Noel MacNeal (born September 15, 1961), sometimes credited as Noel McNeal or Edward Noel MacNeal, is an American puppeteer, actor, director and writer of children's television who has performed since the early 1980s. He was the voice and puppeteer of Bear on '' Bear in the Big Blue House''. He also starred as Kako on '' Oobi'', Leon MacNeal on '' The Puzzle Place'' and as Magellan on '' Eureeka's Castle''.

Career

Noel portrays the environmentally friendly character ZoZo a mascot for safer streets, green transportation, and useful public spaces. This

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 ...

designed and created walk around puppet is used by Livable Streets Education to talk about these issues with young children and families. While Bear is his most famous character, MacNeal has also performed Mrs. (Mommy) Snuffleupagus and various Snuffleupagus relatives 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 ...

'', Magellan, a baby dragon, on the ACE Award-winning series '' Eureeka's Castle'' on

Nick Jr Nick Jr. (known on-air as the Nick Jr. Channel) is an American pay television channel spun off from Nickelodeon's long-running programming block of the same name. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family ...

, Leon MacNeal in '' The Puzzle Place'',

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' and Madame Chairbird in the Sesame Street film '' Follow That Bird''. His repertoire of characters also includes Kako on the Nick Jr. series '' Oobi'', Blue on Nick Jr.'s '' Blue's Room'', Rabbit for

The Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Com ...

's Emmy Award-winning series ''

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 ...

'', Lionel on PBS's '' Between the Lions'', and Knock-Knock on '' The Great Space Coaster''. In addition, he’s performed with and/or for

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

, Bill Cosby,

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

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Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

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Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

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, Tom Bergeron,

Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

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and Katie Couric. Noel is also a television writer. His scripts have been featured on

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Inste ...

Sprout's '' The Good Night Show'',

's '' Bear in the Big Blue House'', PBS's '' The Puzzle Place'', '' The Magic School Bus'' and '' Cyberchase'', TLC's '' Salty's Lighthouse'' (in which he re-wrote an original episode of the British children's TV series ''

Tugs A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

'' for its own segments) and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's '' Eureeka's Castle'' and '' Gullah Gullah Island''. He is also a script and television directorial adviser and consultant for the international versions of ''

'' as well having directed episodes of '' Bear in the Big Blue House'' and

Sprout's ''The Good Night Show''. In 2003, Noel received a Daytime Emmy Nomination as "Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series". Noel is now the resident puppeteer for the HBO series ''

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in April 2014 on HBO. ''Last ...

''. MacNeal was noted for his portrayal of Mr. Nutterbutter, and operated a seagull puppet in another episode. He also portrayed Totes McGoats, a goat-human hybrid mascot which promotes recycling, in the episode on plastics.

Personal life

MacNeal was born to a white father and an African-American mother. On November 6, 1999, he married author Susan Elia at Manhattan's Union Theological Seminary. In 2005, their son Matthew was born.

Filmography

Puppeteer

* 1983: '' The Great Space Coaster'': Knock-Knock (First-run Syndication) * 1983: ''

'' (TV Show; TV Specials): Mommy Snuffleupagus, Gretel, Additional Muppets (1983–present) * 1985: '' Follow That Bird'': Madame Chairbird * ''

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 encompas ...

'' (1985–present) ** ''

Little Muppet Monsters ''Little Muppet Monsters'' is a Saturday morning television series featuring the Muppets that aired three episodes on CBS in 1985. The first season of '' Muppet Babies'' did so well in the ratings, that CBS decided to expand the series from ...

'': Rat, Magic Book ** '' Holiday Greetings from the Ed Sullivan Show'' ** Muppet Meeting Films: Pastry and Injured Employee ** '' Muppet Treasure Island (Muppet Sing-Alongs)'' ** '' A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa'':

Sweetums The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...

** '' The Muppets Take the Bowl'': Sweetums (puppetry only) ** '' The Muppets Take the O2'' * 1989: '' Eureeka's Castle'': Magellan and Webster (Nick Jr.) * 1990: ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

'' (episode: Cliff's Nightmare), Cheese (NBC) * 1991: ''

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the ...

'' (ABC) * 1992: '' Dog City'' (series): Doctor, Police Officer (FOX) * 1993: ''

CityKids ''CityKids'' is an American television series that aired late Saturday mornings on ABC from 1993 to 1994. The show consists primarily of live action performances, interspersed with Muppet segments, courtesy of Jim Henson Productions. These Muppet ...

'' (ABC) * 1993: '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'': Raphael (face performance) * 1995: '' The Puzzle Place'': Leon MacNeal, Blue Piece Police (Seasons 1&2) (PBS) * 1996: ''

Kids for Character Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, leath ...

'': Leon MacNeal * 1997: '' Bear in the Big Blue House'': Bear, Moss, Billy (Playhouse Disney) * 1999: '' Cosby'' (episode: My Spy), puppet (CBS) * 2000: '' Oobi'': Kako (Noggin) * 2001: ''

'': Rabbit (Playhouse Disney) * 2002: '' Oz'': (Miss Sally's Schoolyard) (HBO) * 2002: ''Playhouse Disney (UK)'': Bear * 2004: ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were th ...

'': "Knee High Park" (puppeteer and consultant) (Comedy Central) * 2004: '' LazyTown'': Pixel (Defeeted only originally) * 2009: '' Between the Lions'': Lionel Lion (Season 9-10), Monkey (Under Construction), Beetles Member, Squeaky the Wheel (PBS Kids) * 2009: '' Old Dogs'' * 2014: ''

'': Puppeteer (HBO) * 2015: ''The Show Me Show'': Fynnias * 2015: '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' (episode: Kimmy's in a Love Triangle!) (Netflix) * 2017: ''

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. ...

'': Additional characters (Netflix)

Writer

* '' Cyberchase'' * '' The Magic School Bus'' * '' Salty's Lighthouse'' (

segments, one episode only) * '' The Puzzle Place'' * '' Gullah Gullah Island'' * '' Eureeka's Castle'' * ''A Very Special Goodnight Show'' * '' Nate the Great'' * '' Bear in the Big Blue House'' * '' Breakfast with Bear'' * '' The Good Night Show''

Director

* '' Bear in the Big Blue House'' * '' The Good Night Show''

References

External links

Official Website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macneal, Noel 1961 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors American puppeteers American male television actors American male television writers American television directors American television writers Male actors from New York City Muppet performers Screenwriters from New York (state) Sesame Street Muppeteers