The Barretta Brothers

Ep 24 - Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers feature Composer, Michael Giacchino.

Episode Outline:

• Some birthday wishes for Michael, and memories from us all growing up in the same places.
• Royal Albert Hall performance. (Question from viewer)
• Early musical influences. Exploring his early passions for music.
• How he began working with The Muppets
• Michael shares some memorabilia
• Favorite concept albums
• His latest CD, “Travelogue Volume 1” and the trailer
• Stories about Ratatouille, Jo Jo Rabbit, Inside Out, Rogue One, Lost, The Incredibles, and Prep & Landing
• Thoughts on conducting a score
• Recording with Paul McCartney
• Michael writes us an impromptu theme on ukulele
• And questions for our guests from our Live Youtube Chat.

 

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

 

Composer MICHAEL GIACCHINO has credits that feature some of the most popular and acclaimed film projects in recent history, including The Incredibles, War for the Planet of the Apes, Ratatouille, Star Trek, Jurassic World, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Coco. Giacchino’s 2009 score for the Pixar hit Up earned him an Oscar®, a Golden Globe®, the BAFTA, the Broadcast Film Critics' Choice Award and two GRAMMY® Awards. Giacchino studied filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. After college, he landed a marketing job at Disney and began studies in music composition, first at Juilliard, and then at UCLA. He moved from marketing to producing in the newly formed Disney Interactive Division where he had the opportunity to write music for video games.

After moving to DreamWorks Interactive, he was asked to score the temp track for the video game adaptation of The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Subsequently, Steven Spielberg hired him as the composer and it became the first PlayStation game to have a live orchestral score, recorded with members of the Seattle Symphony. Giacchino went on to score numerous video games including Spielberg’s Medal of Honor series. Giacchino’s work in video games sparked the interest of J.J. Abrams, and thus began their long-standing relationship that would lead to scores for the hit television series Alias and Lost, and the feature films Mission Impossible III, Star Trek, Super 8 and Star Trek Into Darkness.

Additional projects include collaborations with Disney Imagineering on music for Space Mountain, Star Tours (with John Williams), the Ratatouille ride in Disneyland Paris, and the Incredicoaster on Pixar Pier at California Adventure. Giacchino was the musical director of the 81st Annual Academy Awards®. His music can be heard in concert halls internationally with all three Star Trek films, Ratatouille, Jurassic World, Up and Coco being performed live-to-picture with a full orchestra. In June 2018, Giacchino premiered his first work for symphony orchestra, Voyage. Commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the piece celebrates the 60th anniversary of the founding of NASA. In July 2019, a third movement was added for the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing. Jojo Rabbit, the critically acclaimed Fox Searchlight film written and directed by Taika Waititi, earned Giacchino a BAFTA nomination this year. His upcoming film projects

include Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Giacchino’s first LP of original music, Travelogue Vol 1, featuring his Nouvelle Modernica orchestra, is described as a story in song and will be released on Mondo Records in October 2020. Giacchino serves as the Governor of the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on the advisory board of Education Through Music Los Angeles.

 

 

Ep 23 - Muppet Performer Peter Linz

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome Muppet performer Peter Linz, who performs such characters as Ernie, Herry Monster, Walter, Robin, Statler, and more.

 

Episode Outline:

• Bill and Gene discuss the upcoming America’s Got Muppet Talent contest
• Gene and Bill intentionally delay brining in Peter

Peter Linz enters – 5:35mins

• Comparing Walter with a character from The Puzzle Place
• First movie – Pet Cemetery 2
• First experiences working at Sesame Street
• Talk about his family
• Billy offers Peter some loving compliments
• The first puppet he performed at Sesame Street
• The audition process for Big Big World.
• Pip and Pop
• Hollywood Walk of Fame
• Playing Ernie and Herry Monster
• Eric Jacobson as Bert
• Joe the Legal Weasel
• Walter
• Auditioning against other Muppet performers
• Choosing Walter’s voice
• Walter wins an Oscar
• Pepe and Walter
• Is Walter Jewish?
• Passing on characters to new puppeteers
• Years of assisting other puppeteers before getting his own characters
• Various questions from the Live Youtube Chat throughout
• Shooting The Muppets (2011 movie)
• Between The Lions

 

Surprise visit by Alice Dinnean! At 55:00mins

 

