Martin P. Robinson | |
---|---|
Born | March 9, 1954 |
Other names | Marty Robinson |
Education | American Academy of Dramatic Arts |
Occupation | Puppeteer |
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouse | Annie Evans (m. 2008) |
Children | 5 |
Website | http://www.martinprobinson.com/ |
Martin P. Robinson (born March 9, 1954) is an American puppeteer who works for the Jim Henson Company. He is best known for his work on Sesame Street , having performed the characters of Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch's pet worm Slimey, Oscar's niece Irvine, Buster the Horse, and Shelley the Turtle for over 40 years. [1] [2] [3] He performed the characters Riff the Cat and Clef the dad on Allegra's Window , and was an animatronic puppeteer for Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . [4]
Robinson grew up in Brookfield, Wisconsin. His father was a hydraulics engineer and his mother was a teacher. He graduated from Brookfield East High School in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. [5] He graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1974. Robinson originally intended to become a character actor, but work was scarce. He later toured with a marionette company, eventually working under puppeteer Bil Baird.[ citation needed ]
Robinson married Sesame Street writer Annie Evans on August 9, 2008, on the set of Sesame Street in the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York. Evans gave birth to twin daughters on February 12, 2009. Robinson also has three children from a previous marriage and two grandchildren. [6] He and his family live in Redding, Connecticut. [7]
Year | Production | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | The Muppets Take Manhattan | Swedish Chef (hands), Buster the Horse, Additional Muppets | Performer |
1985 | Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird | Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Board of Birds Member, Grouch Diner Patron, Additional Muppets | Performer |
1990 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Leonardo | Facial assistant [8] |
1999 | The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland | Telly Monster, Laundromat Manager, Little Ricky | Performer |
2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Crazy Harry, Additional Muppets | Performer, voice |
Year(s) | Production | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981–present | Sesame Street | Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Slimey the Worm, Buster the Horse, Irvine, Mrs. Grouch, Dicky Tick, Vincent Twice, Old MacDonald, Freddy, Additional Muppets | Performer [9] |
1983 | Don't Eat the Pictures | Mr. Snuffleupagus | Performer; Television special [10] |
1985 | Little Muppet Monsters | Rat, Cow, Walrus, Additional Muppets | Performer |
1986 | The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years | Telly Monster | Performer (uncredited); Television special |
1986 | The Tale of the Bunny Picnic | Farmer, Additional Muppets | Performer; Television special |
1987 | A Muppet Family Christmas | Additional Muppets | Performer; Television special |
1988 | The Transformers | Powermaster Optimus Prime | Puppeteer (season 5) |
1990 | The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson | Telly Monster, Additional Muppets | Performer; Television special |
1994–1996 | Allegra's Window | Riff, Clef | Voice, performer |
1996 | Elmo Saves Christmas | Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Santa's Elf, Additional Muppets | Performer; Television special |
1998 | The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss | The Cat in the Hat | Performer (season 2) [8] |
2002 | Between the Lions | Grandpa Lion | Performer, Episode: "Out in Outer Space" |
2009, 2013 | Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | Mr. Snuffleupagus, Additional Muppets | Performer; 2 episodes |
2013 | Good Morning America | Telly Monster | Performer; 1 episode |
2015 | Saturday Night Live | Mr. Snuffleupagus | Voice (uncredited) |
2019–2023 | Helpsters | Mr. Primm | Performer [8] |
2020 | The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo | Telly Monster, Freddy | Performer |
2021 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Octopus | Puppeteer #1; 1 episode |
Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Sesame Street: Numbers | Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus | Voice role |
1996 | Get Set to Learn! | Telly Monster, Martian | |
1998 | The Three Grouchketeers | Telly Monster | |
2001 | Sesame Street: Sports | ||
Sesame Street: Letters | Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus | ||
2011 | Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster | Slimey the Worm | |
2012 | Kinect Sesame Street TV | Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Martian |
Year(s) | Production | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Muppet Meeting Films | Papa Luigi | Short film |
1982, 2003 | Little Shop of Horrors | Audrey II | Puppeteer in the original 1982 off-Broadway and 2003 Broadway productions [8] [11] |
1988 | Jim Henson's Play-Along Video | Crocodile, Raccoon, Additional Muppets | Performer; Direct-to-video series |
2003 | Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic | Telly Monster | Performer, theme park film |
Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/HBO children's television program Sesame Street. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a trash can. Oscar's favorite thing is trash, as evidenced by the song "I Love Trash", with a running theme being his collection of seemingly useless items. Although the term "Grouch" aptly describes Oscar's misanthropic interaction with the other characters, it also refers to his species. The character was originally performed by Caroll Spinney from the show's first episode until his retirement. Eric Jacobson began understudying for the character in 2015, and in 2018 officially became the primary performer of the role following Spinney's retirement.
