Leslie Carrara-Rudolph is a multi-faceted performer and puppeteer with a wide variety of characters and talents. Leslie's television work spans a variety of acclaimed children's television programs, including Sesame Street, on which she currently plays the newly introduced fairy-in-training, Abby Cadabby, and performing Ginger on the Disney Channel's new show Johnny & The Sprites. Leslie is also currently recording the character Nate, for PBS's new animated series Nate the Great, airing soon. She has also worked on a number of Henson Company productions and in the DVD series Sesame Beginnings for Sesame Workshop. Additionally, Leslie was a member of the PBS puppet tour that visited shelters in Louisiana and Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Leslie's stage credits include the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival, the Jim Henson puppet improv Puppet Up, as well as her own one-woman cabaret-variety show, Young at Heart which she wrote and produced. She designed, created and stared in an original live interactive musical stage show for the Walt Disney Company called The Wahoo Wagon which was performed at Hollywood's famous El Capitan Theatre.
In her spare time, Leslie illustrates children's books and creates her own brand of magic and joy. You can find out more about her at www.lesliecarrara-rudolph.com
Kevin Clash, whose characters include Elmo, Hoots the Owl and Baby Natasha, is Sesame Street's Senior Puppet Coordinator and Muppet Captain as well as Sesame Workshop's Senior Creative Advisor. He began building puppets at the age of ten and performed on Baltimore's Harbor Front and local television as a teenager. Clash's first television work was for the CBS affiliate in Baltimore. He came to Sesame Street after attracting the attention of Muppet designer Kermit Love. Clash's film credits include Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy film, Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I and II, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets from Space, and Elmo in Grouchland. His television work includes The Great Space Coaster, Captain Kangaroo, Dinosaurs and Muppets Tonight. He also was Co-Executive Producer for Elmopalooza, CinderElmo, and Elmo's World; Co-Producer for The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland; and also directs Sesame Street episodes and other projects. Clash directed and Co-Produced the DVD series Sesame Beginnings for Sesame Workshop. Most recently, he directed and was Co-Executive Producer for Kids Favorite Country Songs DVD. Clash won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his work as Elmo and Hoots the Owl in Seasons 21, 35 and 36, and in 2001-2006 for his work as Co-Executive Producer for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series. In September 2006, Clash released his autobiography, My Life As A Furry Red Monster, What Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love, and Laughing Out Loud.
Eric Jacobson began his career with The Jim Henson Company in 1994 as a puppeteer on Sesame Street. Since then he has come to be known as the man who performs Bert and Grover in the absence of legendary puppeteer and acclaimed director, Frank Oz. In addition to these Sesame Street characters, Jacobson has recently begun performing other characters Oz made famous, including Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. Jacobson's long list of film and television credits includes Bear In The Big Blue House, The Puzzle Place, and performing another well-known pig, Piglet, on Disney's The Book of Pooh. Jacobson has been honored for his work on several occasions and holds the distinction of being the first puppeteer to work on multiple film and television productions cited for excellence by UNIMA (the international organization begun by Jim Henson dedicated to the art of puppetry) in the same year. However, Jacobson does not limit himself exclusively to TV and film. He also performs on stage, and recently appeared in Symphonie Fantastique, an underwater puppet show that played to rave reviews at the HERE art space in New York's Soho. Jacobson also performs live puppet theater in New York City with The Puppet Company, The Cosmic Bicycle Theater, and The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park.
Joseph Mazzarino began working with the Muppets in 1989 and has been performing and writing for Sesame Street since 1990. He performs a number of characters on the show, including Stinky the Stinkweed, the Two-Headed Monster, Papa Bear and one very strange Elephant in a tutu. Mazzarino's writing credits also include The Upside Down Show, Sheep in the Big City and Bear in the Big Blue House. He has co-written screenplays including Muppets in Space and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, and wrote and performed on the first ever Henson direct-to-video feature, Kermit's Swamp Years.
