepper, bassist of the Electric Mayhem, we dodged those boomerang fish being thrown by Lew Zealand, we adored Kermit the Frog's kid nephew Robin, we were spooked by the phantom of the Muppet Theater Uncle Deadly, we were in awe of the massive size of shaggy blue monster Thog. And even down at Fraggle Rock, we were alway in on the Fraggles, led by Gobo Fraggle, and we sought council from the all-knowing Trash Heap. And the songs. The songs that we grew up listening to, and never got tired of... even Jim Henson said Jerry Nelson was responsible for some of the best singing the Muppets had to offer, and it really wasn't too long ago that Jerry released his own album, Truro Daydreams; and throughout this past year, writer Craig Shemin has been sharing candid, backstage footage of Jerry's Truro recording sessions.




Similar to Frank Oz, Jerry had retired from performing his Classic Muppet characters (and I certainly do commend Matt Vogel for the terrific job he did giving those characters new life in The Muppets (2011)), and while health reasons prevented him from doing any actual puppetry, he still continued to dub the voices of his beloved and cherished Sesame Street characters. Still, in spite of the fact that we knew he wasn't in the best of health, and was living on borrowed time, to me, this still seems too soon, and too sudden. This has certainly been a rather bad year for celebrity deaths, but this one hits much closer to home for me (like Andy Griffith last month)... I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Jerry has left us now. I do know, though, that my fellow Muppet Freaks will always and forever keep his legacy alive for many more years to come... so, why not take the time today to revisit some of those memories of yesteryears: count along with The Count, have a peanut butter sandwich while watching Mumford screw up his latest magic trick, let the sounds of the man with a thousand magnificent voices fill your head as you sing along to the songs you grew up with, and remember the joy and happiness the man, the Muppeteer, the legend brought to us.

We'll certainly miss you Jerry Nelson. Thank you for all that you've brought to us. Say hello to Jim Henson and Richard Hunt for us.

The Muppet Man

Wowie kazowie! It seems like the internet is just buzzing today over the fact that it's Jim Henson's birthday, and it's such a spectacular sight to see that over twenty years after his untimely death, that he is still remembered to this day, and his creations of the Muppets, and other fantastic puppety creatures are beloved by generation after generation.

In fact, I don't believe it's any secret that Jim Henson pretty much changed the art of puppetry as we know it, and may in fact, saved it as well; even longtime colleague and friend Frank Oz has once said, "He just exploited puppetry. People accept it now as normal, but then it was like brand new."

Although we live now in a world so dangerous that you can't even step outside to get the mail without the need of a bullet-proof vest, I do believe that in some small way, Jim did manage to live up to one of his well-known quotes: “When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there.”

To some, Jim Henson was a hippie. To some, Jim Henson was a dreamer. To some, Jim Henson was a puppet master. To some, Jim Henson was a genius. And to some, Jim Henson was an idol. Jim and his Muppets have certainly had a big impact on my life; it's hard for me to imagine a time where the Muppets weren't a part of my life, from growing up learning basics like the alphabet and numbers in entertaining ways from Sesame Street, to getting a kick of the antics that went on at the Muppet Theatre on The Muppet Show, to even darker, fantasy elements like The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. Jim Henson is certainly the man I most admire, and look up; he is, in fact, the very reason why I became a puppeteer myself.

I can remember ten years ago, when A&E broadcasted an episode of Biography, about the impact that Sesame Street had made on young children since it's debut over forty years ago in 1969... naturally, Sesame Street wouldn't be as big of a hit as it had become, had it not been for Jim contributing such characters as Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Ernie and Bert, Cookie Monster, Grover, The Count, and countless others. Of course, the special featured quite a bit of behind-the-scenes footage, showing all of the hours of draining and demanding work - from researching curriculum, to testing it with young audiences, to finally making it to the air - that goes into making the show ("We used to be able to tape two whole shows everyday, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon," Muppeteer Caroll Spinney once said, "we take longer now because we have much more special effects, and much more competition."). At eleven-years-old, seeing the work of people whose names may be more recognizable than their faces, like Caroll Spinney, Kevin Clash, Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Martin P. Robinson, etc, was such a mezmorizing experience; I was glued to the TV watching how these people brought our favorite characters to life for television... it looked like so much fun, and to think, they also get paid to do this... who doesn't want that in a career? To be able to do something that you enjoy, and get paid for it? Needless to say, although I had toyed with the idea of possibly becoming a cartoonist when I grew up, I made my mind up from that moment on that I would be a puppeteer, and I'm happy to say that I have been for seven years now, and it's thanks to the inspiration and influence of a genius like Jim Henson.

