Michael Earl

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Michael Earl (born September 10, 1959 in Oakland, California) is an American puppeteer, actor, writer, singer and songwriter. A 4-time Emmy Award-winner whose credits include Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street (1978-80) 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, 2 Parents' Choice Awards and numerous other honors. Ticktock Minutes[1]are available on CD and DVD from BMG Special Products. Michael 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.

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[edit] History

Michael Earl (Davis) grew up in San Leandro and Livermore, CA. He began his professional career at age five acting in a Curad bandaid TV commercial. Two years later he was tapped to be the original "Is It Soup Yet?" kid for Lipton. The spot ran for three years, the first in a series of wildly popular commercials that over the next decade became one of the most successful ad campaigns in history. He performed original puppet shows from ages 10-17. On weekends during his high school years, Michael was an apprectice at Children's Fairyland Puppet Theater in Oakland, CA, where Frank Oz's father (Mike Oznowicz) sometimes visited. At 17 he attended a puppetry festival where he met Kermit Love who talked to Jim Henson (as did Oznowicz) about the earnest young puppeteer. At 18 he moved to NYC and acted in some TV commercials, as well as landing a puppeteering job working for his childhood idol, Bil Baird. At 19, Michael was hired sight-unseen by Jim Henson for The Muppet Movie and subsequently won the role of Mr. Snuffle-upagus on "Sesame Street" (replacing Jerry Nelson, the originator, 1978-80. He also created the roles of Forgetful Jones and many other Anything Muppets. Oscar the Grouch's pet worm Slimey, Poco Loco, Polly Darton and the Honkers are among his dozens of Muppet characters still seen and enjoyed by millions of children daily. His other Muppet credits include The Muppets Take Manhattan, John Denver and the Muppets, Little Muppet Monsters, The Jim Henson Hour, "Sesame Street's 20th Anniversary Special" and Dinosaurs. He also appeared (as a puppet Alien) opposite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black II. Michael has mentored and/or coached many of today's most successful TV and film puppeteers, including Drew Massey, Kevin Carlson, Camille Bonora and James Murray. He has served as a puppetry consultant to such entertainment companies as MCA/Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and Disney, working one-on-one with the Vice President of Disneyland Entertainment to conceive, develop and write puppet- and non-puppet live events, including Haunted Passages on the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. In 1989 he co-wrote and directed 7 puppeteers operating 80 puppets in the sold-out run of The Snow Queen at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles. Michael has toured the U.S. giving hundreds of concerts for children and their families, combining his talents as a singer, songwriter and puppeteer. Over the years, he has worked one-on-one with countless children and adults, teaching them puppet making and performance through such organizations as the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Mark Taper Forum/Music Center, California Youth Theatre, L.A.'s Best, Puppeteers of America, L.A. Inner City Arts, Beverly Hills Parks & Recreation, Kasier Permanente, The Sycamores, L.A. Unified School District, Art Share L.A., Hollywood Arts Council and the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission. In 2002, Michael created the "Puppet Power!" program through California Youth Theatre[2], where he taught, designed, co-built, directed and produced the first (and 2nd) annual Ivar Puppet Festival, involving 150 L.A. Unified School District teens from two different high schools building dozens of giant 15-foot puppets they performed at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood. [3] The event was a sold-out success and covered by the L.A. Times and the L.A. Daily News.

Michael Earl lives in Los Angeles, California, where he continues to create entertainment designed to encourage, instruct and strengthen children of all ages through the imaginative use of music and puppetry.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Anime roles

[edit] Non-anime roles

[edit] Live action roles

Notable TV Guest Appearances

episode: "Homeward Bound"

[edit] Movie roles

[edit] External links