• Favorite shows he has worked on
• Headcanons
• Lips
• Missing Steve Whitmire
• His acting part in Muppets From Space
• Performing Miss Piggy in Muppets From Space

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

 

PETER LINZ

Peter Linz has wanted to be a MuppetTM performer on Sesame Street since he was a child, growing up in Atlanta, Georgia. His dream came true two years out of college when he was hired as a puppeteer for Sesame Street. In addition to performing various chickens, penguins, monsters, and a multitude of other characters, Linz also gives life to Herry Monster and Ernie. Linz is also one of the six, core Disney MuppetTM Performers. He originated the newest MuppetTM, Walter, who appeared opposite Jason Segal and Amy Adams in the widely acclaimed Disney feature films The Muppets (in which he performed the Oscar-winning song, “Man or Muppet”) and Muppets Most Wanted. He also performs the characters Statler (one of the old men in the balcony), Link Hogthrob, Lips, Joe the Weasel, and Kermit’s nephew, Robin.

Linz’s other film credits include Men in Black, Muppets From Space, Pet Sematary 2, and the 2005 remake of The Producers.
In addition to his 27 seasons on Sesame Street, Linz’s other television credits include 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bear in the Big Blue House, Lomax - The Hound of Music, Blue’s Room, The Book of Pooh, Between the Lions, It’s A Big Big World, Puzzle Place, Word World, and the ABC primetime sitcom, The Muppets, plus multiple appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Good Morning America, among others. He is an original Broadway cast-member of the Tony Award winning musical, Avenue Q. Linz has led auditions and created workshops in television/film puppetry for international co- productions of Sesame Street in Germany, Mexico, China, and Jordan, and continues to do so independently in the United States and New Zealand.

 

ALICE DINNEAN

Alice Dinnean began her puppetry career in high school at Children's Fairyland in Oakland, CA. After graduating from Oberlin College, she went right back to puppets, starting at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. She has performed principal roles on Sesame Street and for various Jim Henson Company productions, including Turkey Hollow, Sid the Science Kid, and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Alice has appeared in multiple Muppet productions including live performances at the Hollywood Bowl. Other favorite projects include Jack's Big Music Show, The Country Bears, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Crank Yankers, The Happytime Murders, Team America: World Police, Splash & Bubbles and Word Party.

 

Ep 22 - Q&A Episode #04 with Kevin Clash and Tyler Bunch

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers take questions from the Live Youtube chat, with special surprise visits by Muppet performer, puppeteer, producer, and director, Kevin Clash. Plus, actor, voice actor, Muppet performer, puppeteer, Tyler Bunch.

 

ABOUT OUR HOSTS:

Gene Barretta & Bill Barretta

“What are they up to now?” That was the popular question around their house and neighborhood while growing up. It was not unusual to see Gene and Bill dressed up in homemade costumes – filming Super 8mm dramas – attempting risky stunts in the ravine – animating GI Joes and weird-looking clay figures – building and performing clunky puppets – drawing offbeat comics, - and imitating The Beatles.

Today, life isn’t very different. In addition to personal projects and various acting roles, Bill has been a director, writer, producer and core performer with The Muppets for nearly 30 years. Gene is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. He has also animated and illustrated for Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and The Jim Henson Company.

The best part of their careers is that they occasionally get to work together! Unfortunately, no one will pay them to imitate The Beatles.

 

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Kevin Clash:

Kevin Clash is best known for Elmo (Sesame Street) 1979-2012. He also was part of Labyrinth (1986), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 (1990) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (1991), Happy Time Murders (SFX) 2018, and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix) 2019. In addition to Elmo, Clash is also known for performing Splinter (TMNT) Baby Sinclair (Dinosaurs), and Clifford (Muppets Tonight).

Kevin Clash has won 29 daytime Emmys, over one hundred fifty -six performing title credits, thirty- one producing title credits and twenty- seven directing title credits. In 2011, his documentary, Being Elmo, was awarded the Special Jury Prize at Sundance. He has appeared in numerous television specials, commercials, feature films and direct-to-video products.

During his career, he has worked with great innovators who founded the classic puppet television industry including Kermit Love, Frank Oz, and Jim Henson.

