Cheryl Wagner, is a Canadian puppeteer, producer, director and writer, who is the creator of the TV series The Big Comfy Couch , is a Gemini Award and Emmy award- winning Canadian children's television writer, showrunner and producer who began her career as a performer in both theatre and on the screen. [1] Her Halifax-based touring Merrytime Clown and Puppet Company in which Wagner worked as a clown and puppeteer from 1977 to 1980 provided a fertile ground for her later work as a producer and writer in children's entertainment. [2]
Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock lured Wagner to Toronto to work as a puppeteer for the full five years and 96 episodes of the series from 1982–87. Wagner was Jim Henson's right hand when he performed his Fraggle characters Cantus and Convincing John. For season 2 to season 5 (1984 to 1987), Wagner provided the voice for the character Ma Gorg.
In 1984, Wagner performed as the meddling social worker Miss Finch [body suit] for the Children's Television Workshop film Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird .
In 1990, Wagner worked as a puppeteer for the Canadian Sesame Street special, Basil Hears a Noise.
Other television puppetry work included Annie on CBC's long-running preschool series Mr. Dressup and the role of Mrs. Pennypacker on TVO's Today's Special .
Post-Fraggle, Wagner joined forces with fellow puppeteer Rob Mills to develop and produce her clown and puppet series The Big Comfy Couch through his company Radical Sheep Productions. [3] The show, broadcast by YTV/Treehouse in Canada and throughout the US on PBS-affiliates, features a young clown named Loonette and her side-kick Molly the Doll and their adventures on and around a gigantic green couch. Wagner was the showrunner/story editor for The Big Comfy Couch's 100 episodes that spanned a production arc from 1992 to 2006 and won:
With Radical Sheep, Wagner also worked as producer on the Gemini nominated preschool puppet series Panda Bear Daycare and Ruffus the Dog .
In 1998, Wagner returned to Halifax and joined forces with Jeff Rosen and Michael Donovan at Halifax Film (now DHX Media) to develop and produce animation properties: the preschool Gemini-award-winning stop motion series Poko and the CG series Bo On The Go! , both seen on Kids' CBC. She also wrote the bible and 8 scripts for Catalyst/Cellar Door's classical animation family series Eckhart , set on Prince Edward Island which aired on Teletoon.
She is now based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and is President of Periscope Pictures Inc. Wagner produced and directed their preschool 15 x 5 minute webseries Bunny Bop! which went on-line February 3, 2011, just in time for the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit.
James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).
Brian Henson is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, actor and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson.
Kevin Jeffrey Clash is an American puppeteer, director and producer best known for puppeteering Elmo on Sesame Street from 1985 to 2012. He also performed puppets for Labyrinth, Dinosaurs, Oobi, and various Muppet productions.
Steven Lawrence Whitmire is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work on The Muppets and Sesame Street. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire inherited the roles of Ernie and Kermit the Frog after Jim Henson's death in 1990; he performed the characters until 2014 and 2016, respectively. As part of the Muppet cast, he has appeared in multiple feature films and television series, performing a variety of characters on The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock and during such occupations has been employed by The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop, and The Muppets Studio.
The Jim Henson Company, formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson, is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.
Drew Massey is an American voice actor, puppeteer and director for Nickelodeon and the Jim Henson Company. He has worked extensively with the Muppets and has performed in many films, television series, and commercials. He has also lent his voice to many commercials and video games.
David Charles Goelz is an American puppeteer and voice actor known for his work with the Muppets. He is best known for performing the characters Gonzo the Great, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, and Beauregard. Goelz joined Jim Henson's Muppet team in 1973 and has been a key performer in many Muppet productions, including The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and various movies and television specials.
The Big Comfy Couch is a Canadian children's prop comedy television series which is about a clown named Loonette and her doll Molly who solve everyday problems on their eponymous couch. It aired from March 2, 1992, until December 29, 2006. It was produced by Cheryl Wagner and Robert Mills, directed by Wayne Moss, Robert Mills and Steve Wright. It premiered on March 2, 1992, in Canada and on January 9, 1995, in the United States on PBS stations across the country. The program was also broadcast on Treehouse TV from 1997 to 2011.
Radical Sheep Productions was a Canadian television production company known for producing series including The Next Step, Stella and Sam, and The Big Comfy Couch, the latter a Gemini Award-winning series for preschoolers which produced seven seasons and aired for over ten years on YTV and Treehouse TV in Canada and public television stations in the United States.
Jane Ann Henson was an American puppeteer and co-founder of Muppets, Inc. with her husband Jim Henson.
Kathryn Mullen is an American puppeteer, actress, and voice actress most closely associated with Jim Henson projects.
Bob Stutt is a Canadian puppeteer and writer, who has starred in various children's television programs throughout his career.
Rollie Krewson is a puppet designer and builder known for her work on various Muppet productions. She interned with Jim Henson's company in the mid-1970s. Although she now works primarily as a designer/builder, she began as a performer, doing small bits on The Muppet Show and other projects.
Karen Leigh Prell is an American puppeteer and animator. She is the performer of Red Fraggle in Fraggle Rock.
Tim Gosley is a Canadian puppeteer who is primarily known for his work on numerous Muppet productions. He is originally from Victoria, British Columbia. Gosley earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from the University of Alberta and studied puppeteering with Richard Hunt from 1981 to 1983. He began his career portraying several minor characters on the television program Fraggle Rock from 1983 to 1987. He then began portraying Basil the polar bear on Sesame Park, the Canadian version of Sesame Street, a role he performed regularly for nine seasons.
Periscope Pictures is a Canadian production company, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Founded by producers/writers Cheryl Wagner, the creator of The Big Comfy Couch and Harmony Wagner in March 2010, Periscope Pictures creates screen-based entertainment.
Bunny Bop! was a children's web series created and directed by Cheryl Wagner. The series bible and webisodes were written by Cheryl Wagner and Harmony Wagner. The theme song was written by Harmony Wagner.
Ruffus the Dog is a Canadian children's television series which aired on YTV from 1998 to 1999; it was created by Robert Mills, who performs the title character, and developed with Cheryl Wagner. The show was produced through Radical Sheep Productions, a company founded by Mills in 1985 that also created The Big Comfy Couch. The Ruffus character had previously appeared in the educational video series The Adventures of Ruffus & Andy in the early 1990s, as produced by the Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga, Ontario, where Ruffus and his owner Andy learned medical lessons.
Cheryl Lee Henson is an American puppet builder and philanthropist who has served as the president of the Jim Henson Foundation since 1992. A supporter of puppetry arts and artists, she serves as a board member of The Jim Henson Company. She was honored in 2010 at the LaMama Gala, and in 2011, she won the New Victory Arts Award for her leadership in puppetry.
Camille Bonora is a former Muppet performer. She currently serves on the board of BibleMesh online theological studies, as well as a member of the Kairos Journal editorial board.