John Kennedy (born November 17, 1967) is an American

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...

who has worked with

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

since 1990. He hails from

Plainfield, Indiana Plainfield is a town in Guilford, Liberty, and Washington townships, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 27,631 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 35,287. History In 1822 a tract of land whic ...

. From 1991 until 2003, Kennedy took over

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 ...

's role of Dr. Teeth, after which

Bill Barretta William Paul Barretta (born June 19, 1964) is an American puppeteer, actor, producer, writer, and director, who is best known for providing the puppetry and voice of characters such as Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo ...

took over in 2005. Kennedy has also performed

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, England ...

, replacing

Steve Whitmire Steven Lawrence Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work on ''The Muppets'' and ''Sesame Street''. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire inherited the roles of Ernie and Kerm ...

Characters

* Dr. Teeth (1991–2003) * Floyd Pepper (2005–2006) *''

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 ...

'' –

Horton the Elephant Horton the Elephant is a fictional character from the 1940 book ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' and 1954 book ''Horton Hears a Who!'', both by Dr. Seuss. In both books and subsequent media, Horton is characterized as a kind, sweet-natured and naïve e ...

, Mr. Knox, Sam-I-Am, Little Cat C, Uncle Docks, Etc. *''

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 ...

'' *

(''

Disney Cruise Lines Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, England ...

'') *Apollo (''

Jim Henson's Pajanimals ''Jim Henson's Pajanimals'' (a portmanteau of the words ''pajamas'' and ''animals'') is an American-British children's TV series created by Jeff Muncy and Alex Rockwell. The Pajanimals are characters that were made by Jim Henson's Creature Sho ...

'') * Floyd Pepper (''

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz ''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' is a 2005 musical fantasy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher. It is the second film to be made for television in ''The Muppets'' franchise. The film stars Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor, Quentin Tarantino, David ...

'' (2005) & The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas (2006)) *''

'': Angel Marie (2005) *Bernie the Pig (''

Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman ''Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman'' (sometimes shortened as ''Fetch!'') is an American live-action/ animated television series that aired on PBS Kids Go! and is largely targeted towards middle school children. It is a reality-game show that is hosted b ...

'') (2006–2010) *''

Kermit's Swamp Years ''Kermit's Swamp Years'' is a 2002 American direct-to-video comedy film directed by David Gumpel. It is the second direct-to-video feature film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. The film follows a young Kermit the Frog and his best friends, Goggles a ...

'': Blotch and Arnie the Alligator (2002) *''

Animal Jam ''Animal Jam Classic'', formerly known as ''Animal Jam'', is a massively multiplayer online game that is developed by WildWorks and recommended for kids up to the age of 12. It was launched in 2010, in collaboration with the National Geographic ...

'': DJ 1 (2003) *''

episode 4111: Cookie World (baby's Dad), The Amazing Mumford (2018-present) *''

Julie's Greenroom ''Julie's Greenroom'' is an American educational pre-school television series that was released on Netflix on March 17, 2017. Characters * Miss Julie (portrayed by Julie Andrews) – The director of the Wellspring Center for the Performing Arts. ...

'': Toby the Dog *''Dash's Adulthood: A Tribute to Starsky & Hutch'': Austin *''

Jack's Big Music Show ''Jack's Big Music Show'' is an American musical children's television series produced for the Noggin channel. It was created and executive produced by David Rudman, Todd Hannert, and Adam Rudman through their company Spiffy Pictures. The main ...

'': Mel

Events

*''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

Take the Bowl'': Additional Muppet Performer; live show at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, Sept. 8–10, 2017 *''The Muppets Take the O2'': Additional Muppet Performer; live show at

the O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

, Jul. 13-14, 2018

Books

Kennedy has written instructional books on puppeteering, aimed at younger audiences: * *

References

* *

External links

Biography at PuppetKit
* 1967 births Living people American puppeteers Muppet performers People from Plainfield, Indiana {{US-entertainer-stub