Clash has recruited, auditioned, and trained puppeteers from all over the world. He was the senior puppet coordinator, and was also a director, co-producer and senior creative adviser on Sesame Street.  Kevin was essential to the success of Elmo’s World and the creative branding powerhouse of Elmo. Business Insider states that in 1996 the toy company Tyco saw their sales grow from $70 million to an astounding $350 million thanks to the Tickle Me Elmo Doll.

Clash’s most recent project, Earth to Ned, will be airing on Disney+ this Fall and he currently has several projects in development.  

 

Tyler Bunch:

Tyler’s work as a puppeteer has appeared in productions like Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, Between the Lions, and Crank Yankers. As an actor, he has appeared in The Electric Company, Law & Order “Criminal Intent” and “Special Victims Unit.”

Ep 21 - Actor David Arquette and Pro Wrestler RJ City

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome actor, producer, wrestler, David Arquette, and wrestler, actor, RJ City.

Episode Outline:

David Arquette

• David Arquette joins Bill & Gene 01:45-
• David discusses early TV work like The Outsiders, Parenthood with Leonardo DiCaprio
• Learning the craft by watching his Dad, actor Lewis Arquette, work.
• How joining his High School play turned his mind toward acting as a career.
• First film, “Where the Day Takes You.”
• Billy shows his Charlie Weaver (David’s Grandfather) Bartender toy.
• David’s obsession with collecting. Costumes, art, movie theater seats, and more.
• His Dad, Lewis Arquette’s work
• Pepe working with his sister, Alexis.
• His favorite Muppet experiences and loving the technical end of it.
• Wearing dead people’s clothes.
• The screening of The Tripper and the Paul Reubens anti-drug PSA

RJ City joins David, Gene, and Bill at 27:24mins

• RJ surprises Bill with a VHS copy of Muppet Classic Theater
• RJ and David engage in verbal jousting and insults.
• How RJ began wrestling
• RJ compares Wrestling to The Muppet Show
• Wrestlers from the 70s.
• How David and RJ send each other clothing once owned by Jerry Lewis.
• Discussion about their documentary, “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.”
• Gene and Bill show their homemade wrestling film from the 70s.
• Wrestling at traffic stops in Mexico
• Facial hair prepping for Scream 5

Gene and Bill get into a virtual wrestling match.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

David Arquette

David Arquette is an actor, director, wrestler, writer, producer, certified Bob Ross instructor and widely believed to be immortal.

RJ City

RJ is an actor, comedian and wrestling raconteur. He starred in the BBC/Nickelodeon show Splatalot; has sweat with (and on) various men all across North America; and every Sunday morning, makes coffee in his underwear on YouTube with such guests as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mario Cantone. He is also David Arquette’s legal guardian.

 

 

 

Ep 20 - Geoff Keighley: Video Game Innovator/Muppet Lover

Geoff Keighley Show Notes

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome Video Game Innovator, Visionary, Muppet Lover, Geoff Keighley.

Episode Outline:

Gene surprises Billy with a puppet made by Jarrod Boutcher, based on Gene’s “Billy Puppet” sketch.

Geoff Keighley shows up and talks about:

• Growing up in Canada
• Visiting the set of Fraggle Rock
• His parents, who work in film/TV production, including producing some of the first IMAX movies.
• His childhood interest and involvement in video games
• Writing for video game magazines in his teens
• First TV video game hosting
• Talk about games as generational divides
• Origins of the Game Awards
• The format and success of The Game Awards

Jackson Barretta and Ben Barretta join the conversation

• They discuss the Fortnite Pro Am
• Gaming as the new sport or concert event
• How did he meet Phil Spencer and Reggie Fils-Aimé
• First games Geoff played
• Plans for future Game Awards during the pandemic
• What does it take to become a gamer/twitch streamer?
• Where did the nickname Dorito Pope come from?

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Geoff Keighley

Keighley's foray into video game reporting and presentation had been through Cybermania '94: The Ultimate Games Awards, the first video game awards show broadcast on television. Keighley was fourteen at the time but was brought in to help write lines for the celebrity hosts to read. The show was not considered successful, aimed more for comedy than celebration, but from it, Keighley was inspired to develop some type of equivalent of the Academy Awards for video games in his career.

