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Martin P. Robinson
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 40 years. He also designed, built and performed the Audrey II puppets for '' Little Shop of Horrors''. Robinson 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''. He was responsible for training the puppeteers on ''Sesame Tree'', and performed the Cat in the Hat in the second season of ''The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss''. Early life Robinson was born on March 9, 1954, in Dearborn, Michigan, and graduated from Brookfield East High School in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. Personal life Robinson married ''Sesame Street'' writer Annie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States per capita. It also is home to the largest mosque in the United States. First settled in the late 18th century by ethnic French farmers in a series of ribbon farms along the Rouge River and the Sauk Trail, the community grew in the 19th century with the establishment of the Detroit Arsenal on the Chicago Road linking Detroit and Chicago. In the 20th century, it developed as a major manufacturing hub for the automotive industry. Henry Ford was born on a farm here and later established an estate in Dearborn, as well as his River Rouge Complex, the largest factory of his Ford empire. He developed mass production of automobiles, and based the world headquarters of the Ford Motor Company here. The city has a campus of the University of Mich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens. The studio was constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Broadway theater district. The property was taken over by real estate developer George S. Kaufman in 1982 and renamed Kaufman Astoria Studios. The studio is home to New York City's only backlot, which opened in December 2013. The property was designated a national historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. History 20th century The studio was originally constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the Broadway theater district. Many features and short subjects were filmed there between 1920 and 1933. The first Sherlock Holmes sound film, ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' (also 1929), was made at the studio by the British producer Basil Dean. The first two films featuring the Marx Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland
''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 film to be based on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', after '' Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird'' (1985). It stars Mandy Patinkin and Vanessa Williams alongside Muppet performers Kevin Clash, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and Steve Whitmire. Produced by Jim Henson Pictures and Children's Television Workshop, the film was released by Columbia Pictures on October 1, 1999. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, but was a box office bomb, grossing $12 million against a budget of more than $26 million. The film was one of the few ''Sesame Street'' productions directly produced by The Jim Henson Company. Alongside ''Muppets from Space'' (which was released the same year), this was the final Muppet feature film to involve Oz, who retired from being a full-time puppeteer the following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elmo Saves Christmas
''Elmo Saves Christmas'' is a Sesame Street musical fantasy comedy television special released on PBS on December 2, 1996. It was released to VHS that same year. Inspired by the 1892 short story "Christmas Every Day" by William Dean Howells, Elmo wishes for Christmas to occur every day, only to be taken to the future to learn the adverse consequences of his wish. The program was filmed in ''Sesame Street's'' usual home, the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City. Footage from the film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' also appears in the program and after the credits. Plot The story is told in flashback by Maya Angelou, who recalls the events to Telly, Zoe, Baby Bear and several children. Elmo stays up on Christmas Eve to meet Santa Claus. He falls asleep, but is awakened by Santa stuck in the chimney. Elmo helps pull out Santa, who gives Elmo the choice of a teddy bear or a magical snow globe. Elmo chooses the globe and is granted three wishes, wasting his first wish on a glass of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
''The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson'' is a one-hour special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infection, and featured characters from ''The Muppet Show'', ''Fraggle Rock'', and ''Sesame Street''. It marked Steve Whitmire's first onscreen performance as Kermit the Frog. Plot Kermit the Frog is away traveling, leaving Fozzie Bear and the other Muppets in charge of the week's production number. On the day of the show, the Muppets receive a letter from Kermit informing them the production number is meant to pay tribute to Jim Henson. However, the group is unfamiliar with who Henson is. The rest of the special depicts the Muppets figuring out Jim Henson's relation to them, while simultaneously creating the production number. Through the course of the special, interviews of several special guests are shown (including Carol Burnett, Ray Charle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime, , is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Transformers'' franchise. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were modified and the coloring was changed; notably, Optimus Prime was colored red, white, and blue. The popularity of the Transformers toys resulted in comics, movies, and a TV series. In the Transformers mythology, Optimus Prime is a Cybertronian, an extraterrestrial species of sentient self-configuring modular robotic lifeforms (e.g.: cars and other objects), a synergistic blend of biological evolution and technological engineering. In almost every version of the mythos, Optimus is the leader of the Autobots, a faction of Transformers who are rivals of the Decepticons, another faction. He is defined by his strong moral character and is almost always portrayed as the primary hero of the story, opposing the Decepticon leader Megatron. Over t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Transformers (TV Series)