Jerry Nelson began working on Sesame Street in 1970 and over the years has been involved in the development of dozens of Muppet characters, including Count von Count, Sherlock Hemlock and Herry Monster. Starting in the business as a film, stage and television actor, he was a member of the Bil Baird Puppet Company and The Jim Henson Company before joining Sesame Street in its second season. Since then, Nelson has worked on most of the Muppet television and film projects. He also plays the guitar, writes songs and performs with several bands.
Carmen Osbahr, who performs Rosita and other characters, began her relationship with Sesame Street as a teenager in 1985, when she attended a puppetry workshop sponsored by The Jim Henson Company in her native Mexico City. She appeared on various television shows for Televisa (Mexico City), including The Treasure of Knowledge, and worked on The Songs of Cri-Cri, a special starring Placido Domingo. Osbahr was a member of the Plaza Sesamo cast before moving to New York, where she maintained ties to the show while pursuing her college education. In 1989, she officially became a Jim Henson Muppet performer, working for Sesame Street, City Kids, Dog City, Aliens in the Family, and Bear in the Big Blue House. Osbahr's other credits include Kiki in The Puzzle Place, a role in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland and a performance as Lily in Johnny and the Sprites for the Disney Channel. Osbahr lives in Connecticut with her husband and son.
Frank Oz has been one of the major creative forces behind the Muppets since before Sesame Street began. He first met Jim and Jane Henson in 1961 and became a Muppet performer two years later, at the age of 19. Oz originated and occasionally performs the characters Bert, Cookie Monster and Grover on Sesame Street.
Martin Robinson has been on staff at The Jim Henson Company since 1980. Originally hired to play Aloysius Snuffleupagus, he has also lent his talents to Telly Monster, Slimey the Worm and many other characters. He has played an active role in hiring and training puppeteers for international Sesame Street co-productions in Mexico, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Russia, Bangladesh, and India. Robinson's stage credits include designing, building and performing Audrey II in the Off Broadway and Broadway productions of Little Shop of Horrors, and designing puppets for the Lincoln Center Production of Frogs. He played the Cat in the Hat on the television show The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, performed the animatronics for Leonardo in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and was a featured performer on four seasons of the popular British satire Spitting Image. Recent projects include Allegra's Window on Nickelodeon, for which he coordinated the construction of the puppets and plays several characters, and designing/directing Night on Bald Mountain and Firebird in concert at Carnegie Hall. He has been on staff at the O'Neill National Puppetry Conference since it's beginning in 1991. Robinson got into the business as a member of Bil Baird's Marionettes.
David Rudman's relationship with The Jim Henson Company dates back to 1981, when he came to work for the Muppet Workshop as a summer intern. He has been a Muppet performer since 1983, and a Sesame Street performer since 1985 bringing to life Baby Bear, Two-Headed Monster, Davey Monkey, Humphrey, Sonny Friendly, Norm (assistant to the Grand High Triangle Lover), and Cookie Monster. Rudman was recently nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his work on Sesame Street as Baby Bear and Cookie Monster. He has performed in numerous television shows, specials and films including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppets Take Manhattan, Labyrinth and Elmo in Grouchland. Rudman also has written and directed several live-action and animated films for Sesame Street, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Television viewers may recognize his "digital" performance as Fingerman in the popular Ziploc storage bag spots. Currently, Rudman is co-creator and co-executive producer of Jack's Big Music Show on Noggin, The Curious Buddies for Nick Jr. and the upcoming Bunny Town for Playhouse Disney.
Caroll Spinney, who plays both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, has been a puppeteer since he was eight years old, and has been with Sesame Street since its inception. His characters have been seen on more than 4,000 episodes, and he starred in the feature film Follow That Bird. Sesame Street television specials have taken Spinney to China, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and he has performed on a number of other shows, including 141 episodes of Hollywood Squares. He has earned four Emmy's, two Gold Records, and two Grammy Awards. In 2000, the Library of Congress declared Spinney, as Big Bird, a "Living Legend." He was awarded The Christopher Award and has written a book, The Wisdom of Big Bird. Most recently, he received the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences. He is also an accomplished artist and lecturer.