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David Rudman | |
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 Rudman at SXSW in 2015 | |
| Born | June 1, 1963 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1981–present |
David Rudman (born June 1, 1963) is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and Sesame Street . Rudman currently performs the roles of Scooter, Janice, and Beaker for The Muppets Studio, which were all originated by Richard Hunt, as well as Cookie Monster and Baby Bear on Sesame Street.
Rudman has been a Sesame Street performer since 1985—currently performing Cookie Monster (since 2001), Baby Bear and the right head of the Two-Headed Monster (since 1998). He has received four Emmy nominations as Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his work on Sesame Street. Rudman has also directed several web videos for Sesame Street such as "Cookie Monster Auditions for Saturday Night Live" and "Conversations with Bert". He has performed in numerous television shows and specials including Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Muppets, where he performed characters originally portrayed by Richard Hunt, such as Scooter, Janice, Bobby Benson and Wayne. His film credits include The Muppets Take Manhattan, Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, A Muppet Christmas Carol, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted. Following the departure of Steve Whitmire in 2016, he became Beaker's new performer in 2017.
Rudman attended Highland Park High School and graduated in 1981. He has been a speaker at the school's biennial Focus on the Arts program since 2003. He attended college at the University of Connecticut. [1]
Rudman was the speaker at the 2005 graduation ceremony for the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago. [2]
| Company type | Private |
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| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | Chicago , Illinois |
| Products | Television programs |
| Website | https://spiffypictures.com/ |
Spiffy Pictures is a Chicago-based production company that was founded by David and Adam Rudman in 2003. The studio consists mainly of live-action television shows developed for networks such as Noggin, Disney Channel, the Nick Jr. Channel, and PBS.
In addition to his work on Sesame Street and with the Muppets, Rudman is co-owner of Spiffy Pictures where he co-created, executive produced, directed and performed in Jack's Big Music Show (Noggin), Curious Buddies (Nick Jr. Baby), Bunnytown (Disney Junior), Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (Warner Bros.), Frankie and Frank (Nick Jr.), and Donkey Hodie (PBS Kids). He is the creator, executive producer, character designer, director and voice director of the animated series Nature Cat (PBS Kids), also voicing several characters including Leo the Mammoth, Prospector Jones, Nevin, and the Seeker.
| Year | Production | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Muppets Take Manhattan | Additional Muppets | Performer |
| 1986 | Labyrinth | Goblins | Puppeteer |
| 1992 | The Muppet Christmas Carol | Swedish Chef, Wander McMooch | Performer |
| 1993 | Billy Bunny's Animal Songs | Frog, Gopher, Penguin, Percival Bear, Termite | |
| 1995 | Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree | Ned Mouse | Performer; television film |
| 1999 | The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland | Baby Bear, Caterpillar, Pestie, Collander Stenchman, Ice Cream Customer, Alarm Clock Bird, Fat Blue Customer, Gassy Grouch, Grouch Prisoner | Performer |
| 2008 | Abby in Wonderland | Cookie Monster | Performer; direct-to-DVD film |
| 2011 | The Muppets | Scooter, Janice, Miss Poogy, Wayne, Bobby Benson, Singing Food | Performer |
| 2013 | Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map | Scooby-Doo | Puppeteer; direct-to-DVD film |
| 2014 | Muppets Most Wanted | Scooter, Janice, Miss Poogy, Wayne, Bobby Benson | Performer |
| Year | Production | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–present | Sesame Street | Cookie Monster, Baby Bear, Sully, Sonny Friendly, Humphrey, Flo Bear | Performer |
| 1985 | Little Muppet Monsters | Boo Monster | Performer |
| 1986 | The Tale of the Bunny Picnic | Snort, Snail, Additional Muppets | Performer; television special |
| 1987 | A Muppet Family Christmas | Additional Muppets, Miss Piggy's Photographer (voice) | Performer; television special |
| 1987–1989 | The Jim Henson Hour | Additional Muppets | Performer |
| 1989 | The Ghost of Faffner Hall | Earl the Dragon | |
| 1990 | The Cosby Show | Sweetums, Boo Monster | |
| The Earth Day Special | Lizard | Performer; television special | |
| The Magical World of Disney | Dog, Frog, | Performer | |
| 1991 | Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake | Athena, Chicago the Lion | Performer; television special |
| 1991–1992 | Dinosaurs | Additional Dinosaurs | Performer; 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Sesame Street Stays Up Late! | Baby Bear, MNN Logo Orange Monster, Grouches, AM Monsters | Performer; television special |
| 1993–1994 | CityKids | Dread, Frankie Frank, Lieutenant, Koozbanians, Toya | Performer |
| 1994 | Dog City | Bowser | Voice; 1 episode |
| 1996 | Aliens in the Family | Bobut, Orange and Purple Yukkles | Performer |
| 1997 | Muppets Tonight | Additional Muppets | |
| 2002–2007 | Play with Me Sesame | Cookie Monster, Chicago the Lion, Ernestine | |
| 2004–2005 | Curious Buddies | Director, writer | |
| 2005–2007 | Jack's Big Music Show | Jack | Performer, co-creator, executive producer |
| 2007–2008 | Bunnytown | Yellow Cave Bunny, Hoppy Funtooth, Blue Bunny Musician | |
| 2008 | Studio DC: Almost Live | Janice, Scooter | Performer |
| A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Performer; television special | ||
| 2009 | Dinner: Impossible | Cookie Monster | Performer; 1 episode |
| 2009–2010 | Where is Warehouse Mouse? | Director | |
| 2012 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Janice | Performer; 1 episode |
| 2013 | Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular | Janice, Scooter | Performer; television special |
| 2014–2016 | The Furchester Hotel | Cookie Monster, Gonger, Sorbet | Performer |
| 2015–2016 | The Muppets | Janice, Scooter, Satay | |
| 2015–2024 | Nature Cat | Leo the Mammoth, Additional voices | Voice, co-creator, executive producer |
| 2019–2022 | Chip and Potato | Director | |
| 2019 | Drop the Mic | Beaker | Performer; 1 episode |
| Lip Sync Battle | Cookie Monster | ||
| 2020 | The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo | Performer [3] | |
| Muppets Now | Janice, Scooter, Beaker, Miss Poogy | ||
| 2021 | Muppets Haunted Mansion | Janice, Scooter, Beaker, Wayne, Squid Ghost | Performer; Halloween special for Disney+ |
| 2021–present | Donkey Hodie | Bob Dog, Grampy Hodie, Stanley the Dragon. | Performer, co-creator, executive producer |
| 2022 | Mecha Builders | Mecha Cookie Monster | Voice |
| 2023 | The Muppets Mayhem | Janice | Performer |
| Year(s) | Production | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Muppet*Vision 3D | Roy, Max | Performer, theme park show |
| 2003 | Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic | Cookie Monster, Two-Headed Monster | Performer, theme park film |
| 2021 | The Muppets' Christmas Caroling Coach | Beaker | Voice, theme park show [4] |
| 2025 | "World of Color Happiness!" preshow | Scooter, Janice, Beaker | Performer, theme park show [5] |
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