Michael Earl (puppeteer)

Michael Earl (born September 10, 1959 in Oakland, California) is an American puppeteer, actor, writer, singer and songwriter. A 4-time Emmy Award-winner whose credits include Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street (1978–81) and Dr. Ticktock in Ticktock Minutes, a musical series of PSA's on PBS he also co-created, scripted and wrote lyrics for that garnered 11 Southern Regional Emmys, a 1998 National Emmy for Best Public Service Announcements, a Gabriel Award, 2 Parents' Choice Awards and numerous other honors. Earl performed the original Shrek character in a motion-capture development test film for DreamWorks and puppeteered lead characters in Paramount Pictures' Team America: World Police.

History

Michael Earl (Davis) grew up in San Leandro and Livermore, CA. He began his professional career at age five acting in a Curad bandage TV commercial. Two years later he was tapped to be the original "Is It Soup Yet?" kid for Lipton, which ran for three years. He performed original puppet shows from ages 10–17, and on weekends during his high school years, Earl was an apprentice at Children's Fairyland Puppet Theater in Oakland, CA, which Frank Oz's father (Mike Oznowicz) sometimes visited.

At 17 he attended a puppetry festival where he met Kermit Love, who spoke to Jim Henson (as did Oznowicz) about the young puppeteer. At 18 he moved to New York City and acted in some TV commercials, as well as landing a puppeteering job working for his childhood idol, Bil Baird. At 19, Earl was hired sight-unseen by Jim Henson for The Muppet Movie and subsequently won the role of Mr. Snuffle-upagus on "Sesame Street" (replacing Jerry Nelson, the originator, also creating the roles of Forgetful Jones, Oscar the Grouch's pet worm Slimey, Poco Loco, Polly Darton and the Honkers. His other Muppet credits include The Muppets Take Manhattan, John Denver and the Muppets, Little Muppet Monsters, The Jim Henson Hour, "Sesame Street's 20th Anniversary Special" and Dinosaurs. Earl also appeared (as a puppet Alien) opposite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black II.

Earl has mentored and/or coached many TV and film puppeteers, including Drew Massey, Kevin Carlson, Camille Bonora and James Murray. He has served as a puppetry consultant to entertainment companies such as MCA/Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and Disney, working one-on-one with the Vice President of Disneyland Entertainment to conceive, develop and write puppet- and non-puppet live events, including Haunted Passages on the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. In 1989 he co-wrote and directed 7 puppeteers operating 80 puppets in The Snow Queen at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles.

Earl has toured the U.S. giving hundreds of concerts for children and their families, combining his talents as a singer, songwriter and puppeteer. Over the years, he has worked one-on-one with countless children and adults, teaching them puppet making and performance through such organizations as the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Mark Taper Forum/Music Center, California Youth Theatre, L.A.'s Best, Puppeteers of America, L.A. Inner City Arts, Beverly Hills Parks & Recreation, Kasier Permanente, The Sycamores, L.A. Unified School District, Art Share L.A., Hollywood Arts Council and the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission. In 2002, Michael created the "Puppet Power!" program through California Youth Theatre, where he taught, designed, co-built, directed and produced the first (and 2nd) annual Ivar Puppet Festival, involving 150 L.A. Unified School District teens from two different high schools building dozens of giant 15-foot puppets they performed at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood The event was a sold-out success and covered by the L.A. Times and the Los Angeles Daily News.

In 2008 Earl made a brief appearance on the Sky One observational documentary series UK Border Force when he was filmed being prevented from entering the UK as his employer had not gotten him a work permit. He briefly gave a demonstration of some of his puppetry skills in a lighter moment whilst he waited for his deportation.

In 2010 he partnered with Roberto Ferreira to open Puppet School - Where imagination and creativity meet. In December of that year, they premiered a new original musical entitled, "It's a Monster World," where Earl performed live on-stage alongside his advanced students. Michael Earl continues to teach TV puppetry in Los Angeles and New York City (www.puppetschool.com), while writing and developing new entertainments that "encourage, instruct and strengthen children of all ages through the imaginative use of music and puppetry."

In May of 2011, Puppet School premiered a sold-out run of another live stage show called "Puppet Jukebox" in Hollywood - featuring Earl and his advanced puppetry students. Also in 2011, Earl announced his plan to launch "TV Puppets Unplugged!" - a touring lecture/demonstration that features stories and film clips from his 30-year career. TV Puppets Unplugged! will play at colleges throughout the US. He currently teaches at Garner Magnet High School in Garner, North Carolina

Personal life

Earl lives in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Anime roles

• Digimon Tamers - Mr. Akiyama

Non-anime roles

• Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? - Ira Gation, Additional Voices

Live action roles

• Team America: World Police - Lead Terrorists
• Men in Black II - Puppet Alien
• Shrek - Motion capture Shrek body suit
• The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth [1] - Ms. Flossy
• Geo Kids
• Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? - 5 Lead Voices
• Dinosaurs - Refrigerator Monster
• The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth - Ms. Flossy
• Ticktock Minutes - Dr. Ticktock
• Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly! - Various Muppets
• Sesame Songs: Rock & Roll - Various Muppets
• The Jim Henson Hour - (Pilot) Additional Muppet Performer
• Muppet Wildlife PSAs - Muppet Penguin
• Little Muppet Monsters - Muppet Penguin
• Sesame Street: Learning About Numbers - Various Muppets
• Sesame Street 20th Anniversary Special - Additional Muppet Performer
• The Muppets Take Manhattan - Additional Muppet Performer
• Mr. Mom - Mr. Snuffleupagus (Archive footage on TV)
• Simon - Commune Member
• John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together - Additional Muppet Performer
• Sesame Street - Puppeteer and voices of Mr. Snuffleupagus, Forgetful Jones, Slimey Worm, Poco Loco, Honkers, Polly Darton, Additional Muppets for three seasons (1978–1980).
• The Dark Crystal - Additional Muppet Performer (Puppet Test)
• The Muppet Movie - Additional Muppet Performer, operating Fozzie Bear, Dr. Teeth, Animal, Janice, Zoot, Scooter, Beaker and others when lead muppeteer was performing another one of their characters in the same scene.
• Theodore Rex - The Reverend
• Funnybones - Dr. Ticktock
• GeoScout - Dr. Ticktock
• Media Mania - Mortimer Monster
• Life on Earth - Alien, MTV Music Video
• Fandango - Various paper bag puppets in movie theatre spots
• Rock Along with Bo Peep - Fleeter Mouse

Puppetry

• Sesame Street - Mr. Snuffleupagus, Forgetful Jones, Slimey Worm, Poco Loco, Honkers, Polly Darton, Additional Muppets (1978–1980)
• The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth - Ms. Flossy (voice)

Movie roles

• The Muppet Movie - Muppet Performer (voice)
• The Muppets Take Manhattan - Additional Muppet Performer
• Theodore Rex - The Reverend
• The Phantom Tollbooth - Milo's Friend (uncredited)

External links

• Michael Earl at IMDb
• Puppet School