Michael Kingsbury Frith (born 8 July 1941) is a British artist and television producer. He is the former Executive Vice-President and Creative Director of

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 ...

. His contributions to Muppet projects have been extensive and varied.

Biography

Frith was born in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

and educated at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, from which he graduated in 1963. He and Christopher Cerf co-wrote ''Alligator'', the 1962

Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...

parody of James Bond novels. Later he illustrated the front cover of ''

Bored of the Rings ''Bored of the Rings'' is a 1969 parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. This short novel was written by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney, who later founded '' National Lampoon''. It was published in 1969 by Signet for the ''Har ...

'', the 1969 Lampoon parody of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frith began his career at

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in 1963 as a children's book illustrator and editor. He was Editor-in-Chief of the

Beginner Books Beginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 3–9, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel. Their first book was Dr. Seuss's '' The Cat in the Hat'' (1 ...

series, the line of books created by

Theodor Seuss Geisel Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
''

The Land of Gorch ''The Land of Gorch'' was a recurring adult puppetry skit that appeared in season one of the American comedy television program ''Saturday Night Live,'' featuring Jim Henson's Muppets. His characters appeared regularly on the late-night comed ...

'', a segment of

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

. Frith recalled his beginnings with the Muppets in The Saturday Evening Post (December 1980): "The first drawings I ever worked on were characters for Saturday Night Live. The Muppets did regular segments for a season featuring characters about as far removed from Sesame Street as you could get. Jim asked me to come over one day to talk about creating Muppet personalities—specifically, strange, mossy, warty creatures. Instead of traditional ones with cartoon eyes—round, white and black—he had become fascinated with taxidermist eyes: cow, camel and tiger eyes. Around this simple concept of a different eye evolved a whole new concept which led to the creation of the crazy-eyed loonies we enjoy today." He joined

Henson Associates 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 ...

full-time as Art Director in 1975. He was named Vice-President in 1978, and Executive Vice-President and Director of Creative Services in 1985. After the success of "The Muppet Show" series Henson wanted Frith, along with two other Muppet Show stalwarts

Jerry Juhl Jerome Ravn Juhl (July 27, 1938 – September 27, 2005) was an American television and film writer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Biography Juhl was born in St. Paul, Minnesota; his family moved to Menlo Park, California, when ...

Jocelyn Stevenson Jocelyn Stevenson is a British-American writer and producer, largely for children's shows. She has received the BAFTA Special Award. Screenwriting credits Television * ''Fraggle Rock'' (1983-1987) * ''Sesame Street'' (1987-1989) * ''Charlie Chalk ...

(both writers) and newcomer to the Henson productions Duncan Kenworthy (producer), to create a new children's show which would appeal to a much wider international audience."Fraggle Rock" is the new show which emerged and subsequently ran for 4 seasons totaling 96 episodes between January 10, 1983 and March 30, 1987. This new show centered on "Muppet" creatures known as Fraggles, who live underground along with several other species of creature such as Doozers and Gorgs. He designed many of the creatures and settings which existed in this universe. He explains that he drew on two major parts of his background when creating the "look" of the show, the first his many years in working with Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) on several children's books and the second being his growing up in Bermuda. In October 1995, Frith left Henson Productions to start a new company, Sirius Thinking, Ltd., with

John Sculley John Sculley III (born April 6, 1939) is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of PepsiCo (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer (CEO) ...

, Christopher Cerf and

Norman Stiles Norman Stiles (born December 4, 1942) is a television writer best known for his work on the show ''Sesame Street''. Stiles worked on the show from 1971 until 1997. Stiles is perhaps best known for writing the episode segments about the death of t ...

. Sirius is the multi-media children's education company that created ''

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 Mis ...

'', an award-winning educational puppet show on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, in 2000. Frith served as the executive producer, creative director, conceptual designer and co-creator of the show. Frith, along with his wife, Muppet performer

Kathryn Mullen Kathryn Mullen is an American puppeteer, actress, and voice actress most closely associated with Jim Henson projects. History Mullen began performing on ''The Muppet Show'' in its third season, primarily as Gaffer the Backstage Cat. She also vo ...

