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).
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, surrealist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. Originally owned by the Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the franchise was purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2004.
Nottinghamshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county borders South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Nottingham (323,632).
Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in south Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. The borough also includes the towns of Bingham and Cotgrave as well as numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Some of the built-up areas in the north-west of the borough, including West Bridgford, form part of the Nottingham Urban Area.
Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuildings. The surrounding parkland has a herd of deer, and is regularly used for large-scale outdoor events such as rock concerts, sporting events and festivals.
West Bridgford is a town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Rushcliffe, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies south of Nottingham city centre, east of Wilford, north of Ruddington and west of Radcliffe-on-Trent. It is also southwest of Colwick and southeast of Beeston which are on the opposite bank of the River Trent. The town is part of the Nottingham Urban Area and had a population of 36,487 in a 2021-census.
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.
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as international cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of the Twenty20 Cup twice and will host the final of the One-Day Cup between 2020 and 2024.
Rushcliffe is a constituency in Nottinghamshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2019 by Ruth Edwards, a Conservative.
East Bridgford is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, east of the city of Nottingham. It had a population of 1,814 at the 2011 census, falling to 1,763 at the 2021 census. The village adjoins the south bank of the River Trent, opposite the village of Gunthorpe. It is on the Trent Valley Way. East Bridgford's annual village show is run by the village Horticultural Society, established in 1864, and held every Feast Week.
The West Bridgford School is a co-educational comprehensive school with academy status in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England.
William Todd-Jones is a Welsh puppeteer, puppet designer, performer, director, movement consultant and writer for film, television and theatre in the UK and abroad.
Michael Earl was an American puppeteer. A four-time Emmy Award-winner whose credits include Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street (1978–1981) 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, two 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.
The Sumac Centre is a self-managed social centre in Nottingham, UK. It provides resources, meeting spaces and workshops for groups and individuals, and supports campaigning for human rights, animal rights, the environment, and peace. It is part of the UK Social Centre Network and the radical catering group Veggies is based at the centre. It receives no regular funding, the core groups each pay rent that goes toward the mortgage and running costs. Some of the groups are run by volunteers. Its origins can to traced to the Rainbow Centre, which was established in 1984.
Don Austen is an English puppeteer. Austen joined the Jim Henson Creature Shop in 1986 for the movie Labyrinth. He was a puppeteer for other blockbuster movies including Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), The Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), The Bear (L'ours) (1988), The Witches (1990), and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).
David Chapman is an English actor, presenter, puppeteer and voice artist.
Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election was held in 2021.
Bookaboo is a children's television series created and produced by Lucy Goodman of Happy Films and co-directed by Ian Emes. The show incorporates puppets, celebrities, picture books, songs, and animation. The main character is Bookaboo, a renowned rock puppy who travels worldwide with his band. Lucy Goodman developed the show in response to her research on the decline of parental reading in households. The aim of Bookaboo is to encourage both children and adults to enjoy sharing books together. The series is available for streaming on Amazon Video in the United Kingdom and has aired on ABC2 in Australia, CBC Television in Canada, and Amazon Video in the United States.
The Handspring Puppet Company is a South African puppetry performance and design company. It was established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Jon Weinberg, and Jill Joubert, and is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