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is a 1999 American musical adventure comedy film directed by Gary Halvorson in his feature film debut. This was the second of the two theatrical feature films to be based on the children's television series Sesame Street, after Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird in 1985. It stars Mandy Patinkin and Vanessa Williams alongside Muppet performers Kevin Clash, Caroll Spinney, Steve Whitmire, and Frank Oz.
Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake is a 1991 television special based on the children's television show Sesame Street. In the special, Big Bird celebrates his sixth birthday. The special aired on PBS stations during the week of March 9, 1991 as part of the PBS pledge drive season. On March 15, the special was re-aired as the Sesame Street episode "2835", with additional inserts from previous episodes added and the pledge break scene removed.
Rosita is a Muppet character on the children's television series Sesame Street. Fluent in both American English and Mexican Spanish, she is the first regular bilingual Muppet on the show. Rosita comes from Mexico and likes to play the guitar.
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird is a 1985 American musical road comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis, and written by Tony Geiss and Judy Freudberg. Based on the children's television series Sesame Street created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, it was the series' first theatrical feature-length film. It stars Muppet performers Caroll Spinney, Jim Henson and Frank Oz alongside Sandra Bernhard, John Candy, Chevy Chase, Joe Flaherty, Waylon Jennings, and Dave Thomas with Sesame Street regulars Linda Bove, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Roscoe Orman, Alaina Reed, and Kermit Love in supporting roles and the voices of Laraine Newman, Brian Hohlfeld, Cathy Silvers, Eddie Deezen, and Sally Kellerman.
Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting is a 1989 television special celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Sesame Street. Hosted by Bill Cosby, the special aired on Friday, April 7, 1989, on NBC.
Sesame Street Stays Up Late! is a 1993 Sesame Street New Year's Eve television special with guest appearances of characters from the international versions of Sesame Street. The special was produced by the Children's Television Workshop in association with Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Israel Educational Television, NHK, Televisa S.A. de C.V., Norsk Rikskringkasting and Radiotelevisão Portuguesa, the respective broadcasters of the respective international co-productions featured in the special. This special also marked Steve Whitmire's first performance as Ernie.
Elmopalooza! is a Sesame Street 30th anniversary special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998. It was taped in the middle of the 29th season of Sesame Street, and features music video remakes of several classic songs from the show performed by celebrity guests.
Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a one-hour Sesame Street special that aired on PBS on November 16, 1983. The title comes from a song in the special, "Don't Eat the Pictures", sung by Cookie Monster. It was available as a video tape by Random House in 1987, and it was re-released on VHS by Sony Wonder in 1996 and on DVD in 2011. The special has everybody reprising their roles from the children's television series, Sesame Street. The story takes on getting locked in at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art as they embark on an adventure to find their friend Big Bird, who has gotten lost finding Snuffy. They must stay there until the morning while avoiding a night watchman. The special features the regular human cast of Sesame Street along with several puppet characters, including Cookie Monster, Telly, Bert & Ernie, The Count, Grover, and Oscar the Grouch. Snuffy also appears, even though his names are revealed to be Mr. Snuffleupagus and Aloysius Snuffleupagus; however, at this point in the show's history, he is still the imaginary friend of Big Bird, never seen by the other characters on Sesame Street.
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.
Elmo's Christmas Countdown is a 2007 television Christmas special, featuring the characters from Sesame Street. It was first aired on December 23, 2007, on ABC and starred Ben Stiller.
Two syndication packages of Sesame Street episodes, titled Sesame Street Unpaved and 123 Sesame Street, were produced by the Noggin cable channel in 1999. At the time, Sesame Workshop co-owned Noggin and many of the company's older programs were replayed on the channel. Unpaved aired until 2002, and 123 aired until 2005.
A wide variety of characters have appeared on the American children's television series Sesame Street. Many of the characters are Muppets, which are puppets made in Jim Henson's distinctive puppet-creation style. Most of the non-Muppet characters are human characters, but there are many characters that are animated.
There have been a variety of Sesame Street video games released for video game platforms. Most of the Sesame Street video games were published and developed by NewKidCo.
Around the Corner was a Sesame Street set/location expansion in Season 25, until it was removed after Season 29 (1997-1998). Around the Corner on Sesame Street the book was also released in 1994 to promotion the new expansion of Sesame Street.
Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration is a 2019 musical television special to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street. Hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the special aired on November 9, 2019, on HBO, followed by a November 17 airing on PBS. It stars the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street, including Kermit the Frog, from the past and present. Many retired cast members and characters reunited on the street for the first time in years since their last appearances. This is the final Sesame Street special to feature long-time Muppet performer Caroll Spinney, who performed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for 50 years as well as the cast members Emilio Delgado and Bob McGrath, who played Luis and Bob, respectively, for 45 years.