Nikki Tilroe (December 26, 1941 – September 1, 2005) was an American actress, dancer and puppeteer. She is best known for her work as the "Mime Lady" on the children's television series '' Today's Special''. She also operated

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...

s on the TV show '' Fraggle Rock'' and played "Beaver" on ''

Cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

''. Tilroe worked out of Los Angeles during 1950s and 1960s and Toronto during the 1970s and 1980s, and served as director for Frog Print Theater. In 1975 Tilroe was awarded a "Citation of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry" by Jim Henson. In 1993 she received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

as the head puppeteer on the production of ''The Land of I''. Tilroe appeared on the children's television show ''

Charlie Horse Music Pizza ''The Charlie Horse Music Pizza'' is an American children's television show that was shown on PBS Kids in the United States from January 5, 1998, to January 17, 1999, with reruns continuing to air until September 5, 1999. Reruns again aired on PB ...

'', and was one of three puppeteers to manipulate the "

Snuggle Snuggle is a brand of fabric softener sold by Henkel North American Consumer Goods in the United States and Canada. The brand was introduced in 1983 by Unilever. The product is available in sheets or liquid (in concentrate and ready-to-use for ...

Bear", a puppet designed by

Kermit Love Kermit Ernest Hollingshead Love (August 7, 1916 – June 21, 2008) was an American puppet maker, puppeteer, costume designer, and actor in children's television and on Broadway. He was best known as a designer and builder with the Muppets ...

. Tilroe also taught puppetry courses through several venues, including the University of Hawaii, the Toronto Teacher's College, at festivals and conferences, and through the O'Neill Puppetry Conference. She also wrote about puppetry, including the 1996 booklet, ''Movement in puppetry performance''. Tilroe worked on the web-produced puppet films for Sammy Snail, and in 2004 she received a grant from The

Jim Henson Foundation The Jim Henson Foundation was founded by puppeteer and Muppet creator Jim Henson to promote and develop puppetry in the United States. Since 1992 Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson has served as the president for the Foundation. It is the only g ...

for a production called Aging, produced with Larry Siegel through Tricinium Limited in

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

. Tilroe died aged 63 at her home in

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...

on September 1, 2005. She had been suffering from

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

and

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

diseases. Her remains were cremated. In Movember and December 2005, The two movies Friday Night Brights (DVD release film) and

Escape from Octopus Shores Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

(TV Film) are released on Happy Feet Productions in St. Louis as the posthumously releases. In 2007, the O'Neill Puppetry Conference recognized Tilroe's contribution to puppetry by providing a scholarship in her name. The Nikki Tilroe Scholarship is supported by her family and friends and it is awarded to candidates with a particular interest in "movement and dedication to the art of puppetry".

Filmography

*''

'' (1972) -

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

*'' Math Patrol'' (1977) *''Today's Special: Live on Stage'' (1981) - Many characters *'' Follow That Bird'' (1985) - Board of Birds *''

The Christmas Toy ''The Christmas Toy'' is a 1986 television film directed by Eric Till and produced by The Jim Henson Company, featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, including Rugby the Tiger who remembers how he was the Christmas Toy last year, and thinks he is going t ...

'' (1986) - Ding-a-Ling *'' Today's Special'' (1981–86) - Mime Lady *'' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–87) - Merple Merggle *''

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 ...

'' (1996) (Episode: The Simplifier) *''Water from the Moon'' (2002)

References

External links

* 1941 births 2005 deaths American puppeteers American dancers American television actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from New Hampshire People from Derry, New Hampshire Muppet performers {{US-actor-stub