It's still sad to think how Jim's life ended so soon, at the age of 53; I have no doubt that if he were still with us today, the Muppets, in general, would also probably be in a better place. I'm certainly glad that his legacy has been continued and has been kept alive for all these years, and even without his guidence, we have gotten some wonderful projects, ranging from movies, to TV shows, to TV specials, though without his guidence, I do believe that has caused some mild suffering in the big picture: Disney has made more promises than they've kept about the Muppets, all the while slowly erasing Jim's name from the franchise, and replacing it with their own (it's sad to me to see lesss and less of "Jim Henson's Muppets" on products), and although it's taken them all this time to finally give us a new (theatrical) movie, I still personally have some reservations about the film (mainly and specifically because of having Jason Segel at the helm). But beyond that, even without Jim, the Muppets continue to be a large part of our lives, and in fact, continue to influence the art of puppetry for newer mediums, such as the internet. I'm sure that would have made him proud.

I know that I, myself, and my friends and family from Muppet Central are always celebrating Jim's birthday every year, it's still really nice and touching to see that just about everybody out there is celebrating him and his work this year. All I can say at this point is: Happy Birthday Jim, thank you for sharing your visions and dreams with us, and for living up to your ambition for making the world a little better for having been here.

RIP Earl Kress

This was a shocking, surprising, and ultimately sad loss, but the multi-talented Earl Kress has died, after losing a battle with cancer.

I had actually known Earl Kress, not personally, mind you, but he was an avid, regular member of the Muppet Central Forum, of which I too am a proud member of, and I have had the pleasure of talking with him once before; among Earl's credits was working on The Muppet Movie, in which he performed Ernie, from Sesame Street, during the grand finale of the movie. Earl shared quite a bit of informative insight with me about the art of puppetry, as well as some behind-the-scenes details of Jim Henson and the Muppets, all of which I learned a lot from, though at the same time, is meant to be kept secret, so I won't go into details of what he shared with me. At the same time, he shared even more information about his work with Henson publically at Muppet Central, under the username Was Once Ernie.

Outside of puppetry, Earl was also heavily involved in the animation world as well, he worked on stories for various Disney classics, and wrote a number of episodes for Animaniacs, especially The Pinky and The Brain segments, and has also done some vocal work as well (he mentioned that he voiced the mousy old lady who kept hitting bad notes while singing the anthem for the Rescue Aid Society from The Rescuers).

Admittedly, I had actually wondered what had become of him, I hadn't seen much of him around Muppet Central for a while, but I was not aware of the health problems he was facing, which is what made this loss really shocking and surprising, but it's still very sad nonetheless. He will truly be missed.

Child Prodigy Puppeteer

You often hear stories about child prodigies, mostly in the music industry, such as musicians, singers, songwriters, etc... but how often do you hear about child prodigies who are, of all things, puppeteers? And what an amazing story it is: 11-years-old, already has created over twenty different characters, and on top of all that, has been invited by Leslie Cararra-Rudolph and Kevin Clash, to perform in a bit for the upcoming 42nd season of Sesame Street. I really believe Jim Henson would be so proud.

There's even more to the story of Tau Bennett, read more about him and his craft from The Augusta Chronicle:

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2011-03-18/young-puppeteer-heads-new-york-sesame-street-debut?v=1300491735

RIP Van Snowden

Here's a really sad loss to the puppetry world...

Van Snowden was a really prolific puppeteer, from his extensive collaborations with Sid & Marty Krofft in the 70s (even puppeteering H.R. Pufnstuf for a number of years, including recently), to works in Hollywood cult favorites, like performing the puppetry for Chucky, and The Crypt Keeper.

This was a shock to me, I just now read about this, but apparently, he died last month from cancer; I really would've liked to meet him one day.

So long Mr. Snowden, thanks for leaving such an impression on the world of puppetry as we know it.

Forgetting Jim Henson...

Many people know that I never was crazy about the purchase of the Muppet franchise by the Walt Disney Company years ago, but one of my growing concerns is the possibility of future generations not even knowing who Jim Henson was.

One thing that Walt Disney himself always encouraged creative people to do is to put their name on everything they create, and since the Disney purchase, I've seen Jim's name slowly disappear from various Muppet products, with the exception of DVDs that retain "Jim Henson's" or "Jim Henson Pictures/Productions/Home Entertainment Presents"... but you look at Muppet merchandise and such at, say, the Disney Store, you might see ONE product with Jim's name on it, whereas everything either has no name of it, or says "Disney's The Muppets". Even when you watch Sesame Street today, the closing credits no longer lists the Muppeteers under the title of "Jim Henson's Muppets" or "Jim Henson's Sesame Street Muppets", but rather "The Muppets of Sesame Street".

We lost Mr. Disney years before Jim even made it big with the Muppets, but to this day, his company lives on with booming business, and just about every knows who he was, and those of the future will probably know who he'll be... but would the same be said for Jim Henson? Naturally, Muppet fans know who he is, and continue to keep his legacy alive, but as far as the majority of the future generation is concerned, will they even recognize the name Jim Henson when they see it?