Crushes on Muppeteers

[Emilia]

Firstly, I'd like to start off and say that I'm not sure whether I'm posting this thread in the right spot, so if anyone objects I apologise in advance.

Well, onto the topic. I saw a photo of Peter Linz the other day and I realised I had a major crush on him. His smile could possibly melt a gargantuan Artic glacier. That photo of him on Muppet Wiki ... oh, wow. He might be the same age as my mother, but still... wow.

Anyway I was wondering who else had crushes on Muppeteers, how serious they were, etc. I just think it would be completely rad to see people who focus just as much, if not more, on the person behind a Muppet just as much (if not more) than the character they create and/or perform. And though there are many who do, I mean in a more.... how do I put this?.... Justin Bieber-ish stance.

And for my own sake I realy hope Peter Linz doesn't frequent these boards otherwise I've totally made a right idiot of myself.

 

[charlietheowl]

Well, I've always thought that Boober was just so cute with his little hat and scarf and red hair and...

Oh. You said Muppeteers and not Muppets. Oh well.

 

[CensoredAlso]

And though there are many who do, I mean in a more.... how do I put this?.... Justin Bieber-ish stance.

I prefer to call it a Paul McCartney-ish stance. I'm just old fashioned that way, lol.

 

[Emilia]

I prefer to call it a Paul McCartney-ish stance. I'm just old fashioned that way, lol.

Leif Garrett-ish stance?
Shaun Cassidy-ish stance?
Frank Sinatra-ish stance?

I'm more of a George Harrison fan myself.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Leif Garrett-ish stance?
Shaun Cassidy-ish stance?
Frank Sinatra-ish stance?

I'm more of a George Harrison fan myself.

True, they all work too, lol. And yes I was always a George fan as well.

 

[DannyRWW]

And for my own sake I realy hope Peter Linz doesn't frequent these boards otherwise I've totally made a right idiot of myself.

I don't think so, but I read in an interview Walter does and I hear those two are close. hmmm. I think this is an interesting topic though. Kind of puts the Muppeteers up there in Rock Star Status. One of the reasons I got into puppetry was that I get to hide behind a stage and perform. I wonder if the Muppeteers would like the attention or not. That would be the bigger question. Interesting thought though.

 

[Emilia]

I think this is an interesting topic though. Kind of puts the Muppeteers up there in Rock Star Status. One of the reasons I got into puppetry was that I get to hide behind a stage and perform. I wonder if the Muppeteers would like the attention or not. That would be the bigger question. Interesting thought though.

Oh, it is interesting. In the age of the internet, you can run but you can't hide.

I think Kevin Clash probably has quite a few fans -- from an objective standpoint, he's an attractive man, has a decent following and he's made his presence known in the media. So from that case study perhaps some Muppeteers DO like the attention!

My opinion about Muppeteers and their sudden rise to Rock Star status is probably due to the general public's gradual manifestation of the perception that Muppeteers are actors-- and they are actors, except they're not seen and they act through a piece of rubber foam. I think what the public might think is that we go to films or stage shows and discuss an actor's performance, we go to films/productions just to see certain actors and we are just as interested -- if not more interested -- in the actor than the character they play. Same is getting true for puppeteers. It's not a widespread notion, but it is more prevalent now than ever before.

I mean, though non- 'Muppet geeks' or 'uber-fans' can come out of a movie and go 'oh, that was a great performance', more and more people seem to be going 'Oh, Peter Linz was amazing as Walter', or 'Oh, Carroll Spinney's Big Bird was as good as ever' or 'Oh, Artie Esposito's Kermit was slightly off.' (Just examples.) This is because they now have this option to look up these performers and keep track of everything they're doing and join forums such as this to discuss the characters and the puppeteers themselves.

So yeah, not sure if puppeteering can be considered an anonymous profession anymore.

 

[CensoredAlso]

'Oh, Artie Esposito's Kermit was slightly off.'

I actually thought he did a good job.

So yeah, not sure if puppeteering can be considered an anonymous profession anymore.

Yeah I think we have the Internet to thank for that. Information became much more readily available for people. I remember David Rudman saying he'd watched the Muppet performers on 60 Minutes as a kid and really tried to pay attention so he could remember their names and who performed what character. Now of course it's easier because we can record TV appearances or just look up the information online (of course keeping in mind the Internet is often wrong, lol).

 

[D'Snowth]

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph has a unique flair to her, I think...

 

[Aaron]

In the past, threads like this have been frowned upon by the administrative team. But who am i to say? I'm not a moderator