Richard Lyon (born February 25, 1958) 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 ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and

puppet designer A puppet designer is a person who designs and creates puppets for themselves or for other ventriloquists and puppeteers. Puppetry predates recorded history, written history in many cultures , and seems to have evolved from the mask. In Eastern a ...

and builder. He has worked for

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 ...

as one of the operators of

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...

. He appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

originating the roles of Trekkie Monster,

Nicky Nicky is a diminutive form of the name Nicholas, Nicola and Nicole, occasionally used as a given name in its own right. It can also be used as a diminutive of Dominic. It may refer to: People Sports * Nicky Adams (born 1986), English-born Welsh ...

, the blue Bad Idea Bear, and other characters in the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning musical '' Avenue Q'', a musical for which he designed and created all of the puppets. In the fall of 2005 he reprised his roles in the production of the show in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for eight months before returning to the Broadway cast. Rick was a puppeteer on

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 ...

for 15 seasons, from 1987 to 2002. He also worked with Nickelodeon on the

Stick Stickly Stick Stickly is a fictional character created by Agi Fodor and Karen Kuflik, and appearing on Nickelodeon. He is a popsicle stick with googly eyes, a jelly bean nose, and a small mouth. He was the host of '' Nick in the Afternoon'', a programm ...

project and on the ''Me + My Friends'' pilot. He was a lead puppeteer for the first season of

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

's television program ''

Crank Yankers ''Crank Yankers'' is an American adult puppet television show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison. It features actual crank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests, while re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a visu ...

''. Rick has also appeared numerous times on ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...

'', for which he also provided the puppets he performed. Rick puppeteered a xenomorph chest burster in an "Alien" parody sketch with guest star

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...

, and

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until ...

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 ...

, and

in satirical sketches. He also performed the puppets for the black and white throwback clip on the "15th Episode Anniversary Show" of ''

At Home with Amy Sedaris ''At Home with Amy Sedaris'' is an American surreal comedy television series that premiered on October 24, 2017, on truTV. Hosted by Amy Sedaris playing various characters, the show focuses on the comedian's love of entertaining, crafts, and cooki ...

''. Lyon's company, The Lyon Puppets, maintains a large permanent workshop outside

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. In addition to building all of the Broadway and Las Vegas ''Avenue Q'' puppets, the company has built puppets for the original West End production of ''Avenue Q'' in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the US national tour, and international productions in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Rick frequently coaches actors in puppetry for productions of ''Avenue Q'' for which he provides puppets. He also directed a production of ''Avenue Q'' at Smithtown PAC. He studied theater at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

and

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

ry at the Institute of Professional Puppetry Arts in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and the Institut International de la Marionnette in

Puppeteering credits

* ''

'' - television * ''

Bear in the Big Blue House ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it aire ...

'' - television * '' Avenue Q'' -

* ''

Muppet*Vision 3D ''Muppet*Vision 3D'' is a 3D film attraction located at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The attraction also formerly operated at Disney California Adventure. Directed by Jim Henson, the attraction consists of a pre-show which then leads into Kermit ...

'' - film attraction at

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Ma ...

* ''

The Book of Pooh ''The Book of Pooh'' is an American children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne's works; th ...

'' - Tigger (assistant) * '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' - film * ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' is a 1993 American superhero film written and directed by Stuart Gillard. It is the sequel to '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' (1991), and the final installment in the original ' ...

'' - film * ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi- government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesse ...

'' - film * '' Binyah Binyah!'' - television * ''

Me and My Friends ''The Uplift Mofo Party Plan'' is the third studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 29, 1987 by EMI Manhattan. Due to prior obligations resulting in temporary personnel changes following the band's format ...

'' - television * ''The Planet Matzah Ball'' −

References

External links

*
Lyon Puppets

Lyon Puppets Facebook Page
Living people American puppeteers American male stage actors Muppet performers Sesame Street Muppeteers Penn State College of Arts and Architecture alumni Artists from Rochester, New York 1958 births {{US-theat-actor-stub