In addition to GTTV, Keighley has been involved in many other video game-related projects on television. On Comcast's G4 network, he appeared as the network's lead anchor for its E3 press conference coverage, interviewing CEOs from companies like Sony and Electronic Arts. For MTV he created the concept and produced (with LivePlanet) "Gears of War: Race to E3" and "Gears of War: Race to Launch", two specials that took viewers inside the development of the hit Xbox 360 game from Microsoft. And in 2007, the Discovery Channel aired a five-hour documentary on releases including those of such companies as World of Wonder Productions, based on a treatment by Keighley, who also served as consulting producer. Geoff has also hosted and co-produced a number of video game launch specials for Spike TV, including "Madden NFL 08 Kickoff" featuring a performance by Ozzy Osbourne and "Halo 3: Launched!" featuring a performance by Linkin Park. He was also interviewed on what became a controversial Fox News' segment on Mass Effect and was later praised by gamers online for being the only one on the show who had actually played the game.

Keighley was invited by the producers of Spike's Video Game Awards program to help with the programming from 2006 onward. In 2013, Spike changed the format of the show and rebranded the awards as the VGX Awards. To Keighley, the format became more commercial and promotional rather than a celebration of video game achievements, and subsequently left the show. Through 2014, he funded his own efforts to put together a new awards show, gaining the support of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo as well as major publications and industry leaders. Keighley thus established The Game Awards which were first presented in December 2014, and which Keighley remains the primary host.

Keighley is known for writing reviews and previews and going behind the scenes of the game industry for in-depth business profiles and lengthy feature pieces. While initially a writer at GameSpot from around 1998, Keighley wrote the site's column "Behind the Games". This column evolved into a series of articles "The Final Hours", where he has in-depth access to the various studios near the end of a development period and write in depth about the process as the game is nearing completion. In more recent years, these articles are released as mobile apps. In a July 2008 interview on The Jace Hall Show, Keighley spoke about the importance of this process, stating "There's such a lack of investigative journalism. I wish I had more time to do more, sort of, investigation. Really dig into some of these bigger issues, so I could look at like, the 'Red Ring of Death' problem. That's never really been properly reported about, like what really happens." However, he has faced criticism from some quarters for his willingness to positively present games to maintain exclusives, regardless of their actual quality, and to accept industry PR at face value in an October 2012 column published in Eurogamer.[12] In December 2016, Keighley was picked as a judge for the Viveport Developer Awards (VDAs).

Keighley had been a participant of E3, the annual video game trade show, since its start, and starting in E3 2017, Keighley had arranged and hosted the E3 Coliseum, a live-streaming event running over the course of E3 that brought in developers and publishers at E3 for interviews and other discussions. However, with the Entertainment Software Association making significant changes to the format of E3 2020 (prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Keighley stated he will not be organizing an E3 Coliseum event nor attending the show for the first time in 25 years.

With E3's cancellation among other several other trade shows and events like Gamescom from the pandemic, Keighley worked with several major publishers and video game industry leaders to launch the Summer Game Fest from May to August 2020. During this period, Keighley will help developers and publishers present game announcements and other presentations, along with Steam and Xbox to provide game demos during this period.

 

Ep 19 - Q&A Episode #03

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers take questions from the Live Youtube chat.

 

ABOUT OUR HOSTS:

Gene Barretta & Bill Barretta

“What are they up to now?” That was the popular question around their house and neighborhood while growing up. It was not unusual to see Gene and Bill dressed up in homemade costumes – filming Super 8mm dramas – attempting risky stunts in the ravine – animating GI Joes and weird-looking clay figures – building and performing clunky puppets – drawing offbeat comics, - and imitating The Beatles.

Today, life isn’t very different. In addition to personal projects and various acting roles, Bill has been a director, writer, producer and core performer with The Muppets for nearly 30 years. Gene is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. He has also animated and illustrated for Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and The Jim Henson Company.

The best part of their careers is that they occasionally get to work together! Unfortunately, no one will pay them to imitate The Beatles.

Ep 18 - Bobby Moynihan

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome actor, comedian, writer, and SNL Alumni, Bobby Moynihan.

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Bobby Moynihan

Bobby Moynihan is an actor and writer, known for Saturday Night Live, DuckTales, Secret Life of Pets, and the upcoming Mr. Mayor. He has worked with the Muppets when he hosted the Muppet Show Live at the Hollywood Bowl and the O2. He is a happy boy.

