#michael earl

[eightmuppetynotes]

Muppet Song of the Day: “I’ve Got a Dog and His Name is Cat”

[p0nfarr]

Michael Earl is a real-life blacksmith and he crafts incredible things like this.

[b-list-tributes]

Michael Earl – Puppeteer (September 10, 1959 – December 23, 2015)

 Of all the unsung heroes of movies and television, perhaps the puppeteer comes closest to the limelight while staying just barely in the shadows. Asking anyone to successfully name a famous puppeteer whose last name isn’t Henson or Oz is a tall order. But without master manipulators of felt and feather like Michael Earl, those of us who grew up enraptured by the Muppets of Sesame Street and their own self-titled Muppetverse would have been out of luck. A puppeteer has to react to dialogue, convey a range of emotions and deliver a well-timed punchline using nothing but their hands tucked inside a sweaty fabric shell. An average one – even just a passably good one couldn’t pull it off realistically. Michael Earl was a great one.

Mr. Earl began his career acting in commercials for Curad bandages and Lipton soup, but his love was puppets. What began as a hobby turned into a passion, and at 17 he attended a National Puppetry Festival in San Luis Obispo. There he met Kermit Love, a puppeteer who worked on Jim Henson’s team (and who, unfortunately, was not the namesake for Mr. Henson’s beloved frog; the name was purely coincidence). Mr. Love delivered an invite that led Mr. Earl to move to New York and make a living at his craft. Not long afterward, he met an older puppeteer named Mike Oznowicz, who was blown away by Mr. Earl’s puppetry work. He quickly phoned his son, Frank (who had changed his last name to Oz for showbiz reasons) and strongly suggested that this young man deserved a job.

And so it was that Michael Earl was hired sight-unseen by Jim Henson and Frank Oz to work on The Muppet Movie. He was 19 years old, and bringing characters like Fozzie, Animal and Beaker to life.

From there it was a quick trip to Sesame Street, where Mr. Earl took over as the head fur-shuffler of Snuffleupagus. This was right around 1978-81, which was about when I would have been tuning in to watch his work. In addition to manning the fuzzy helm of Big Bird’s buddy, he also took over working Oscar the Grouch’s pet worm Slimey, and stamped his unique take on a cast of strange Muppets, including Forgetful Jones, Poco Loco, Polly Darton and the Honkers.

Mr. Earl continued working for the Henson company, also dropping his skills onto the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs and appearing as a puppet alien in Men In Black II. He also co-created, co-wrote and starred in a musical series of public service announcements on PBS called Ticktock Minutes, which garnered him a heap of regional Emmy nominations and four wins.

And for those of us who grew up wanting our puppets to become as wildly inappropriate and profane as we are, he also did a lot of the marionette work on Team America: World Police.

Michael Earl’s body of work extends far beyond the borders of a film or TV screen. He has toured the country, singing, story-telling and puppeting for generations of kids. He created the “Puppet Power!” program through the California Youth Theatre, where he taught Los Angeles area kids to build puppets and incorporate them in a sold-out performance. He opened Puppet School in New York and L.A., which taught legions of kids and adults how to express themselves through their felt-enrobed extremities. His life’s work touched gazillions of us, and this world is a little sadder without him.

[randyklein-blog]

Ticktock Minutes: Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days

My dear friend and collaborator, Michael Earl, pointed out that a video with a song that we had written for PBS children’s programming, sung by a puppet character named Dr. Ticktock, had over 90,000 views. The song is titled, Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days. Michael wrote, “We did good in the world.” I agree with him. Teaching this many kids with our song is amazing. The ultimate reward is being able to share the gift you've been given.

[nevertoooldtolovemuppets]

Hey guys! Tomorrow Swazzle Workshop is having a benefit to raise money to fight puppeteer Michael Earl's colon cancer. They'll mainly be selling puppet building materials, but there's an exciting addition as well. They'll be doing a silent auction for a Walter doll signed by Peter Linz, Walter's performer. Also, if you are the highest bidder on the doll, Peter Linz and Walter will give you a personal call. How awesome is that?!

Swazzle Workshop's address is 4525 San Fernando Rd., Unit F, Glendale, CA 91204. The benefit/auction will be taking place tomorrow between 8am to 4pm. You can find more information here.

[whenindoubtthrowpenguins]

If I could make it to this auction/sale - I'd be there! I hope whoever wins the conversation records it to share with the Muppetverse!

[thevioletvalentinecompany]

Michael Earl

Not to stray off topic, but I just heard Michael Earl was diagnosed with colon cancer and that he has no medical insurance.

Michael Earl most notably played Snuffaluffogus on Seasame St, as was generally an ever present part of the classic-era Henson team.

I, personally, have had an interest in puppets for years, but not until I took his workshop, 'puppet school' did I feel empowered with good knowledge enough to put it all together. Earl had been the first to take what were classically industry secrets and share them with the world, empowering not only myself but a whole cadre of contemporary, passionate people working in what all would agree is a pretty complex and difficult medium to work in. Just meeting the guy inspired me to appreciate the art in a new way and his passion and discipline were obvious and infectious.

Apparently he was doing fine working in Hollywood, then left the industry to teach puppets and while he has been getting his school off the ground, is when his health care lapsed and this tragedy occurred. This is an unjust tragedy and my heart could not go out to him more. He's a genuinely good man and a truly inspired artist and the fact that society would shrug their collective shoulders rather than help him on the day that he lost the lottery is unacceptable in it's nightmarish implications. 

That we all could be as inspiring.

[katedanley]

This is me puppeteering.  I trained for about six months, performed the head of a 20-foot dinosaur on an NBC pilot, toured around doing shows here in LA, made my own YouTube videos, and because of puppetry, had some of the most incredible experiences a person can have. 

The blonde haired guy at the bottom is the man responsible for kickstarting that phase of my life.  He is my teacher, Michael Earl.  

You might know him as Mr. Snuffleupagus.

Michael learned on-camera puppetry while working with Jim Henson and Frank Oz.  He was in the cast of The Muppet Movie, originated Forgetful Jones on Sesame Street, and yes, was the front end of Snuffy (and is the voice you heard) in the early 1980s.

Michael has colon cancer.  And no health insurance.  After 30 years as a SAG performer, he didn't make his wage minimums to qualify these past two years, and he's on his own right now.

http://hellogiggles.com/support-the-cancer-fund-for-a-former-sesame-street-puppeteer

I know it is a bummer for folks to always have their hand out, but seriously...  Mr. Snuffleupagus has cancer.  

If you can donate $5, $10, the cost of a cup of coffee, whatever, every little bit helps.  It's like Breaking Bad without the safety net of a meth lab in the desert.

Everyone is talking about "Saving Sesame Street", but maybe if we let the politicians battle that out in the debates, we can at least take responsibility for saving one of Sesame Street's performers.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=9428&url=michaelearlcancerfund