Dave Goelz

David Goelz: July 16, 1946 - present

Dave attended the Los Angeles Art Center's College of Design. In 1972, he met Frank Oz, who invited him to New York for a taping of Sesame Street. Dave showed his design portfolio to Jim Henson a few months later, and Jim offered him a job with Henson Associates as a puppet builder. Dave built some puppets for Henson, and then went back to California to start his own business creating puppets for industrial and trade shows. In 1974, Jim called Dave again to work as a Muppet performer.

Puppeteer Credits

 * The Muppets: Gonzo the Great, Bunsen Honeydew, Randy Pig, Waldorf, Zoot, Beauregard, Bill the Bubble Guy, Brewster, Digit, [Muppy]], Timmy Monster, Calico Jack, Bettina Cratchit, Bill the Frog, Chester the Rat,
 * Fraggle Rock: Boober Fraggle, Large Marvin, Philo, Uncle Travelling Matt, 7-Words-Max, Sidebottom, Skenfrith, [World's Oldest Fraggle]], Wrench Doozer
 * The Christmas Toy: Rugby Tiger, Ditz
 * The Dark Crystal: Fizzgig (puppetry only), Skeksis General (puppetry only)
 * Labyrinth: Fiery 3 (puppetry only), Left Doorknocker (face), One of The Four Guards (puppetry only), Sir Didymus (puppetry only), Wiseman's Hat (puppetry only)
 * Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas: Wendell
 * Jim Henson's The Animal Show with Stinky and Jake: Stinky
 * Dinosaurs: Earl Sinclair (first four episodes only, face)

Trivia

 * Originally hired in 1973 as a puppet builder, it was later that Dave switched over to performing.

Quotes

 * "Jim [Henson] had five children of his own, and by nature was extremely playful. He related well to children because he could access that part of himself. The fascinating thing was that while he functioned as an astute businessman, he could integrate play into the process. I now have children of my own, and have come to believe that we are all born perfect - well, maybe not absolutely perfect, but certainly completely without evil. As a parent, one of my goals is to see whether I can raise my children to survive in the world without losing that childlike innocence, trust, optimism, curiosity, and decency. I am certain it is possible because Jim was the living embodiment of it."


 * "Jim actually asked me to do Gonzo. Originally, he was conceived as a character who does really awful acts and thinks they're art."


 * "The funny thing about Zoot was that I was about 26-27, and we always conceived of him as a 50 year-old, burnt-out musician. Now I'm 53, and I still can't play him."


 * "The public interest always surprises me. I come to work in these rooms with no windows. At night I go home. I just live my life. I guess I just don't think much about whether people are going to watch. Most of my friends don't know much about what I do, and we don't talk about it. I have a different life away from work. Which is fine, because my work can get pretty intense."