, founded "No Strings" along with emergency aid worker Johnie McGlade. The company originally created a film for children in Afghanistan, warning of the dangers of land mines. In the film, "The Story of the Little Carpet Boy", one puppet loses several limbs before he learns to avoid land mines completely. Since the first film, No Strings has gone on to create films for children in need in areas including Africa, Haiti, Madagascar, Sudan, and Syria. In 2016 No Strings was awarded the 2016 Adela Dwyer-St. Thomas of Villanova Peace Award from Villanova University

Frith's projects and credits

Film and television

* ''Sesame Street'', Creative and Design Consultant (1969-) *''Julie on Sesame Street'', Creative Consultant (1973) *''The Muppet Show'', Creative and Design Consultant; Designed Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem#Dr. Teeth, Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice (muppet), Janice, The Swedish Chef, Uncle Deadly (Muppet), Uncle Deadly, Scooter (Muppet), Scooter, Angus McGonagle, and more (1976–1981) * ''Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas'', Creative Consultant, designed Doc Bullfrog and others (1977) * ''The Muppet Movie'', Design Consultant (1979) * ''Miss Piggy Calendars'', Art Director (1980–1984) * ''The Great Muppet Caper'', Design Consultant (1981) * ''Miss Piggy's Guide to Life'', Art Director (1981) * ''Fraggle Rock'', Conceptual Designer (1983–1987) * ''The Muppets Take Manhattan'', Design Consultant; Designed the Muppet Babies (1984) * ''Muppet Babies (1984 TV series), Muppet Babies'', Creative Consultant and Executive Producer (1984–1991) * ''Follow That Bird'', New Character Designer (1985) * ''Little Muppet Monsters'', Creative Producer (1985) * ''The Jim Henson Hour'', Design Consultant (1989) * ''Muppet*Vision 3D'', Creative Consultant (1991) * ''The Muppet Christmas Carol'', Design Consultant (1992) * ''Jim Henson's Dog City'', Executive Producer (1992–1995) * ''Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree'', Executive Producer (1995) * ''Muppet Treasure Island'', Design Consultant (1996) * ''The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'', Executive Producer (1996–1998) * ''

'', Executive Producer, Creative Director, Conceptional Designer, and Co-Creator (2000–2010) * ''Gus and Inky'', Executive Producer, Creative Director, Conceptional Designer, and co-Creator * ''Lomax, The Hound of Music'', Executive Producer, Creative Director, Conceptional Designer, and Co-Creator (2007–08)

Books written or illustrated

* ''Alligator'' (

, 1962), by Christopher Cerf and Frith as I*N FL*M*NG – parody of James Bond novels by Ian Fleming * ''

'' (Signet/ New American Library, 1969), cover illustration by Frith – Harvard Lampoon parody of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Retrieved 2015-09-23. * ''The Sesame Street Storybook'' (1971) * ''Some of Us Walk ... Some Fly ... Some Swim'' (Random House/

, 1971), written and ill. by Frith * ''The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook'' (1973) * ''I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words'' (Beginner Books, Bright and Early Books, 1973), illus. P. D. Eastman * ''My Amazing Book of ... Autographs!'' (1974) * ''The Sesame Street ABC Storybook'' (1974) * ''Big Bird's Busy Book'' (1975) * ''Because a Little Bug Went Ka-choo'' (Beginner, 1975), written by Dr. Seuss as Rosetta Stone, * ''Autographs! I Collect Them!'' (1990) Animals Do the Strangest Things – series of Random House Step-Up Books written by Leonora Hornblow and Arthur Hornblow, illustrated by Frith * ''Animals Do the Strangest Things'' (Random House, 1964), * ''Birds Do the Strangest Things'' (1965) * ''Fish Do the Strangest Things'' (1966) * ''Insects Do the Strangest Things'' (1968) * ''Reptiles Do the Strangest Things'' (1970) * ''Prehistoric Monsters Do the Strangest Things'' (1974)

References

External links

*
Sirius Thinking Ltd. official site

Between the Lions official site
* * *
Rosetta Stone
(joint pseudonym) at LC Authorities, with 1 record * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frith, Michael Kingsbury 1941 births Living people British designers British illustrators British parodists British television producers The Harvard Lampoon alumni Harvard College alumni Muppet designers