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Martin P. Robinson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martin P. Robinson
Born (1954-03-09) March 9, 1954 (age 70)
Other namesMarty Robinson
EducationAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
OccupationPuppeteer
Years active1980–present
Spouse
Annie Evans
(m. 2008)
Children5
Websitehttp://www.martinprobinson.com/

Martin P. Robinson (born March 9, 1954) is an American puppeteer who works for the Jim Henson Company. He is best known for his work on Sesame Street, having performed the characters of Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch's pet worm Slimey, Oscar's niece Irvine, Buster the Horse, and Shelley the Turtle for over 40 years.[1][2][3] He performed the characters Riff the Cat and Clef the dad on Allegra's Window, and was an animatronic puppeteer for Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[4]

Early life

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Robinson was born on March 9, 1954, in Dearborn, Michigan. His father was a hydraulics engineer and his mother was a teacher. He grew up in Milwaukee and graduated from Brookfield East High School in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee.[5] He graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1974. Robinson originally intended to become a character actor, but work was scarce. He later toured with a marionette company, eventually working under puppeteer Bil Baird.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Robinson married Sesame Street writer Annie Evans on August 9, 2008, on the set of Sesame Street in the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York. Evans gave birth to twin daughters on February 12, 2009. Robinson also has three children from a previous marriage and two grandchildren.[6] He and his family live in Redding, Connecticut.[7]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Production Role Notes
1984 The Muppets Take Manhattan Swedish Chef (hands), Buster the Horse, Additional Muppets Performer
1985 Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Board of Birds Member, Grouch Diner Patron, Additional Muppets Performer
1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo Facial assistant[8]
1999 The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Telly Monster, Laundromat Manager, Little Ricky Performer
2008 A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa Crazy Harry, Additional Muppets Performer, voice

Television

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Year(s) Production Role Notes
1981–present Sesame Street Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Slimey the Worm, Buster the Horse, Irvine, Mrs. Grouch, Dicky Tick, Vincent Twice, Old MacDonald, Freddy, Additional Muppets Performer[9]
1983 Don't Eat the Pictures Mr. Snuffleupagus Performer; Television special[10]
1985 Little Muppet Monsters Rat, Cow, Walrus, Additional Muppets Performer
1986 The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years Telly Monster Performer (uncredited); Television special
1986 The Tale of the Bunny Picnic Farmer, Additional Muppets Performer; Television special
1987 A Muppet Family Christmas Additional Muppets Performer; Television special
1988 The Transformers Powermaster Optimus Prime Puppeteer (season 5)
1990 The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson Telly Monster, Additional Muppets Performer; Television special
1994–1996 Allegra's Window Riff, Clef Voice, performer
1996 Elmo Saves Christmas Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Santa's Elf, Additional Muppets Performer; Television special
1998 The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat Performer (season 2)[8]
2002 Between the Lions Grandpa Lion Performer, Episode: "Out in Outer Space"
2009, 2013 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Mr. Snuffleupagus, Additional Muppets Performer; 2 episodes
2013 Good Morning America Telly Monster Performer; 1 episode
2015 Saturday Night Live Mr. Snuffleupagus Voice (uncredited)
2019–2023 Helpsters Mr. Primm Performer[8]
2020 The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo Telly Monster, Freddy Performer
2021 Law & Order: Organized Crime Octopus Puppeteer #1; 1 episode

Video games

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Year(s) Title Role Notes
1994 Sesame Street: Numbers Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus Voice role
1996 Get Set to Learn! Telly Monster, Martian
1998 The Three Grouchketeers Telly Monster
2001 Sesame Street: Sports
Sesame Street: Letters Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus
2011 Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster Slimey the Worm
2012 Kinect Sesame Street TV Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Martian

Other appearances

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Year(s) Production Role Notes
1981 Muppet Meeting Films Papa Luigi Short film
1982, 2003 Little Shop of Horrors Audrey II Puppeteer in the original 1982 off-Broadway and 2003 Broadway productions[8][11]
1988 Jim Henson's Play-Along Video Crocodile, Raccoon, Additional Muppets Performer; Direct-to-video series
2003 Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic Telly Monster Performer, theme park film

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "A Brief History of Sesame Street's Snuffleupagus Identity Crisis".
  2. ^ "Mr. Snuffleupagus shocked 'Sesame Street' 30 years ago — and generations of kids should be thankful – Zap2It". Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 30, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  3. ^ "Snuffleupagus Speaks! It's Master Puppeteer Martin P. Robinson". Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  4. ^ Martin P. Robinson at IMDb
  5. ^ "A Hot, Sweaty Job in a Plant, Eating People".
  6. ^ Vows - Annie Evans and Martin Robinson, New York Times, August 16, 2008.
  7. ^ "This Brookfield native has played some of your favorite 'Sesame Street' characters for almost 40 years".
  8. ^ a b c d "Martin Robinson (Aloysius Snuffleupagus, Slimey the Worm, Telly) - Sesame Workshop". November 1, 2023. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "Sesame Street: Brookfield native plays Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster". November 9, 2019. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  10. ^ "DON'T EAT THE PICTURES: SESAME STREET AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART (TV)". www.paleycenter.org. Archived from the original on July 8, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  11. ^ "Muppet Central News - Marty Robinson and "Little Shop of Horrors" arrive on Broadway". October 17, 2003. Archived from the original on October 17, 2003. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
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Preceded by Performer of Mr. Snuffleupagus
1980–present
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by Performer of Telly Monster
1984–present
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by Performer of Mommy Snuffleupagus
ca. 1980s
Succeeded by
Preceded by Performer of Papa Bear
2020–present
Succeeded by
?