Richard Coombs is a British

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 extensively on television shows, feature films, commercials, and music videos. From 1987 to 1988, he worked 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 ...

Saturday morning children's show, ''

Get Fresh ''Get Fresh'' is a children's television programme that originally aired from 1986 to 1988 in the United Kingdom. Format A Saturday-morning kids' TV show, broadcast on the Children's ITV network, the show featured Gareth Jones (aka Gaz Top), ...

'', where he operated the puppet Gilbert the Alien, alongside fellow puppeteer

John Eccleston John Eccleston is an English puppeteer, writer and presenter known for his work as lead puppeteer of Rygel on '' Farscape'', Groove on ''The Hoobs'', and his many roles on British children's television alongside Don Austen. He was also behind t ...

, with the character's voice performed by

Phil Cornwell Philip Cornwell (born 5 October 1957) is an English actor, comedian, impressionist and writer. He is part of the '' Dead Ringers'' television and radio series, and was the voice of Murdoc Niccals in the virtual band Gorillaz. Cornwell has co-w ...

. Coombs was one of the three puppeteers (again alongside Eccleston as well as Michael J. Bassett), who each alternately controlled and voiced the puppet character, Scally the Dog, who co-presented

Children's ITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...

, from 1989–1991. From 1990-1992 he performed the character of Ringo the Rabbit on A Kind of Magic, an ITV programme starring British magician

Wayne Dobson Wayne Dobson (born 5 July 1957, Leicester, England) is an English magician, who became well-known through various television appearances in the late 1980s and 1990s. At the height of his fame he had his own television series ''Wayne Dobson - A Ki ...

. In January 2003, he returned as Scally on the ''CITV's 20th Birthday Bash'' programme, alongside fellow presenter, Jeanne Downs. He is a ''

Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...

'' performer and has worked on several

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 ...

Muppet projects. He was one of the puppeteers on the ITV satirical 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 ...

'', and worked on the 2005 film version of ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comic science fiction, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally The Hitchhiker's Guide to th ...

''.

Filmography

*''

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 ...

'':

goblins A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

(uncredited) *''

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 ...

'' (uncredited) *''

The Ghost of Faffner Hall ''The Ghost of Faffner Hall'' is a children's television series from Jim Henson Productions and the British ITV company Tyne Tees Television which aired from August 16, 1989 to November 11, 1989 in the UK, and slightly later in the US. The puppet ...

'': The Zookeeper, Madame Mumu, Mr. Director, Piganini, other guest characters *'' The Storyteller'': devils in "The Soldier and Death" *''

The NeverEnding Story III ''The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia'' (also known as: ''The NeverEnding Story III: Return to Fantasia'') is a 1994 fantasy-adventure film. It is the third and final film in the franchise. It stars Jason James Richter as Bastian Balth ...

'' *''

Flat Eric Flat Eric is a puppet character, created by Quentin Dupieux (better known under his stage name Mr. Oizo), from Levi's commercials for Sta-Prest One Crease Denim Clothing, built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. His name comes from an idea for a ...

'' *'' The Honey Monster'' (facial controls) *''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'':

White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! ...

(face/voice) *'' Snow Queen'':

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

(puppeteer) *"

Playtime ''Playtime'' (stylized as ''PlayTime'' and also written as ''Play Time'') is a 1967 comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. In the film, Tati again plays Monsieur Hulot, the popular character who had central roles in his earlier films ''Les Vacanc ...

(puppeteer) *"

The Roly Mo Show ''The Roly Mo Show'' is a British children's television series featuring a cast of puppets; it is a spin-off of ''Fimbles'', similarly to how the series parodied Sesame Street, Rainbow and Ni Ni's Treehouse and was created by Novel Entertainme ...

(Puppeteer and Voice of Rocket) *'' Play With Me Sesame UK'': Domby *''

:''

Kwaltz This page is a list of characters in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', by Douglas Adams. The descriptions of the characters are accompanied by information on details about appearances and references to the characters. Main characters ...

(face) *

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

's ''The Last Video'' *''

'' *'' Little Shop of Horrors'' *'' Babe: Pig in the City'' * ''

Mongrels A mongrel, mutt or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized breed and including those that are the result of intentional breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometimes preferred, many mongr ...

'' (puppeteer) *''

Sooty (2001 TV series) ''Sooty'' is a British children's television series, created and presented by Richard Cadell, and premiered on CITV on 5 November 2001, running for three series. The programme is the fourth programme in the franchise of the same name, and re ...

'' (puppeteer)

References

External links

Official site
* Muppet performers British puppeteers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-tv-bio-stub