''The Transformers'' is an American animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro's ''Transformers'' toy line. The first television series in the ''Transformers'' franchise, it depicts a war among giant robots that can transform into vehicles and other objects. The series was produced by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions in association with Japanese studio Toei Animation for first-run syndication. Toei co-produced the show and was the main animation studio for the first two seasons. In the third season, Toei's involvement with the production team was reduced and the animation services were shared with the South Korean studio AKOM. The show's supervising producer (Nelson Shin) was also AKOM's founder. The fourth season was entirely animated by AKOM. The series was supplemented by a feature film, '' The Transformers: The Movie'' (1986), taking place between the second and third seasons. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Muppet Family Christmas
''A Muppet Family Christmas'' is a Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, its teleplay was conceived by longtime Muppet writer Jerry Juhl, and directed by Peter Harris and Eric Till (the latter of whom was uncredited). The special features various Muppets from ''The Muppet Show'', ''Sesame Street'', ''Fraggle Rock'', and '' Muppet Babies''. It also stars Gerard Parkes as Doc from the North American wraparound segments of ''Fraggle Rock'', and Henson as himself in a cameo appearance at the end. In the plot, the Muppets surprise Fozzie Bear's mother with a Christmas visit to her farmhouse, unaware of her planned getaway to Malibu. Due to licensing issues with songs featured in ''A Muppet Family Christmas'', some scenes have been cut from subsequent home media releases. Plot Fozzie Bear is driving many of the Muppets to his mother Emily's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tale Of The Bunny Picnic
''The Tale of the Bunny Picnic'' is a 1986 Easter TV special directed by Jim Henson and David G. Hillier. In the United States it was shown annually on HBO in the spring, usually during Easter time. It was later released on VHS in 1993. The film focuses on the Muppet character Bean Bunny (Steve Whitmire), who makes his first appearance in this special, and would later appear on additional projects featuring Jim Henson's Muppets. It was screened twice in the United Kingdom, first on March 29, 1986 on BBC One, then again on December 13, 1986. When the special originally aired on HBO, it opened with a live-action introduction that showed Jim Henson walking through a park on a spring day. In the introduction, he explains the inspiration for the story. In a park one day, he saw a large gathering of bunnies and had the thought that it looked like a bunny picnic. All of a sudden, a dog came running up and the bunnies scattered. This incident led to the creation of the television special. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Muppet Monsters
''Little Muppet Monsters'' is a Saturday morning television series featuring the Muppets that aired three episodes on CBS in 1985. The first season of '' Muppet Babies'' did so well in the ratings, that CBS decided to expand the series from a half-hour to an hour, pairing ''Muppet Babies'' with ''Little Muppet Monsters''. They called the hour-long package ''Muppets, Babies and Monsters''. Plot The show was anchored by three young Muppet monsters: Tug (performed by Richard Hunt), Molly (performed by Camille Bonora), and Boo (performed by David Rudman). The three have started their own basement show following an incident where Scooter has them put in the basement after Molly and Boo played water polo in the living room. They are joined by Nicky Napoleon (performed by James Kroupa) and his Emperor Penguins as their music act. Production Storyboard director Scott Shaw discussed the show in MuppetZine issue #3 (Winter 1993). "The concept of this second half-hour was neither simpl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elmo's World
''Elmo's World'' is a segment that is shown at the end of the long-running American children's television program ''Sesame Street'' which premiered on November 16th, 1998, as part of a broader structural change to the show. It originally lasted fifteen minutes at the end of each episode. The segment ran until 2009, and then returned in 2017. The segment was designed to appeal to younger viewers and to increase ratings, which had fallen in the past decade. The segment is presented from the perspective of a three-year-old child as represented by its host, the Muppet Elmo, performed by Kevin Clash in the original series and Ryan Dillon in the 2017 reboot. The segment was developed out of a series of workshops that studied changes in the viewing habits of Sesame Street's audience, and the reasons for the show's lower ratings. ''Elmo's World'' used traditional production elements, but had a more sustained narrative. In 2002, ''Sesame Street''s producers changed the rest of the show to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Follow That Bird
''Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird'' (or simply ''Follow That Bird'') is a 1985 American musical road comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis and written by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. Based on the long-running popular children's television series ''Sesame Street'' created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, it was the first theatrical feature-length ''Sesame Street'' 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. Produced by Sesame Workshop The Jim Henson Company and Warner Bros filmed at the Cinespace Film Studios and on location in the Greater Toronto Area, the film was released in the United States on August 2, 1985 by Warner Bros. and received mostly positive reviews from critics. However, it was a box office disappointment, grossing $13.9 million ($36 million when adjusted for inflation) and resulting in a slight loss for the Children's Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
