Will Erdman

William Erdman served as a freelance builder and designer for the Jim Henson Muppet Workshop from 1998 to 2003 before joining Walt Disney Imagineering in March 2003. Will assisted with the restoration and preservation of several Muppet characters. He also helped build and install mechanical rigs and remote control devices in puppets used in special effects shots.

Working as a Disney Imagineer, Will was one of the lead designers and fabricators for the Muppet Mobile Labs starring Bunsen and Beaker. He currently oversees operation and maintenance of the unit as it moves between California, Orlando and Tokyo.

Will's work at Henson included: Puppets restored/redressed: Rowf (for Muppets in Space), Chickens (for Muppets in Space), Sam the Eagle (for Muppets in Space), Christmas Mice (general maintenance), Frog siblings (for Young Kermit), Statler (for Young Kermit), "Burnt" Beaker (general maintenance), Meeting Film Woman (for Very Christmas Movie)

Special effect rigs installed: Big Bird left arm waldo-control rig (for Sesame Street), Cage dancer Skooter waldo-control rig (for Very Christmas Movie), Beaker's glowing eyes (for Very Christmas Movie), "frozen" Kermit rig (for Very Christmas Movie), and countless radio controlled eye mechanisms, waldo mouth rigs and full body puppet skeletons for photo shoots.

Will's work at Disney includes: Muppet Mobile Labs (development, character creation, maintenance) Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (prop creation) Toy Story Mania (development) Toon Studio (development) Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D (character and set maintenance) It's a Small World (character maintenance) Haunted Mansion (set maintenance)