Anthony Asbury (born September 14, 1959) is an American actor and puppeteer. He has been working as a puppeteer for over three decades.

Career

Asbury, a native of Arlington, Texas, began his career as a puppeteer on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

satire show

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...

, where he performed a majority of characters between 1984 and 1992, these included voicing several of the characters including

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

, and

Edwin Meese Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan pres ...

, together with Steve Nallon he was the puppeteer for

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

from the second season. It was on Spitting Image that he met

Louise Gold Louise Gold (born 1956) is an English puppeteer, actress and singer whose career has spanned more than four decades. She is best known for her work as a puppeteer on television and for roles in musical theatre in the West End. Gold was raised ...

, who introduced Asbury to

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

, who at the time was currently in the proceeds of production for ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

''. Henson invited Asbury to perform some of the creatures for the film, Asbury was the puppeteer for Firey 5, One of the Four Guards, Right Door Knocker. Asbury later remained associated with the Henson company, performing puppets for other film and television roles these included '' The Witches'', ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'' and ''

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss ''The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'' is an American children's puppet television series based on characters created by Dr. Seuss, produced by The Jim Henson Company. It aired from October 13, 1996, to December 28, 1998, on Nickelodeon. It combin ...

''. Asbury's other roles include '' Little Shop of Horrors'' and ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...

''.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1984–1992) * ''

Round the Bend ''Round the Bend!'' is a satirical British children's television series, which ran on Children's ITV for three series from January 6, 1989, to May 7, 1991. The programme was produced by Hat Trick Productions for Yorkshire Television. After its ...

'' (1989–1991) * ''

'' (1986) * '' Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986) * '' The Witches'' (1990) * ''

'' (episode ''Fat'' 1992) * ''

'' (1994) * ''

Allegra's Window ''Allegra's Window'' is an American children's television series that aired on Nickelodeon through its Nick Jr. block from October 24, 1994, to December 8, 1996, with reruns being shown until February 5, 1999; it was later shown on Noggin from F ...

'' (1994-1996) Rondo, Poco * ''

'' - Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, Yertle the Turtle, The Grinch, Terrence McBird, Additional Muppets * ''

Harry's Mad ''Harry's Mad'' was a children's television programme that was shown on CITV in the United Kingdom between 4 January 1993 and 11 March 1996. It is based upon a book written by Dick King-Smith. Steve Attridge originally adapted the book and wrote ...

'' (1993) * ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' (2003) * ''

Between the Lions ''Between the Lions'' is an American animated/live-action/puppet children's television series designed to promote reading. The show was a co-production between WGBH in Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, in association with Miss ...

'' - Lionel Lion * '' Noddy'' (1998)

References

*Chester, Lewis. ''Tooth & Claw – The Inside Story of Spitting Image'', Faber and Faber, 1986

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asbury, Anthony 1959 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American puppeteers Muppet performers Sesame Street Muppeteers People from Arlington, Texas