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Eric Jacobson (born January 15, 1971)[1] is an American puppeteer. He is best known for his involvement with the Muppets, performing Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle for The Muppets Studio, as well as Sesame Street characters Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, and Guy Smiley—all roles that he inherited from the characters' original performers, Frank Oz, Caroll Spinney, and Jim Henson.[2][3]
Eric Jacobson | |
---|---|
Born | Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
Occupation | Puppeteer |
Years active | 1994–present |
Spouse | Mary Jacobson |
Children | 1 |
Since 1994, Jacobson has been a regular performer for Sesame Street, where he has received Daytime Emmy Award and Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Since 2001, Jacobson has appeared as part of the Muppets cast in several feature films and television series, including The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005), The Muppets (2011), Muppets Most Wanted (2014), the ABC primetime television series, The Muppets (2015-16), and the Disney+ series, The Muppets Mayhem (2023).
Career
editEric Jacobson, a native of Fort Worth, was inspired to enter the field of puppeteering after the death of Jim Henson while he was attending film school.[4] Jacobson initially began his career as a puppeteer on Sesame Street in 1994, where he worked alongside Frank Oz, often performing the roles of Grover and Bert when Oz wasn't available.[5][6] After Oz retired from the roles, Jacobson became the characters' primary performer.[6] He also took on Guy Smiley, a role previously performed by Henson.[7] Jacobson also began performing Oscar the Grouch after Caroll Spinney's retirement in 2018.[3] For his work on Sesame Street, Jacobson has been nominated for both a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in 2011 and 2019, respectively.[8][5]
Similarly for the Muppets, Jacobson began performing Miss Piggy in 2001.[2][9] The following year, he began performing Fozzie Bear and Animal, debuting in those roles in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. He also began performing Sam Eagle beginning in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005). All the aforementioned characters were also previously performed by Oz, whom Jacobson consulted with to accurately portray the proper characterization, physicality, and voice for the characters.[6]
In 2001, the same year that he performed Piglet and Kanga on The Book of Pooh, he also began playing Miss Piggy, debuting at the "MuppetFest" fan convention.[9]
Other works
editJacobson performed Harry the Duck and Yukker Tutter on Bear in the Big Blue House.
Outside of Henson, Jacobson has worked on The Puzzle Place, Jack's Big Music Show, and Disney's The Book of Pooh. He also has performed live puppet theater in New York City with The Puppet Company, The Cosmic Bicycle Theater, and The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park.
In 2013, Jacobson served as puppeteer for Shaggy Rogers (with Matthew Lillard providing Shaggy's voice) for the DVD movie Scooby Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map.
Guest appearances
editIn 2010, Jacobson performed Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Animal for an appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.[10]
Jacobson has performed Miss Piggy during appearances on Rove Live, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Tony Danza Show, Good Morning America,[citation needed] This Morning, WWE Raw, WWE Tribute to the Troops, and has also performed Miss Piggy in appearances on Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie, So Random!, and Take Two with Phineas and Ferb. He has performed Fozzie Bear during appearances on Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and @midnight.
Jacobson has performed Grover during appearances on Good Morning Australia, Rove Live, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[11] Jacobson performed Bert for the character’s appearance in the Between the Lions' second season episode "Tweet! Tweet!".
In 2019, Jacobson made an in-character voice cameo in the animated series Big City Greens, with Fozzie Bear voicing the character Dr. Enamel[12].