Ep. 17 - Ricky Gervais, Matt Vogel and Constantine

On this episode, the Barretta Brothers welcome Ricky Gervais and Matt Vogel to speak about their experiences in the comedy, acting, and puppeteering industries. They delve into their influences and some of their favorite bits and characters. Ricky discusses how people live vicariously through comedians and the value in enjoying yourself and living to have fun. Then, Matt speaks on vocal matching, specifically with Kermit, what peaked his interest in puppets, and how acting fuels great puppeteering.

 

We address:

 

What draws people to Ricky Gervais?

 

What inspired him to create Afterlife? Will there be more seasons?

 

How did Matt get into acting and puppeteering?

 

What’s his new podcast, Below The Frame, all about?

 

What have their experiences with The Muppets been like?

 

We get old because we stop playing! Tune into this week’s episode to hear how Ricky Gervais enjoys life and for a fun look into the world of being a puppeteer, a comedian, and an actor. Plus, we get a call from a very special friend whom you may know and love… Constantine!

 

 

3 MAJOR POINTS DISCUSSED

• Free speech is the petri dish of ideas. Ricky describes his candid thoughts on free speech and how comedy comes from sharing your opinions, being honest, and saying what’s on your mind.
• Cancel culture inspired Ricky Gervais to create Afterlife. After seeing the negative side of cancel culture on social media and all the extremes that social media presents to the world, like the extreme right vs the extreme left, he was inspired to develop the series Afterlife. He knew that people feared sharing their opinions. He thought: If you lost everything and you have nothing to lose, you could say what you want. What is losing everything? Losing everything would be losing your life partner. Tune in to find out how many more seasons of Afterlife you can expect Ricky to create.
• To be a great puppeteer, it’s helpful to have a strong background in acting. Matt details his background and how he got into acting after a not so fun experience puppeteering. He relates the two and notes what he learned from acting that can be directly applied to puppeteering.

 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE

• What’s coming up? [02:04]
• Welcoming Ricky Gervais [02:42]
• Are people living vicariously through your naughtiness and brutal honesty? [04:10]
• Ricky has always tried to just have fun and enjoy himself [10:52]
• Biggest influences in our lives + Some of our favorite bits [11:58]
• What made you decide to do a live broadcast on Twitter during lockdown and did you ever think it would help people get through lockdown? [19:57]
• Our experiences with The Muppets + Ricky’s two favorite Muppets of all time [23:03]
• What inspired you to develop the series Afterlife and do you have a sense of how many seasons you’ll create? [30:17]
• A bit about Ricky and Christopher Guest’s friendship [33:54]
• Talking about Billy Crystal’s Don’t Get Me Started [37:20]
• Constantine calls in [38:33]
• Transition to Matt Vogel [44:35]
• Welcoming Matt Vogel [45:25]
• Remembering “The Goelz Greeting” [48:00]
• A bit about Matt and what peaked his interest about puppets [49:20]
• How Matt got into acting [53:08]
• Matt’s college sweetheart [55:40]
• A strong acting background helps make a great puppeteer [56:37]
• 3 of Matt’s biggest influences [59:49]
• We discuss Matt’s characters [1:06:02]
• Vocal matches: People have been discussing Matt’s Kermit voice [1:08:05]
• Playing a game of Pick A Number [1:11:50]
• Matt talks about his podcast Below The Frame [1:20:07]
• Outro [1:22:40]

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Ricky Dene Gervais (/dʒərˈveɪz/ jər-VAYZ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for co-creating, writing, and acting in the British television series The Office (2001–2003).[5] He has won seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and the Rose d'Or twice (2006 and 2019), as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2007, he was placed at No. 11 on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups[6] and at No. 3 on the updated 2010 list.[7] In 2010, he was named on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people.[8]

 

Gervais initially worked in the music industry, attempting a career as a pop star in the 1980s as the singer of the new-wave act Seona Dancing and working as the manager of the then unknown band Suede before turning to comedy. Gervais appeared on The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 between 1998 and 2000, garnering a reputation as a blunt and often controversial social critic. In 2000, he was given a Channel 4 spoof talk show, Meet Ricky Gervais. He achieved greater mainstream fame the following year with his BBC television mock documentary series The Office. It was followed by Extras in 2005. He co-wrote and co-directed both programmes with Stephen Merchant. In addition to writing and directing the shows, he played the lead roles of David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. He starred in 2016 comedy film David Brent: Life on the Road, which he also wrote and directed.[9]

 

