Fran Brill

[YellowYahooey]

I noticed, during the Friday credits on a few Season 10 episodes, the credits under Jim Henson's Muppets section included Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt, but no credit for Fran Brill. Why was this? Was this because the muppet voice actor credits were restricted to newer street scenes and segments which Brill never appeared in? Or was it because Brill was on some kind of leave during that time (e.g. maternity leave), or did she simply choose not to be credited?

 

[minor muppetz]

Fran Brill was not credited for a long time. She was credited in season two, then she wasn't credited on the show until, I think, halfway through season 21.

While one of the main Muppet performers (or have I underestimated her "main" status all these years?), it seems like she performed on the show less per year than many of the main Muppet performers (who also had limited schedules). I think Street Gang says that she did two weeks a year and then focus on her acting.

 

[MuppetSpot]

Fran Brill was not credited for a long time. She was credited in season two, then she wasn't credited on the show until, I think, halfway through season 21.

While one of the main Muppet performers (or have I underestimated her "main" status all these years?), it seems like she performed on the show less per year than many of the main Muppet performers (who also had limited schedules). I think Street Gang says that she did two weeks a year and then focus on her acting.

Even less like occasionally it was a week she only did puppeteer work for new inserts for Sesame.

 

[minor muppetz]

Even less like occasionally it was a week she only did puppeteer work for new inserts for Sesame.

Yeah, the wiki has a sandbox page for uncredited performers, for many seasons it only lists Brill for doing one or a handful of characters (sometimes saying she just did Prairie Dawn for one insert that season).

To put it in perspective, in Street Gang and Jim Henson: The Biography, Jim Henson had it in his intended deal with Disney to be allowed to perform on Sesame Street for two weeks a year, and Joan Ganz Cooney was quoted as saying that he never actually spent that much time on the set a year. I think she might have been mistaken a little, as he did a ton of segments in the very early years. And maybe she meant two weeks in terms of consecutive days as opposed to two weeks worth of days.

But however limited Jim Henson's time on the show normally was, he seemed to be able to do a lot of sketches each year, particularly in the very early years. And maybe I am underestimating how many segments he could do for the show in a given year. But definitely a lot more than Fran Brill could do.