Personal life
editJacobson is married to Mary Jacobson, who works as a production assistant on Sesame Street.[6] His daughter's godfather also works on the show.[6]
Credits
editYear | Production | Role | Other notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994–present | Sesame Street | Bert (1997 – present), Grover (1998 – present), Guy Smiley (2005 – present), Oscar the Grouch (2015 – present) | Performer |
1995–1998 | The Puzzle Place | Leon MacNeal, Blue Piece Police | Season 3 (puppetry only) |
1996–1998 | Once Upon a Tree | Billy-Bob the Bobcat | Performer |
1997–2006 | Bear in the Big Blue House | Harry the Duck, Tucker Tutter | |
2001–2003 | The Book of Pooh | Piglet | Performer (puppetry only) |
2002 | It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Yoda | Performer |
2005 | The Muppets' Wizard of Oz | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle | |
Jack's Big Music Show | Little Bad Wolf, Phil the Coo-Coo Bird | ||
2006–2011 | Pinky Dinky Doo | Additional voices | |
2007–2008 | Bunnytown | Super Bunny | Performer |
2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle | |
Studio DC: Almost Live | |||
2008–2009 | Muppet YouTube Shorts | ||
2010 | The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear | Performer |
Disney's Honorary VoluntEars Cavalcade | Miss Piggy | Voice, theme park parade | |
2011 | So Random! | Performer, Episode: "Miss Piggy" | |
The Muppets | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle, Marvin Suggs | Performer | |
Take Two with Phineas and Ferb | Miss Piggy | Performer, Episode "Miss Piggy" | |
2013 | Good Luck Charlie | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal | Performer, Episode: "Duncan Dream House" |
Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map | Shaggy Rogers | Performer (puppetry only) | |
2014 | Nerdy Nummies | Miss Piggy | Performer |
Muppets Most Wanted | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Animal | ||
2015 | Muppet Moments | ||
2015–2016 | The Muppets | ||
2016–2019 | The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle | Voices, theme park show |
2017 | The Muppets Take the Bowl[13] | Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle, Newsman | Performer, live show at the Hollywood Bowl, Sept. 8–10 |
2018 | The Muppets Take the O2[13] | Performer, live show at the UK, Jul. 13–14 | |
2019 | Big City Greens | Dr. Enamel | Voice role, Episode: "Hurty Tooth" Credited as Fozzie Bear with Jacobson credited as Fozzie Bear's "personal handyman" |
Muppet Babies Play Date | Miss Piggy (baby), Fozzie Bear (baby), Animal (baby) | Performer (puppetry only) | |
2020 | The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo[14] | Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Two-Headed Monster (left head) | Performer |
Muppets Now | Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam Eagle, Animal | ||
2021 | Muppets Haunted Mansion | Performer, Halloween special for Disney+ | |
The Muppets' Christmas Caroling Coach[15] | Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam Eagle | Voices, theme park show at Disneyland during Disney Merriest Nights | |
2023 | The Muppets Mayhem | Animal | Performer |
Awards and nominations
editYear | Award | Category | Work | Result | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series | Sesame Street | Nominated | |
2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance | When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special | Nominated | |
2021 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in a Preschool Animated Program | The Monster at the End of This Story | Nominated | |
2023 | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Puppeteer Performance | The Muppets Mayhem | Nominated | [16] |
Sesame Street | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ "Eric Jacobson and Muppet Trivia 2! | The Barretta Brothers". web.archive.org. June 24, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Setoodeh, Ramin (March 11, 2014). "How Kermit and the Muppets Got Their Mojo Back". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
- ^ a b Cordero, Rosy (December 8, 2019). "Sesame Street legend Caroll Spinney, who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, dies at 85". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ "A Conversation with characters from Sesame Street live from NerdHQ 2014". YouTube.com. Nerd HQ. July 26, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ a b Schaffstall, Katherine (August 30, 2019). "Emmys: 46 of This Year's First-Time Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Spitznagel, Eric (September 30, 2011). "Sesame Street puppeteer Eric Jacobson reveals shocking news that Sesame Street is not a real place". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (October 17, 2018). "Caroll Spinney, 'Sesame Street's Big Bird For 50 Years, Is Retiring". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ "Sesame Street's Big Bird puppeteer retires". bbc.com. October 17, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ a b Lloyd, Robert (May 16, 2015). "If Harry Shearer leaves 'The Simpsons,' what will happen? Just ask Bugs Bunny". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ "New Muppet Stuff -- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". Archived from the original on November 28, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ "New Muppet Stuff – Grover on Jimmy Kimmel Live « ToughPigs – Muppet Fans Who Grew Up". web.archive.org. October 17, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- ^ Video, Mashable (January 31, 2019). "Exclusive: Fozzie Bear's latest role is a cartoon dentist". Mashable. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Itzkoff, Dave (July 28, 2020). "It's Time to Re-Re-Re-Meet the Muppets". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ Adams, Erik (May 19, 2020). "The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo is the next best thing to a streaming Muppet Show". The AV Club. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ "Video: The Muppet Christmas Caroling Coach Debuts at Disney Merriest Nites". laughingplace.com. November 11, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ Coates, Tyler (November 2, 2023). "Children's & Family Emmy Awards: Disney Dominates Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 7, 2023.