Gervais began his stand-up career in the late 1990s. He has performed five multi-national stand-up comedy tours, and he wrote the Flanimals book series. Gervais, Merchant, and Karl Pilkington created the podcast The Ricky Gervais Show, which has spawned various spin-offs starring Pilkington and produced by Gervais and Merchant.[10] Gervais has also starred in the Hollywood films Ghost Town, the Night at the Museum trilogy, For Your Consideration, and Muppets Most Wanted. He wrote, directed, and starred in The Invention of Lying and the Netflix-released Special Correspondents. He hosted the Golden Globe Awards in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, and again in 2020. Gervais also appears on the game show Child Support. Currently, Gervais is credited as the creator, executive producer, director, and writer for the Netflix comedy series After Life, where he plays the lead role of Tony Johnson.

 

RESOURCES

• Visit our website: thebarrettabrothers.com
• Visit Ricky Gervais’s website: rickygervais.com
• Visit Matt Vogel’s website: mattvogel.com
• “The Goelz Greeting”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wowADscBNmo&list=LLGIQuFoDF6lKOjW9LO-_Vyw&index=8

Ep 16 - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome actress and Muppet performer, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph to talk about her career and answer questions from our Live YouTube Chat. She performs characters such as Abby Cadabby, Spamela Hamderson, Prairie Dawn’s Mom, and more.

Episode Outline:

• Gene and Bill answer questions for the first eleven minutes alone
• Dick the Shark shows up to taunt Gene

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph joins the Q&A 11:30 – 58:30mins

• Her work before The Muppets
• Leslie’s Muppet audition and her amazing Wizard of Oz medley.
• Paul Rudolph pops in for a moment.
• Questions from the Live Chat continue throughout
• Bobo meets Darcey
• The origins of Abby Cadabra
• Playing off each other as background players in Muppets Tonight
• Dick the Shark comes back
• Paul Rudolph pops in again
• Gene recalls drawing a fake tattoo on Leslie during Muppets Tonight
• Leslie draws Angel Cards for Gene and Bill
• Lolly Lardpop checks in for a visit

Back to Bill and Gene Q&A on their own

 

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph

 

A graduate of San Francisco State University (BA degree, “Child Development through the Arts”) is a multi-faceted entertainer, writer, and artist best known for performing the fairy, Abby Cadabby on Sesame Street for which she earned her 5 Emmy nominations. Leslie got her start as a puppeteer on ABC’s “Muppets Tonight.” Other TV credits- Jim Henson Company/PBS “Splash and Bubbles”, PBS Nature Cat, Disney’s “Johnny & the Sprites”, Nickelodeon’s Tough Puppy Leslie created an original musical stage show for the Walt Disney Company called “The Wahoo Wagon that ran at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. She was awarded the UNIMA citation of Excellence for her show “Wake Up Your Weird” and received two Jim Henson Foundation Grants. 

Leslie recently had a residency at the Laurie Beechman theater performing her cabaret's “What Just Happened?”, “Moonlight Madness” and  “Bizarre Brunch.” Leslie performs and speaks throughout the country about “character development through the arts” with her puppet side Kicks “Lolly Lardpop” and Granny Dot.” These characters are featured in her original podcast on iTunes called “Lolly’s radio playdate”

Ep 15 - Eric Jacobson and Muppet Trivia 2!

On this episode, The Barretta Brothers welcome Muppet performer, puppeteer, Eric Jacobson. Also the second edition of Muppet trivia with contestants, Madison Mantas, and Tyler Partnow.

 

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Eric Jacobson:

Eric Jacobson was born on January 15, 1971 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA as Eric Norman Jacobson. Eric performs many iconic characters including, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Bert, Oscar the Grouch, and Animal.

Among his long list of credits: Muppets Now, Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, The Muppets, Saturday Night Live, Between the Lions, The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart, and Take Two with Phineas and Ferb

 

Madison Mantas:

Madison Mantas is a life-long Muppet fan residing in the Milwaukee/Chicago suburbs. She grew up with dance, theater and improv comedy backgrounds and a love for pop culture who she would like to thank her parents and brother for bringing into her life. Most recently, she was a Skipper at Walt Disney’s World-Famous Jungle Cruise in Florida telling crappy dad jokes on boats and loved every second of it.

 

Tyler Partnow:

Tyler is a life-long Muppet fanatic, a musician, writer, artist, and puppeteer.